Staff editorial: Smart use for smartphones
A positive school day for a high school student consists of several things: studying, learning, and socializing. However, in the perspective a student’s day, time spent on such activities often pale in comparison to the time students spend on this unhealthy habit, using a cell phone in class.
As addicting as cell phones are for teens, BOHS policy prohibits their use during school time, “unless instructed to use the cell phone by a supervising teacher.” However, according to a Wildcat survey, 91.6 percent of the 228 students surveyed were aware of the school’s cell phone policy, while 72.8 percent of students surveyed have used their cell phones inappropriately in class. These students have grown so accustomed to using cell phones in their everyday lives that they disregard the school policy against cell phone use.
There’s no denying that there is an advantage to having a cell phone in school. Using cell phones in class can be a helpful tool for researching, writing essays, and even translating foreign languages.
But despite the usefulness of cell phones, students should continue to adhere to the cell phone policy when in class.
“One time I saw a student in Spanish class using his cellphone to translate his homework. Even though it was for homework, it was still disrespectful to the teacher. Students use cell phones in class all the time,” Stella Shim, freshman, said.
Even if teachers grant students permission to use cell phones for use during a lesson, a cell phone in hand can easily distract students from learning. Social media and messaging can be accessed with just a swipe of a finger. According to Phil Henderson, science teacher, it is “very difficult” for teachers to discern whether a student is using their cell phones for the lesson at hand or whether they are too involved with their cell phones to pay attention in class.
“[The students] can use cell phones in class for learning things, but there are times when it becomes a distraction,” said Henderson. “Kids have them out and they’re trying to text or make phone calls, so [teachers] have to really monitor whether a student is on their cell phone looking at notes or whether they’re on the cell phone looking at texts and it’s not always so easy.”
Inappropriate cell phone use is extremely disrespectful to teachers. In just the simple act of taking out a cell phone while a teacher lectures about algebraic equations, that student has devalued the effort the teacher puts into his or her job. Most teachers spend hours preparing the lesson for that day, only to have their work completely disregarded by a student using a cell phone in class.
“Respect. It’s the issue of respect,” Nargess Cornett, math teacher, said. “When somebody’s talking, you look at the person or the teacher, whoever that might be, rather than being too concerned with technology and who’s texting you. It’s all respect.”
Last year, Bob Parish, assistant principal, had 322 confiscated cell phones delivered to his office and had to suspend students for up to five days as a result of cell phone abuse in class. With statistics such as this, some would think that disrespectful students would be disciplined by a stricter policy at BOHS. However, according to Parish, it is unlikely that BOHS will make a change in its cell phone policy, since “a stricter cell phone policy wouldn’t make any difference [in disrespectful student behavior]” According to Parish, BOHS “implements [its] policies in a fair and consistent manner”. It is a student’s responsibility to follow the school policy.
“Stricter rules don’t make people follow them any better. It comes down to the person who’s breaking the rules who has to decide to do the right thing. You can’t enforce a policy on a human beings’ choice,” Parish said.
Make the good decision today of listening to the lessons in class and improving your education. Before any student decides to dedicate their class time to pulling out a cell phone to check their messages or to see what’s happening on Instagram, they should consider the long-term consequences of their actions. Is using a cell phone for just one hour of class time really worth it? In the end, cell phones are only temporary, but the disrespect that teachers and fellow students are treated with is permanent.
