We all know the feeling in class of finishing work, and have nothing else to do. After putting in the effort, a reward feels naturally fulfilling. It feels like the perfect time to turn on the phone for 15 or 20 minutes to recharge and get ready for the next class.
Unfortunately, most classrooms at Lake Stevens High School have a strict no phone policy for the entirety of the class period.
As the second semester kicks off, teachers have been cracking down to ensure student cell phones stay off and away all period, even when students have finished their work.
The school provided money for phone storage options where phones are collected at the beginning of class. This can vary from a numbered phone storage pocket to a lockbox.
Not surprisingly, opinions are strong throughout the rest of the school. A survey was sent out to 2000+ students, out of the 102 respondents, 91.4% of them agree that phone usage should be self-regulated by students.
“I finish my work and then I’m just bored in class. I should be able to use my phone,” junior Oliver Paisley said.
Among the majority or students to completed the survey, 75% of those students self-reported grades above a 3.0 GPA.
Some believe phones should be fully restricted. However, phones are a valuable tool that is used in everyday life. People don’t go to their jobs and have their phones taken away. In today’s world, phones are a tool that are used to better our daily lives.
Some teachers also agree with allowing students nearing adulthood to be able to self-regulate their phone usage.
Scott Flanders has been a teacher at Lake Stevens High School for 28 years, teaching some of the hardest math classes in the school. He believes high school students are mature enough to know when it’s appropriate to use their phones.
“I think there should be a mutual understanding of when it’s appropriate to use your phone,” Flanders said.
However, teachers such as Stuart Chaffee and Marcus Merrifield do not share this belief and collect all student phones at the beginning of the class period.
Flanders suggests that by high school, students are mature enough to manage their phone usage and complete their work as they will be expected to do in college or the workforce in the near future.
An article from Minga lists 10 reasons why cell phones should not be restricted in schools. The reasons range from safety, back to the idea that we live in a technological world, and students should be able to know when it’s appropriate to use their cell phones.
The debate between students and teachers about phone restriction ultimately boils down to the issue if students nearing the transition to adulthood are able to be responsible with their phones.
The ability to self-regulate and stay on task is an important life skill that all students should learn while in school. Simply taking away the phone does not help provide the student with the ability to develop the skills they will need in their life.
All teachers, who allow students to self-regulate their phone usage, prepare them for the responsibilities of jobs, college or any task they want to do in their life, which is ultimately the goal of the school.
