Of Cell Phones in Schools

Cell phones are such great inventions. We have all types to choose from-Samsung and i Phones and the likes. Many families use them and they are good for easy communication. Shortly after their inception, some families started purchasing them for use by their children. The excuse was that they needed easy access to their children. Terrific. 

It sounds okay that students and parents be in direct communication so they can keep in touch. The problem in schools though, especially in middle and high schools, is that students bring their cell phones into the classroom. They carry these around even when lessons are going on. This constitutes a huge distraction to such students. What actually happens is that a sizable number of students turn their cell phones on and use them to chat, or text friends even when classes are in session. How can serious studies take place under this situation when such culprits switch between class lessons/work and their cell phones? 

Apart from the culprits, the use of cell phones is a distraction to other students who want to learn.  Many students who do not do well in class fall under the category of cell phone users. Some are even audacious to refuse to put away their phones when requested by their teachers. Such gross disobedience, if not addressed and curtailed, would lead to further drop in test scores. More and more students are becoming addicted to their cell phones and the number of students who carry their cell phones into the class increases by the day. 

This is gradually turning into a national crisis. Serious conversations should be held between the parent/teacher associations as to which way forward. Previous to students being permitted to bring cell phones into the class, what obtained years back was that students were allowed when they request to use the main office, counselors' phones, or their teachers' class phones to communicate with parents. At that time, more sanity reigned in the classrooms because cell phones were not permitted. However, some defenders of cell phone use by students in school say students can use their cell phones to access the internet to conduct research and class work. That is not a good excuse because there are computers in many classrooms in school, plus the library, technology labs, where students can do research. If the school board steps in to ban the use of cell phones in schools, they will be amazed at how this act will positively affect students' behavior, as well as test scores.  I hope that parents too join hands to advocate to support this measure.