Should Cell Phones be Allowed in Classrooms? Most Parents Say Yes

Maybe allow them on a limited basis (it that’s possible). The phones shouldn’t disrupt the class nor allow cheating. Maybe a rack near the teacher’s desk that would house the phones, that way they wouldn’t be used for cheating but would still be available for family emergencies.

Let me preface this by saying I am a high school teacher and my school has in the past few years gone from accepting cell phones totally to banning their use during school hours, so I’ve seen the effects at both ends.

1) My job is ten times easier now that cell phones are not allowed. Previously we had a wave of cheating precipitated by cell phone use (text a friend in a computer lab to look up answers for you, text a friend who just took the test, use a smartphone to look up answers yourself, etc.). But even if it weren’t for the cheating aspect, cell phones would make an already hard job that much harder. Students have low attention spans as it is, and compounding that with the ability to text, check facebook, tweet, and all the other things you can do, I would (and did) spend most of my day playing Cell Phone Police.

2)Taking notes on a cell phone? I have a hard time accepting that. A laptop, sure. An iPad, certainly. But anybody who thinks they are going to take a full days worth of notes on a smartphone is either kidding themselves, or gunning for myopia and carpal tunnel syndrome

3) Of course students say that lifting Firewalls would enhance their classroom experience. I used to give end of the year surveys of my classes and one of the questions was what could make the class better. Roughly 80% came back with answers like “No homework,” or “show more movies.” So yes, 71% of students would love to have Firewalls removed…and no homework and more movies while we’re at it

4) One of the biggest parent complaints we had was that they wanted to have a way to contact their kids while at school. My argument is a) what is so important that you have to text or call your kid in the middle of a class? and b) if it is a true emergency, then call the school itself; it would take roughly two minutes for you message to go from the secretary in the front office to your child with the added benefit of the school being able to keep track of what’s going on. We had more than one incident where an emergency popped up, parent called child to leave on their cell phone, picked up child and left…and no one bothered to let anyone at the school know. Little Johnny was in 2nd period, but not 3rd and there was a panic trying to find him, which could have been averted if the mother just called the school first.

So I guess this is my long winded way of saying students REALLY don’t need cell phones. Computers? Yes! eReaders? Absolutely! Supervised access to the internet? You bet! Cell phones? Negatory.

Several things come to mind when I think about cell phones in the classroom. I think about mobile devices in general because they are all capable of making phone calls but have a range of connectivity levels depending upon the device and the service plan. Does this mean some students will have an advantage simply because of their device and plan? Is that OK with parents? I also consider the studies that seem to say there is no such thing as the ability to mutlti task. If this is true, how will a variety of devices impact learning? What is the role of the teacher when people are engaged in checking their email and chatting with friends? I also wonder how many of these parents surveyed allow the cell phone at the dinner table of during 1:1 conversations with their child. I have a friend whose HS does allow mobile devices. It’s a school with a very low graduation rate. Students have more rights than teachers. Teachers cannot ask students for their full attention without fear of retaliation. Not much learning can take place under these circumstances. In another case, elementary, a teacher is texted by the parent every time the student texts a complaint (I’m bored)to her mother. Should the teacher respond? What is the protocol? How about students video taping other students and posting to youtube without permission? In the end, since teachers are always held to this standard, I ask, how will cell phones in the classroom enhance student achievement? If I asked my students if they should be able to snack on candy every day, I think they would rejoice and say yes! What is the value of the survey when you know they will say yes?

Both of my kids just got cell phones (6th and 11th grades), and the first thing I told them was that if they get the phone taken away at school then I’m going to take it away for a good long time. I’m sure teachers and other students don’t want the interruptions during class time. Lunch and free period maybe, but if the school doesn’t allow it then that’s it. And besides, they should be concentrating on the classwork while they’re at school.

I too think that an e-reader would be great for school books. My high schoolers backpack is very heavy from all the books he has to carry around school.