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Cell phone use during school increases learning, not distractions

Cells should be permitted during passing periods, activities | by MEGAN SCHAFF

My cell phone is my best friend. I use it for making phone calls and texting, for email checking and internet browsing, and for keeping my insane calendar in order. During three months of summer vacation and on weekends, my best friend and I get along great. It’s the eight hours a day, five days a week where I’m not allowed to see my dear friend that causes problems. You see, my cell phone, Tom as he has been named, longs for me to look up what time my tennis match is on Tuesday afternoon, check my email for the important message from my English teacher, look up an important fact about the Industrial Revolution for a project, or respond to the text from my best friend. I would love to be able to use Tom to his full abilities, but the STA administration doesn’t feel the same way. I don’t even know why cell phones aren’t allowed during school. Maybe it is because they think phones will cause distractions or increase cheating, but I feel differently.

Allowing students to use cell phones during lunch, activity, frees and passing periods would benefit the students, teachers and faculty of STA. Texing during class would be reduced while both students and teachers would be able to use phones for important things like email and calendar.

There’s no way the administration is going to stop students from using phones during class and obviously, there’s no way students are going to ignore them for eight hours. If students knew they would be allowed to use cell phones between classes, they would be less inclined to try to break school rules by using them in the middle of a lecture. This decision would dramatically reduce texting during class, which in turn would lead to fewer distractions, which would ultimately lead to more learning and better overall grades.

            Some girls with Blackberrries, iPhones and other smartphones have their whole lives on their cell phones. It’s not only about texting and phone calls, but checking email, keeping calendars, researching on the internet and using other useful ‘apps’ that have become a part of everyday life. Teachers would have to be especially strict with this cell phone policy ‘“ students would only be allowed to use phones during the designated times for specific reasons, or STA girls could possibly abuse the freedom teachers would be giving them. But ultimately, I think this decision would limit distractions, keep students more organized, give them more means of communicating and ultimately benefit the entire school.

Administration: if nothing else convinces you, remember that teenagers are addicted to their cell phones. If separated for eight hours straight, one might become seriously ill. And you don’t want 535 girls with severe separation anxiety, do you?

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  • A

    A. SmithNov 6, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    Yes! I totally agree with this!!!

    Reply
  • L

    L. WhiteSep 2, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    I agree. When someone tells you that you can’t have something, it makes you want to have it even more.

    Reply