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Opinion
27
Phone use drives modern classrooms Ethan O’Sullivan osuleth000@hsestudents.org
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Photos by Andrew Bauer.
ell phones in classrooms might be as polarizing as pineapple on pizza. Misused, it is a fast track to chaos and loss of control. Nonetheless, they offer a wide array of uses that are ultimately necessary for survival. First of all, phones put parents at ease. According to the Pew Research Center, 48 percent of parents use their child’s phone to track their child’s whereabouts. Letting students access phones in the classroom lets parents communicate directly with their children about anything from arranging a pickup after school to making sure that they are okay in an emergency. As stated by the Pew Research Center, 92 percent of teens access the internet daily. With the use of smartphones, that number increases to 94 percent. Most schools use one-to-one computing and provide every child with a device, but in those that do not, phone service gives upwards of 1 million additional teens the ability to use the internet as an educational tool. Computers are more comfortable and powerful to use, so phones best suit a support role in the classroom. I can have a source pulled up on my phone while I quote it in an essay, use a stopwatch app to budget my time spent reading a textbook chapter or verify a fact on the internet during a lecture without distracting people. A phone is only a threat to education when it is used without the right mindset, but that obviously applies to every tool. Teachers tend to assume that anybody on a phone is not paying attention. butt students could waste just as much time using any other device. Making technology the foundation of a modern classroom comes with the sacrifice of oversight. Cell phones are not just used for social and leisure. Some companies provide smartphones to their employees, which results in 24/7 access, savings after buying in bulk and compatibility across the board. In fact, 71 percent of employees spend over two hours per week doing company work on their phones, according to Fierce Mobile IT, accessing the Internet is more popular through a mobile device rather than a desktop. Allowing phones in class allows students to learn from misusing it. When a student goes to college or starts a career, it is less likely that their professor or boss will crack a whip at the first sight of a phone. Today’s high schoolers will lose their job or fail their class when they underperform. Demanding practice of that self-discipline early on can spare them grief when it means more.
“We can get information rather than taking out our laptops and typing everything in. Itʼs faster to type on your phone.” - Nicole Olivia, 11
“I think that cell phone usage is more of a self-control problem. Cell phones should be used but regulated.” - Austin Lu, 10
“I think theyʼre alright until they become a distraction because then they can cause bad grades. I think there should be limitations but they should not be taken away.” - Luke Dillon, 11