Phones in Class: Yes or Pass?

Students in high school can spend lots of time on their phones. This can cause distractions when they’re supposed to be in class paying attention. Social media plays a big part in distractions. Teachers have different opinions about phones but for the majority, teachers aren’t exactly the biggest fans of phones.

One main reason teachers prefer no phones in class is because they can be distracting. English and Special Education teacher Ms.Taglia said that she thinks phones are too distracting for the classroom. She used to allow students to have their phones, but it became a massive problem. Unfortunately, many students aren’t able to remove themselves from the distraction, so it was severely hurting grades. She now has the students turn their phones in at the beginning of the class period, and she found that to be very beneficial.

According to Safia Samee Ali’s article “A California High School Found Students’ cell phones too distracting, so they are locking the devices up” in nbc news,  a study from Rutgers University found that students who had cell phones or laptops during lessons scored 5 percent, or half a letter grade, lower than students who weren’t using electronics. This adds on to what Ms. Taglia mentioned about grades.

There is definitely a recurring issue with phones being a distraction. However, there could be other reasons as to why teachers may not like phones. Another negative impact is the cellphones take away from social interactions among students. This can be true. From a personal experience, I noticed that during family gatherings, visiting family in LA, or just at home with my mom, my phone is constantly in my hands. This usually keeps me from being a part of conversation so I miss out on interactions with the people I care most about.

Although this is true, it’s not always the case for all students.

“I think it is appropriate for students to have their phones out sometimes during independent work times. This is so they can listen to music while they work. There is a risk to having students being on their phones during work time. Some students might get distracted on their phone and not work. However, some students may be able to focus more. It depends on what need to be done and by when,” English teacher Mr. Humphreys said.

Students may also use their phone for important stuff. “Students might need their phone when they are doing their work because when they need to search for something they can just pull out their phone,” Sophomore Gladys Suriano said.

Ms. Taglia also mentioned that it can help students with spelling and vocabulary. Though she still doesn’t agree on phones in class.

“Whether it be communicating with other club members, or simply catching up with friends, these communication tools help bring people closer without necessitating time-consuming travel,” the Learning Network article “What Students Are Saying About How Much They Use Their Phones and Whether We Should be Worried” in the New York Times said. Both could be just as true as the other though. Sometimes phones can distract students from communicating with others in person. On the other hand, some students tend to struggle with in-person socializing so sometimes they communicate better online than in person.

No matter what, there is always going to be issues with phones in school but even though most of these teachers don’t like the idea of phones in their classes, they still allow time in class for students to use their phones or allow music during worktime for students to listen to. (with headphones of course.)