Around local schools a common debate is brewing; should cell phones be used in the classroom? This argument is growing especially loud in Jenkintown after the creation of stricter policies towards the end of January. After a recent incident involving cellphones during the school day, the school has adopted a harsher plan that bans the use of these electronic devices in hallways and classes. If a student is found to be using a cellphone at a banned time, the device will be taken away. According to the school’s 2012-2013 Student Handbook, available online, student cellphone use is restricted and may not be used on “school property during school hours”, though in practice students are able to use electronics at lunch in the cafeteria. At the end of January the policy was strengthened and repeated to the students through the Daily Bulletin; if a student is caught using a cellphone at a restricted time they will be sent to the office and the device will be confiscated. Recently, staff members have begun to monitor hallways while students switch class to enforce these rules. This policy has propelled the discussion about technology usage in classrooms to skyrocket. “I think it’s a convenience, and if a teacher is clever enough to exploit it efficiently, great, but I don’t think it’s a significant thing,” said Mr. Hench about cellphone use in his courses. “They [cell phones] have the potential to be a teaching tool or learning aid,” Ms. Brooks said, listing various classroom activities that could be helped by cellphones such as recording labs and doing calculations. In her classes, she says students would not have time to waste texting or playing games if they wanted to finish the activity. This opinion was seconded by students, who pointed out that cellphones have more purpose than simply texting. Many kids, said a student who wished to remain anonymous, have smart phones that are quicker and more efficient than most classrooms’ technology. Click the link below to continue reading “I think that no matter what, people are going to use cellphones in schools, so they should just allow it … and use it to their advantage,” said an anonymous student, pointing out that many teenagers use cellphones to text, research classwork, take pictures, and listen to music despite the policy.
The real question, said various interviewed staff members, is if students could handle more privileges. The largest problem, Mr. Roller said, were students cheating. Cellphones introduce entirely new opportunities for students to break rules; as we learned after the incident in January; giving students a way to constantly communicate with one another is not always a positive thing, especially when it absorbs all of their attention. Everyone interviewed listed students contacting each other through texts or social media as a possible issue; cellphones offer ways to cheat and get distracted. “It’s just a matter of whether these instruments … can provide some educational value also… provide an incredible escape mechanism,” said Mr. Hench, pointing out that cellphones are difficult for staff members to monitor and take away students attention to the lesson. In his own classroom, he noted, he doesn’t have any use for cellphones, and he feels that they are dumbing down the future generation as they shorten attention spans and detract from learning. “The number one concern I would have is student safety,” said Mr. Roller, “Students have access to their families at any time during they day and [can] come down to the office and call.” When asked if the current policy meets the school’s needs, Mr. Roller responded that it did. He continued to say that in the event of an emergency, it’s expected that students could use phones to contact their family. In comparison to other schools’ policies, Jenkintown High School is not much stricter than other districts. The Cheltenham School Board gives the district’s schools the opportunity to decide their own policies for cellphones without banning them entirely. This is similar to Abington Senior High School as well as Upper Moreland, where students may use listening devices in the hallways and cafeterias. This policy works well, said Sean Welch, a middle schooler in Cheltenham’s School District, and he does not see cellphones as a large problem in his school. The most unique local policy is that of Abington Friends School, which allows cellphones everywhere except for classrooms, their meetinghouse, and their auditorium. Cellphone usage is controversial, and it is being brought to center stage as more and more students and teachers are tempted to use them in the classroom.
1 Comment
6/12/2014 06:58:53 am
i think it is much more on case to case basis.. not all policy can be applied when in emergency situation.
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