Leeban Ali March 28, 2012 As a student who attends high school I believe that cell phones should not be allowed during school hours! Also most of the students have it out and texting during class. Cell phones are becoming more and more of a disruption to the learning progress of students. This will have major affect on them in the long run because when it comes to tests and exams they won’t know what to do. People say that students can use their phones for emergencies at school but they can just make a phone call in the office.
However, text messaging has been a major problem with students texting in class interfering with the disruption of their learning. Most teachers express how they feel about cell phones being a distraction to others, however very few students have complaints about the use of cell phones in class. Text messaging in class should be allowed by choice of the students, it can easily be discreet and the possibility of an emergency. Text messaging in class should be allowed by the choice of students. In the argument “Tapping into Text Messaging” by Janet Kornblum, says teens, techies and other early adopters leading the charge to text say it is a great way to communicate when they are too busy to talk or when making a call would be rude or impractical.
Perhaps it takes their minds out of class mode and sets the tone for a distracted learning environment. It is inappropriate to talk at absolutely any time during class. Students should save their conversations for the passing periods when they should be getting to class and preparing for the lesson, their lunch when they should be eating, after school when they should be completing homework, or at night when they should be sleeping. Something has to give. Talking develops relationships instead of improving educational performance.
MISD has given their high school students only five short minutes to get to their next class. Therefore simple tasks like using the rest room and grabbing a couple of books from their locker can become a frantic struggle. Due to the new bell schedule students are not allowed to leave the class room the first and last twenty minutes of class, therefore only giving them a five minute period to use the restroom, if the teacher allows. Therefore during this five minute passing period students must go to the rest room, stop by their locker if needed and travel to their next class. Not to mention the flooded hallways due to everyone being released at the same time.
Others may only have class two or three days a week, depending on how they arrange their schedule. Also in high school the rules are very strict. Students are not allowed to eat, drink, or chew gum while in class. Most college professors are not as strict in these areas, depending on the classroom. Cell phones are forbidden in high school, but in college you can talk on your cell phone between classes and occasionally you will find a teacher who allows you to use them in the classroom.
When first arriving to college, students don’t have the mandatory push that parents and teachers used to give. We are now on our own and for those that lack survival skills, it can be detrimental. For example, there are a lot of things that students don’t know how to do their selves. This can include washing clothes, cooking food, handling money and even time management skills. Without these skills, students can become overwhelmed and retain poor grades in their classes.
Awhile back I spoke to a fellow student in a gym class. She seemed frustrated because she was forced to miss out on her art class due to her need to retake a math class, but she was still allowed to go to gym. She mentioned how unfair it was that it was gym that took priority over other classes like band and art, and it got me thinking. Why should gym be a required course? There are more important class than one that requires students run around for an hour, and the fact that all students are put into one class, rather than being separated by physical level of fitness and skill in sports, only makes it all the more unfair.
The problem arises that cell phones interfere with a teenager’s ability to execute an effective and accurate face-to-face social and written communication in an educational environment. Young people have become so much more comfortable with text messaging that many times, they would rather text someone than talk to them face to face, even when they are in the same room, the same car or the same cafeteria table during lunchtime. Social networking has created a serious breach in the ability of young people to communicate and interact with each other face to face. Most students are not even aware of their surroundings because they are busy texting. For example, Students who are sitting in the same cafeteria during lunch would text each other from one table to another.
One of my mentees told me that he would skip school because the other students would pick on him. I’m glad that he can learn without fear out being bullied. Uniforms have brought forth an opportunity for all students to work together without being judged by other students about what clothes are being worn. The only thing that matters is knowledge. Instead of students focusing on what the next student has on, they are paying more attention to their studies.
How often do you use your cell phone, I always use my phone and see others using theres whether they are driving, walking down the street, or even in class. Cell phones have become a part of our everyday lives. However it is always a controversy in the classroom between teachers and students whether cell phone usage should be allowed in school. Students like me enjoy texting during their classes, but most teachers oppose having cell phones in class. I personally am one of the students who you could say has a “cell phone addiction” I am the one teachers catch texting from the corner of their eye as my fingers move quickly across the screen of my Iphone during class.