Hey phone people! Let me ask you a few questions. Can you spend one hour without your phone? Do you fall asleep with your phone next to you? Do you find yourself with your phone in the bathroom?And now the ultimate question, do you think that we should be able to have our phones in school? Well I think that we should be able to have our phones in school if we are responsible. Ahhhh…that’s the hard part and that’s where the problem lies.
When I first started this article Mrs. Ciminero had a good idea to do teacher versus student. I am going to be pro phones and Mrs. Ciminero is going to be an anti-phone. This ought to be a lot of fun. Here we go!

Tori: I for one know that I will be responsible with my phone. I know having my phone makes me feel a lot more safe. When talking about this in class a fellow staff writer Alysse D’Errico said she feels a lot more comfortable with her phone. If there was an intruder or any type of emergency, she knows that she can call home right away.

Mrs.C: While I agree and support your concerns, Tori, I must say that if there were ever an emergency, you would be so taken care of here. I know or would hope that my students feel safe in my classroom. If something should ever happen, I would make sure you’re safe, let you use my phone if needed, or call out on the school phone by my desk. I KNOW: NO ONE MEMORIZES PHONE NUMBERS ANYMORE! Sometimes I think students will call home if there is some type of emergency, and then you have an influx of anxious parents storming the school grounds. I totally understand their concerns for you. I also remember a time when we didn’t have cell phones and everything worked out fine. But, I have also heard of students calling home or texting parents with this concern: they want to go home! Students need to go to the office if they don’t feel well and utilize that procedure that we have always had here.

Tori: Another reason that I think that we should be able to have our phones is it is easier to search for something on our phones then it is to pull out a bulky laptop just to search one thing. Phones are a lot smaller and easier to use. However, a laptop is a lot bigger and a lot heavier, so a student might not want to carry it around. Some students even have a lot of books that can be heavy as well and have to carry a laptop and all of their books. When we carry around all of our books it can be scary because we don’t want to drop our laptops and break them.

Mrs. C: I understand where you are coming from here too. I see students carrying around a lot of books and their laptops on top and I think, “Oh no; they are going to drop that!” My advice would be to put the laptop in between your books so if anything goes flying–it’s a notebook or binder. I can see if I want you to vote on something and I say, “Take out your phone and vote quickly on the Google form.” But where do I draw the line? You can’t do actual schoolwork on a phone. You can’t write an essay on a phone. You can’t take notes on a phone. That is not what they were designed to do.

Tori: Yes that is true, I do agree. However, If you have any after school activities it is important to have your phone. If you have any activities after school and don’t have time to go home then you will definitely need your phone. If your parents need to tell you something like you need to get a ride with someone else or someone specific is picking you up it is important for you to know. I know that sometimes my mom or dad will text me when I am at a basketball practice saying they can’t pick me up, and my grandmother has to. This is important to know.

Mrs. C: Oh I totally understand. I think you should be able to look here and there at your phone at cheer practice or basketball because after the secretaries leave, there is no way to get ahold of anyone. I wish we had that capability when I was younger because I would get so scared if my parents were running late and in my mind–they forgot me 🙁

Mrs. C: Let me ask you a question Tori: Would you define where exactly this phone would be if you want them allowed in school? I think this would clear up a lot of what we teachers are afraid of.

Tori: Great question! I think that phones should not be visible to students during class. I think this because if a student sees that they got a notification they might want to go on it and check what is happening. I usually keep my phone in a binder or a pencil bag. I do this because when I get to class I put my binder and other books under my desk. So if my phone is under my desk in my binder or a pencil bag then there is no way for me to see it– meaning that it will not be distracting me. Some students keep their phones in their pockets, I don’t think that they should be allowed to have their phone in their pocket because they can easily take it out if they feel it vibrating which defeats the purpose.

In conclusion, we all know the world is changing and devices are such a big part of life but where do we draw the line? I know that I am responsible but the majority in this world are not and will ruin it for all. Thank you Mrs. Ciminaro for participating in this argument with me. It was so fun!

Thank you Tori for voicing your opinion. Although we may disagree on some points, I liked that we had a respectful dialogue regarding an issue that is really never going away. Hopefully we all can find a happy medium!

Do you think phones should be allowed in school?

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No

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