Cell phones have become a massive change to society and in the more recent years they have practically been attached to us. People have cell phones everywhere they go, whether it’s work, the store, in the car, and even school.
Cell phones lately have been labeled more of a distraction than a real tool. In most high schools, cell phones are not allowed in class. At Liberty, phones have been available at all times during the school day in the past. This idea was originally in hopes for responsible use. That has backfired and has put a huge burden on our teachers here.
Last year was one of the worst years for cell phone use. Students were on cell phones during class time more than ever. This would eventually lead to the negative note we ended on last year during the end of the year assembly. Dr. Nelson made the announcement of banning cell phones in the classroom for the 2023-2024 school year. He talked about how much of a problem the cell phones became and people who were caught with them would receive serious consequences. This immediately shocked many students.
One of the morning announcements on the first day of school this year, Dr. Nelson spoke on the policy very seriously. This came across every student in shock and awe.
This is going to take time to adjust to. Students will be in a state of self discipline from the habit of pulling out their phone when they get bored in class.
So far there has almost only been negative feedback from students about the new policy. Although this can and most likely will help the school and its students, now this will mostly be helpful for grades but also with distractions and help people’s attention spans too.
Lately, the internet and apps like TikTok have eradicated our attention spans. We can only be so satisfied for so long before we swipe up to the next video, then the next, and so on. The new phone policy would most definitely help with this. People need their attention spans back, and this could be part of the solution.
With the attention spans, grades will also improve. Students won’t have much of another choice but to have their grades improve while their phones are gone. This will of course also increase our school’s average in terms of grades.
Of course it also has its cons too. With the policy students are not allowed to have their cellphones out for any reason during class time. For a lot of students this can be hard for when a notification buzzes their phone while it’s in their pockets. This makes students distracted about the notification for a while, especially when they are not allowed to pick up their phone or take a quick peek.
Another inconvenience for students is communication with parents/friends about transportation, quick questions, reminders for events. This will become a large issue for students especially if they require quick answers from family or friends.
Some students also work better in classes while listening to music. This helps them focus and help them work effectively. The new phone policy also prohibits having airpods, earbuds, and headphones out during class time.
One more problem students seem to be having with the policy is not being able to check Saturn. Saturn had a large impact on our school last year and helped the students with knowing their bell schedules better. Now that students don’t have access to this, Most students don’t know how much time they have left in class or even how much longer until a class starts.
Moving aside from the facts and obvious problems amongst all students, some students have given their own opinion on how they feel about the phone policy.
Freshman Brett Bradley doesn’t like the new phone rules. “The phone policy is really annoying. Personally, I think the worst part is we can’t listen to music through our phones.”
Bradley was also asked if LHS should bring phones back. “Yes, there should be restrictions though. Students shouldn’t have their phones out during work or when the teacher is talking. Maybe when they have everything done then can have their phones out.”
Sophomore Ryder Darrow said he gets his work done a lot more in class. “Usually if I’m done, I’ll watch sport events on Youtube through my Chromebook,” he said.
When senior Jerome Taylor was asked if he likes the no phone policy, he said, “No, It’s a hassle not having it for stuff like a calculator and texting people.”
Taylor hopes cellphones can be brought back sometime but “we should definitely have restrictions.”
The no phone policy so far will be here for at least the 2023-2024 school year. With all of that being said, will this continue to affect our school negatively or can this be a positive thing our school has needed?
