We Think…
The benefits of the new cell phone policy outweigh the consequences
A new school year has begun, and with that come new rules and regulations. One of the changes this year is the new cell phone policy. This year, Warren Central has committed to making learning environments more engaging, and part of that requires putting away the cell phones. As long as teachers and administrators follow through with the discipline aspect of the policy, the new move is a positive one for students and staff alike.
One of the measures school officials are taking to ensure the decline of cell phone usage in class includes not allowing freshmen to have phones on their person and facing consequences if they are caught with it. Another measure put in place this year is for upperclassmen to have cell phone signs hung in their classrooms, telling them whether they can have cell phones out or not.
The new policy aims to help students, whether they want the help or not. It is a really good way to get kids to put their phones away and focus on the task at hand. This strategy will continue to work and make people better students. This initiative is especially beneficial to students who have a problem managing addiction to cell phones, because it forces them to become much more engaged with the content being taught.
Another way this helps students is with their mental health. According to a study shared by the National Library of Medicine in 2022, high school students who had a cell phone addiction were more likely to have depression. This is yet another reason why it is very important to listen to the new guidelines from administration. The school is trying to help better the school environment, but it starts with individually bettering the students.
One issue, however, may be the struggle to enforce it. In previous years, we have seen these types of rules put into place, but they have never been enforced enough to make a difference. This is why it is essential for leaders in charge to ensure that these rules are being followed and, if not, that those students receive serious repercussions or removal from that learning environment. When a teacher has to continuously ask for somebody to put their phone away, it becomes disruptive to the rest of the class.
This policy makes sure that rules about cell phones are consistent throughout the school, so students know the expectations everywhere they go within the building. It is also beneficial to teachers who have attempted to make their own policies for cell phones in their classroom in the past but have not been able to effectively enforce it for those who needed it most. They now have a schoolwide policy that will hopefully encourage more students to put the phones away in their classrooms.
The fact of the matter is that if a student wants to be on their phone, then they will do it. It is important to take care of those issues and remove the problem before other students become affected by it. If a student wants to learn and become better at what they are doing, this rule will only help them in their academic success. This new rule change will only be a problem for the people who constantly feel the need to be on their cell phone.
Overall, if a person is complaining about the new cell phone rule, then they are part of the problem, and they need to learn to put it away. Those individuals are dragging down other students who are engaged and want to learn.
It is important for students to change their attitudes toward their cell phones because, in reality, this policy will only make things better in our learning environment. Administrators and teachers need to make sure that these rules are followed and that people who refuse to follow them are disciplined in a way that helps them improve in the future.