It’s understandable why Park teachers would be so quick to ban phones. It has been thought to be a distraction, an easy out from listening in class, but it might be too late to stop the ever-growing technology for phones and headphones at Park. Teachers enforcing a no-phones rule is a mistake.

Teachers want to see no phones for a plethora of reasons. They see students on phones as a sign of disrespect. That’s why many teachers call out students to put their phones away. It has also been seen as a complicated roadblock between student and teacher relations and interactions. Phones are an easy way for teachers to be ignored and teachers have little to do about it. Teachers can’t teach students if they are not willing to learn. Teachers can push students to learn, but they cannot force them to. 

While there are rules in place to prevent phone usage in classrooms, these rules are scarcely enforced. According to Park’s student handbook, “Absolutely no cell phone use in any classroom while a class is being conducted. This includes text messaging and vibrate mode” (page 17). These rules are very forceful considering the consequences, “if a student refuses to give the cell phone or electronic device to the staff member, a Achievement Support Coordinator (ASC) will be called and the cell phone or electronic device will be confiscated” (page 17). Park has been against phones, rules have been widely disregarded.

In a handbook so outdated, it refers to ancient technology such as MP3 players and iPods, therefore it has been hard for the student handbook to retain credibility. Teachers have constantly violated the student handbook policies with phones and such other policies. To students, these rules have been deemed unfair and many disregard the rules entirely. By teachers forcing students to take away their phones, students have still used their phones without the teacher noticing. Many have figured out ways to hide their phones in class. The more teachers try to oppress students’ phone usage, the more students will find loopholes. It is a lose-lose for both student and teacher.

Getting rid of phones will not matter. Judging by the school handbook and local staff, teachers are not prepared for the near future. Instead of forcing students to put down their phones, staff should accept the increased relevance of phones in our society. Phones have certain properties that can help classwork. Calculators for iPhones have been improving and the Remind app has been used to give students information and assignments. Also, students have used QR codes for lunch attendance. Students using phones is inevitable, so instead of using computers, we could base some school assignments on phones so that using them can prove useful. 

Phones have become inevitable at Park. School policies should be updated in favor of phones being more open to students. Teachers should build lessons more around phones, so in the long run students can work on in-class assignments and out-of-class assignments. Students could do schoolwork on something that they use every day compared to switching from packets to assignments digitally. It’s a simple fix from turning a deemed distraction into an educational tool.