RING RING! IT'S YOUR EDUCATION CALLING!

by Samuel Yeung

As time passes, technology advances. Currently, students are on their cellular devices whenever they have free time, as many teachers and other fellow students would claim. Many think cellular devices are used improperly in a school environment, and that they become of a distraction that can affect students’ academic performance.  

Today, everything is on the internet. In order to access that, many students claim,we need our devices. If a kid needs to find some information, they  go on their devices and search it up. “Eighth graders did use their devices for school activities, from core academic classes to Exploratories to independent projects,” stated Mr. Doren, the principal of Monument Valley Middle School.

“Even teaching requires cell phones and foreign language classes use them,” says the Boston Globe. “In Burlington, high school Spanish students practice language skills on their iPads by recording their speech and playing it back,” they continue.

“It’s a complex issue, especially since the debate over cell phones is part of a broader conversation about a cultural shift underway in classrooms — a move away from the traditional model of teachers imparting information to students, to one where students actively participate in their own learning, using mobile devices to access the Web, educational apps, and other tools,” states The Boston Globe.

Cell phones become very useful tools to support education according to Mr. Erickson, 8th grade math teacher. “ Cell phones are meant to help students who use the internet to gain knowledge,” he says. In Mr. Erickson’s classroom, the advanced parts of Algebra I are explored, which needs the many options the cellphone can provide. From the graphing of a parabola to a calculator right on the face of a screen accessible to all users. On top of this accessibility, cell phones could be for their own everyday purpose, or what they are believed to be used for.

Most of the students in 8th grade Monument Valley believe that cellphones are used mainly for calling or communicating. “Schools should allow and/or encourage students to carry cell phones in school as a tool for their safety during a school shooting or other crisis,” states National School Safety And Security Services. There have been too many school shootings recently. If the students carried their phones they would have been able to get help earlier, mentions many students of MVM.

Many teachers feel disrespected when they’re teaching and spot kids with their faces buried in their cell phones. Mrs. Morgenstern, an ESL and history teacher from Lowell High School, quit her job because of this issue. “An incredible distraction, and makes it much more difficult to teach,” she says.

Another existing and problematic situation is cyberbullying. As students continue to spend time on their cellular device, cyberbullying grows worse and worse. “I am just worried about cyberbullying online,” says Mr. Heck, an 8th grade ELA teacher. Lots of students agree that cyberbullying has become a serious problem more recently.

“I believe that cell phones distract a student's education,” says Maisy Seckler, an 8th grader. Students get easily distracted by someone who is playing on his or her device. In a casual school setting, when there is a kid playing on his or her device, a younger student would be curious of what this student was playing on his or her device. With curiosity, the younger child would move toward the peculiar device and watch the distracting device. Proving that students are attracted towards cellular devices.

Looking to your left or to your right, there will be at least one student who is on their phone. Even in class there are students who constantly check their phones for the time or some sort of notification to have an excuse to use it. “Teenagers our age over-use their devices for unnecessary reasons,” states Tyler Sprague.

Mr. Heck is worried about our future generation. “Students are stuck on their phones. If this continues then the kids won’t have social skills for the future,” he states. “Students don’t have much interaction with humans any more, except with a device that helps communication between two people. We have started to lose our oral communication skills with all of these devices,” he continues. But as some worry about cell phones and their impact on our future incapabilities, but some look forward to our expansion of knowledge and social skills with the use of technology.

Studies have shown 88% of American teenagers between the ages 13-17 have access to a mobile phone and the majority of them (73%) have smartphones according to Pew Research Center. 92% of students say that they’re online daily. More than 50% of that 92% are online several times a day and 24% are almost on constantly. In England, schools where cellphones are not allowed, their students score 6.41% better than schools that allow cell phones. On the other hand, Burlington High School allows its students to bring their devices to school only for educational purposes.