“I don’t think there should be limitations on students’ use of phones while in class. Of course, students should be paying attention while in class, but if they don’t know something, they should have the opportunity to look it up, research it. I feel like having access to information can add to or give more detail in their answers than the information given. I understand it may look disrespectful while a teacher is trying to teach, but a student on the phone is not always nefarious. It’s kind of a double-edged sword; it’s today’s technology.”
“Phones are a big distraction in class, but I think that staff taking them away or putting them in locked security pouches is concerning because we look at all the violence that happens in schools now, and if my kid wasn’t able to reach me right away, for example during a school shooting, I don’t think that is right. During those situations, staff are not going to be able to give every student back their phone quickly; they are going to be more focused on getting the students to safety, which is great, but I feel like kids need to be able to reach out to their parents during those times.”
“Yes, I believe children should have limited access to their phones while in school because they are going to school to learn, not to socialize on their phones, not to interact on social media, and not to focus on anything outside of their academics. But I do believe, obviously, in today’s age, we need to have access to our phones for emergency purposes, to have access to your parents. It’s a new way of communicating, instant gratification in that way. But their main focus is going to school and learning, and that should be eliminating all distractions from that, and the phone is a huge distraction.”
“While class is in progress, phones should not be in use. Although, for safety purposes, they need to be accessible at all times just in case of an emergency. There is a right and wrong time to use them. There are ways to keep kids off their phones without locking or taking them away, like asking them to put it away, and if they are caught multiple times on it, then they get written up or whatever the teacher sees fit.”
“Students are in school to learn. I understand today’s technology and the convenience of it, particularly for emergencies and things like that. But while in class, students’ focus should be on the work at hand. I know, for young people, today’s technology is a very important part of their existence, but when in class, the attention should be placed on learning.”
“For safety reasons, I don’t think we should ever limit access to cell phones for students and instead implement more positive reinforcements for paying attention in school. Students need access to their phones just like any adult would.”
