As cell phone technology gets more advanced with Internet and text messaging capabilities, some Ohio high schools are deliberating about how to address cell phones during school hours. A hard-line stance against the use of cell phones in high schools should be taken to avoid potential academic misconduct and maintain classroom order. There is no reason why a student needs a cell phone while in class; the phone needs to remain turned off in a locker, a car or at home.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, cell phones were banned in most high schools in the pre-Columbine shooting era, but since then there have been pleas from parents to allow their children to carry cell phones for safety reasons. The boom in ownership has forced high school administrators to adapt to the times. A backlash by teachers whose classes constantly could be disrupted has since brought this issue forward. Although parents' concerns are understandable, they really are not reasonable. To plan for the worst-case scenario, like a possible school shooting, is a hasty overreaction to a handful of rare occurrences. And for any personal or family emergencies parents can always get in touch with their children through the school office.
It is not only high schools that are having this problem. At any given time of day on the Ohio University campus there are numerous high-pitched jingles from hidden cell phones going off in the middle of class, annoying and disrupting the entire room. College does differ from high school in that most college students' cell phones are their primary phones. Still, professors should take action against a student whose phone rings. There is no excuse to not turn cell phones off before class begins, and silencing the ringer is also not an option considering the vibration often makes enough noise to disturb other students in close proximity.
With technology advancing, rules need to adjust to these changes especially when academic conduct or interference with class is a possibility. It might be a little more difficult to regulate in college ' with larger classes and flexible student schedules ' but professors should feel free to admonish these offenders for their rude and disruptive behavior.
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Cell phones disrupting education
