THIS IS A STUDENT EDITORIAL AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF THE LONGFELLOW ADMINISTRATION
By age 12, according to Common Sense Media, 71 percent of kids have a cell phone. That number increases to 91% by age 14. Whether it’s texting parents or just listening to music, lots of students have been wanting an opportunity to use phones during non-instructional time, such as recess and lunch. However, current FCPS rules call for phones to be “away for the day” from 7:15 until 2:15.
Principal Dr. Jim Patrick stands by the rule.
“There’s a lot of research that says that even just having [a phone] on your desk can impact your learning because it’s diverting your attention,” Dr. Patrick explained.
However, we are proposing that being able to use phones during designated times is, in fact, a good idea. Lunch and recess are good times for students to de-stress and calm down, and sometimes just going on your phone for 5-15 minutes can help with that.
Phone use can be especially useful at lunch, especially when you don’t have friends who share your lunch period. Using a phone can be a nice way to entertain yourself and tune out some of the noise in the lunchroom.
If phones are only allowed during breaks, then there’s less chance of phone use interrupting a teacher’s lesson.
“We’re stuck in our classrooms all day long doing our work and we barely get any time for breaks,” said 8th grader Lillian Z. “Using our phones during the breaks we do get can help us relax and decompress and help us prepare mentally for the rest of the day.”
Lillian also thought it would be especially helpful for students who have anxiety or get panic attacks.
“I think it would be good, but you need to have good self-control and be able to stop yourself,” said 8th grader Ryder K.
As well as Ryder, student Carter J. also has something to say about how he thinks phones do not affect students’ learning,
“I don’t think it genuinely affects your learning. Most people I know [who]use their phones during the day have straight A’s and I think it gives us more freedom and motivation to work.”
Some students also think it’s unfair that teachers blame students’ actions and phones for their bad grades because in some cases it’s not only the student’s fault.
Many students state that not being able to have cell phone breaks during breaks lessens their motivation to do work. Having to do lots of constant schoolwork without any breaks overworks kids to such an extreme limit that they have zero motivation to do work. Especially because lots of teachers don’t even allow students to have breaks even without a cell phone during class. So, not giving students the freedom to use their phones during the day will make them go home and be glued to their screen, which can lessen their productivity in exercise and homework.
Students think it’s unfair for teachers to expect them to do schoolwork all day with no breaks or phones, then give them even more work to do at home on top of other day activities they have going on. This can lead to students overworking themselves and can result in many mental health problems.
But on the other hand, lots of students agree that it won’t affect your learning. When being asked the question, “Do you genuinely think that phones will affect your learning?” practically every person we interviewed said no.
“I think it would make it easier to de-stress and calm yourself down and help take your mind off things when you get nervous and stressed,” stated Maximus L.
“A little bit of it is good, because sometimes you need a distraction ,” said Sophia H. “But a lot of it would turn into a negative thing.”
We agree with Sophia. That’s why we are arguing for the ability to use phones, but only during breaks, such as recess and lunch.
