Students should not use phones in school

Many kids these days have cell phones. You often see teenagers talking on their phones, or, just as often, texting.

It has become a part of everyday life. Many teenagers and pre-teens get cell phones as early as possible, sometimes younger than age 12. It is encouraged socially, especially among teenagers, to have a phone, and many teenagers get phones just because of peer pressure. Cell phones can be very useful, for communication between kids and parents (especially teenagers that can’t drive), and can be very important in emergencies. But cell phones can also be used for less important reasons, such as excessive amounts of texting.

One big issue concerning cell phones and teenagers is the use of cell phones in school. Many teenagers believe that cell phones should be allowed in school, during class. But cell phones should not be allowed during school, because they would provide distractions for students and teachers, allow for cheating on tests, and for other social reasons. If a student’s cell phone rang during class, it would obviously distract him from the class and whatever the teacher is teaching. It could also be distracting to other students, for if someone was talking on their phone while the teacher was talking, it would be difficult for the students to focus on the teacher. But what if two people answered there phone during class? Or three, or four? It would be quite distracting for those students, and for their classmates.

Plus, it would certainly be distracting for the teacher-trying to talk over students who are talking when they are. One of the best ways to get in trouble during class is to talk when the teacher is talking, for it distracts the teacher, the student, and their classmates; if cell phone were allowed in school, they would increase the amount of time students are talking when they don’t need to, making the class more difficult to teach, take longer, and be less educational. Cell phones could also provide a means of cheating on tests. Almost all cell phones have texting, and kids have become good at texting without getting caught. It would be easy for kids to text each other the answers to tests during testing if everyone is allowed to use their phone during class. If teachers ask what students are doing, they can just say that they are texting their mom.

Now, some might say that kids are more honest than that, but they are wrong. One teacher had a story about a class he used to teach in. Some of the kids began to learn sign language, just for fun. The teacher thought it was good that they were doing something new and different-until he found out that they were using sign language to cheat on tests. If kids can find a way to cheat on tests, they will.

Allowing cell phones in school would condone cheating on tests, allowing for teens to get unfair test grades, and would only prove detrimental in preparation for college and life in the real world. Cell phones also can cause social “ problems”, which would only increase if cell phones were allowed in school. First of all, cell phones are impersonal and rather anti-social. If a kid is using their phone to text during class all the time, they wouldn’t need to be as good at actually talking to others, which would degenerate social skills, which are very important in life for jobs, creating good family relationships, and making and keeping friends.