Should Cell Phones Not Be Allowed In School

There is more than one side to the debate about the use of cell phones in school. One claim is that cell phones should not be allowed in schools at all. Cell phones are a distraction and and they interfere with education (Lee). Rather than using them only for emergencies, students generally use them for entertainment purposes (Lee). Nowadays, cell phones can be used to email, text, call, and take pictures (Lee). Some students have trained themselves to text without looking at their phone, which makes it harder for teachers to catch them (Lee). Cell phones can also be a safety liability for schools (Lee). In the case of a bomb threat, cell phones can be used to not only call in the threat, but can also be used to detonate a bomb (Lee). In another

case of a bomb threat at a school, if many students are calling authorities at once, they could overload telephone systems and make it hard to get in contact with police (Lee). The counterclaim is that cellphone should be allowed in schools. Cell phones are not distracting if you use them in the right context (George). Using cell phones between classes, during lunch, or before and after school poses no distraction and are reasonable uses (George). Most cell phones have the same abilities as school issued devices, such as laptops (George). Students are able to use their phones to send emails or browse the web for a class the same as on a laptop (George). Banning cell phones totally has the potential to cause major trouble within schools (George). An estimated 44% students age 10-18 own a cell phone, and it could be difficult to administer punishments to every student who has their phone during school (George). Bans on cell phones cause a lot of friction between students and the teachers who must uphold the rules (George). Students now are growing up in a time mainly ruled by technology, so it can be difficult for them to be without their cell phones for the entire school day (George). Based on the evidence in the articles “Point: Cell Phones Should Not Be Allowed In Schools” and “Counterpoint: Cell Phone Regulations Are Not Necessary”, cell phones should be allowed in school.