why should cellphones not be allowed in school essay

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Reasons Why Cell Phones Should not Be Allowed in School

Categories: Cell Phones Children and Technology Impact of Technology

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Updated: 7 December, 2023

Words: 588 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

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Hook Examples for “Cell Phones Should Not Be Allowed in School” Essay

An Educational Distraction: Step into the classroom and explore the pervasive presence of cell phones among students. Join me in examining how these devices, designed for connectivity, can often disconnect learners from the educational experience.
Quoting an Educator: Educator John Dewey once said, “”Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”” Let’s discuss how the intrusion of cell phones in schools can disrupt the vital process of learning and personal growth.
The Social Side Effects: Delve into the social consequences of unrestricted cell phone use in schools, from cyberbullying to the erosion of face-to-face communication. Together, we’ll explore the impact on student well-being.
Academic Integrity at Stake: Explore the challenges posed by cell phones in terms of cheating and academic dishonesty. Join me in discussing the importance of maintaining academic integrity in educational institutions.
Fostering a Distraction-Free Environment: Consider the benefits of creating a focused, distraction-free learning environment by restricting cell phone usage. Let’s explore how this policy can enhance the quality of education.

Works Cited

Ferrell, Finessa. “Ask an expert”: Should students have cell phones at school? Chalkbeat.org; published January 24, 2012, found February 2, 2019.
Nohar, Vanika. Should cell phones be allowed in school? ; Stabreaknews.com; published July 12, 2012. Found February 4, 2019.
Freed, Richard. Why phones don’t belong in school; M.huffpost.com; published April 13, 2013; found February 4, 2019.
Vitelli, Amie. 10 reasons why cell phones shouldn’t be allowed in school; Middleboroughtv.com; published December 5, 2018; found February 5, 2019.
Martinko, Katherine. Why kids shouldn’t take their phones to school; Treehugger.com; published September 6, 2016; found February 5, 2019.

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Do phones belong in schools.

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Harvard Staff Writer

Bans may help protect classroom focus, but districts need to stay mindful of students’ sense of connection, experts say

Students around the world are being separated from their phones.

In 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 77 percent of U.S. schools had moved to prohibit cellphones for nonacademic purposes. In September 2018, French lawmakers outlawed cellphone use for schoolchildren under the age of 15. In China, phones were banned country-wide for schoolchildren last year.

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Student uses cellphone in school hallway.

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In podcast episode, experts discuss growing movement to restrict devices in class

Supporters of these initiatives have cited links between smartphone use and bullying and social isolation and the need to keep students focused on schoolwork.

77% Of U.S. schools moved to ban cellphones for nonacademic purposes as of 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics

But some Harvard experts say instructors and administrators should consider learning how to teach with tech instead of against it, in part because so many students are still coping with academic and social disruptions caused by the pandemic. At home, many young people were free to choose how and when to use their phones during learning hours. Now, they face a school environment seeking to take away their main source of connection.

“Returning back to in-person, I think it was hard to break the habit,” said Victor Pereira, a lecturer on education and co-chair of the Teaching and Teaching Leadership Program at the Graduate School of Education.

Through their students, he and others with experience both in the classroom and in clinical settings have seen interactions with technology blossom into important social connections that defy a one-size-fits-all mindset. “Schools have been coming back, trying to figure out, how do we readjust our expectations?” Pereira added.

It’s a hard question, especially in the face of research suggesting that the mere presence of a smartphone can undercut learning .

Michael Rich , an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says that phones and school don’t mix: Students can’t meaningfully absorb information while also texting, scrolling, or watching YouTube videos.

“The human brain is incapable of thinking more than one thing at a time,” he said. “And so what we think of as multitasking is actually rapid-switch-tasking. And the problem with that is that switch-tasking may cover a lot of ground in terms of different subjects, but it doesn’t go deeply into any of them.”

Pereira’s approach is to step back — and to ask whether a student who can’t resist the phone is a signal that the teacher needs to work harder on making a connection. “Two things I try to share with my new teachers are, one, why is that student on the phone? What’s triggering getting on your cell phone versus jumping into our class discussion, or whatever it may be? And then that leads to the second part, which is essentially classroom management.

“Design better learning activities, design learning activities where you consider how all of your students might want to engage and what their interests are,” he said. He added that allowing phones to be accessible can enrich lessons and provide opportunities to use technology for school-related purposes.

Mesfin Awoke Bekalu, a research scientist in the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Chan School, argues that more flexible classroom policies can create opportunities for teaching tech-literacy and self-regulation.

“There is a huge, growing body of literature showing that social media platforms are particularly helpful for people who need resources or who need support of some kind, beyond their proximate environment,” he said. A study he co-authored by Rachel McCloud and Vish Viswanath for the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness shows that this is especially true for marginalized groups such as students of color and LGBTQ students. But the findings do not support a free-rein policy, Bekalu stressed.

In the end, Rich, who noted the particular challenges faced by his patients with attention-deficit disorders and other neurological conditions, favors a classroom-by-classroom strategy. “It can be managed in a very local way,” he said, adding: “It’s important for parents, teachers, and the kids to remember what they are doing at any point in time and focus on that. It’s really only in mono-tasking that we do very well at things.”

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Student Opinion

Should Schools Ban Student Phones?

More and more states are cracking down on students’ use of cellphones. Are these restrictions fair? Can they work?

A sign propped up on the ground that says “No cellphones from 7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.”

By Jeremy Engle

As students around the United States head back to school, many are encountering a new reality — bans on their use of cellphones.

So far this year, several states have passed laws, issued orders or adopted rules to bar students from using their phones during school hours as concerns rise over their mental health. Officials point to the potential damage that access to social media and an “always online” culture may do to children.

Further, proponents of such restrictions argue that the small but ubiquitous digital devices distract students, impair learning and contribute to phone-related bullying and student fights.

What do you think?

How would you and your peers react to a cellphone ban at your school? Could a no-phone rule work? Would it be fair? Would you welcome or oppose it? Or, perhaps, does your school already have a ban?

In “ Why Schools Are Racing to Ban Student Phones ,” Natasha Singer writes:

Cellphones have become a school scourge. More than 70 percent of high school teachers say student phone distraction is a “major problem,” according to a survey this year by Pew Research . That’s why states are mounting a bipartisan effort to crack down on rampant student cellphone use. So far this year, at least eight states have passed laws, issued orders or adopted rules to curb phone use among students during school hours. The issue isn’t simply that some children and teenagers compulsively use apps like Snap, TikTok and Instagram during lessons, distracting themselves and their classmates. In many schools, students have also used their phones to bully, sexually exploit and share videos of physical attacks on their peers. But cellphone restrictions can be difficult for teachers to enforce without schoolwide rules requiring students to place their phones in lockers or other locations. Now state lawmakers, along with some prominent governors , are pushing for more uniform restrictions in public schools.

Ms. Singer discusses the question of whether school phone bans work:

Teachers say that phone bans in the classroom have helped improve students’ ability to concentrate on their lessons and work in groups. Some schools have also found the bans decreased phone-related bullying and student fights. Even so, the bans could have limited effect on the larger problem of technology in the classroom. Some students use school-issued laptops or tablets in their classes for much of the school day, with diversions like YouTube or video games one click away. Studies have found that laptop use in the classroom can have a distracting, negative impact on student learning. Students have also used school devices to bully their peers. Bark, a risk-monitoring service that scans students’ school-administered Google and Microsoft accounts, said in July that it had documented more than 8.5 million cases of school cyberbullying on Google Docs since 2019 — and more than half a million cyberbullying cases involving students on Microsoft Teams.

The article also explores how students and parents feel about the bans:

Many parents used to freely texting or calling their children object to blanket cellphone bans. Although 70 percent of parents agree that cellphone use among students should be “banned during class,” more than half think students should be allowed to use their phones “sometimes,” such as during lunch or recess, according to a survey this year by the National Parents Union. Some students also object to bans on a device they rely on to take notes in school, photograph class assignments like art work or make plans to meet their friends during lunch. Critics have said cellphone bans could also disproportionately harm students with adult responsibilities, such as after-school jobs or taking care of ill relatives.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

Should schools ban cellphones? Would you welcome a ban at your school? Why or why not? Did anything in the article change your thoughts about the growing trend?

How widespread is cellphone use at your school? How much do you use your phone during the school day? Do you think that phones interfere with your or your peers’ academic learning, the quality of your social interactions or overall engagement in school?

Which benefits of the restrictive cellphone policies discussed in the article do you find most appealing?

The article notes that some students object to bans on devices they rely on to take notes in school, take pictures of class assignments like artwork or make plans to meet their friends during lunch. Do you agree? Which downsides of school cellphone restrictions described in the article concern you most?

What rules, if any, does your school have about cellphone use? How are they enforced? Do you think they are effective? What changes would you recommend to the current policy?

In the Morning newsletter , David Leonhardt, who is broadly in favor of cellphone restrictions, poses some hard questions about these policies, such as: “How do schools enforce the rules? And what is an appropriate punishment for breaking them? Should schools ban phone use only during class time or for the entire school day? To put it another way, is a more social lunchtime worth the downside that parents can’t easily reach their children?” How would you respond to these queries?

What, if anything, do you think is missing from this conversation? What do you think teachers, educators and parents may not understand about cellphones, especially how young people use them?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here . Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle