A device that almost every high schooler has in their pockets, are phones. For something that is so useful for students, it’s no surprise that sooner or later they would abuse the device’s accessibility. From quickly searching up answers to having a constant AI helper in your pocket, it’s clear that they’ve become a problem inside the classroom.
The issue has become grand enough for the Kansas board directors to take action, when they decided to push back with a new phone policy, forbidding access to them in class.
Maize South Principal Michael Boykins recognizes that this will be a rough transition as this generation has grown up with phones for most of their lives.
Before the rule was in place, the decision of whether or not students can use their phones was entirely up to the teacher. Now, however, the new rule is enforced from bell to bell.
Teacher Joanna Fair claims that she rarely catches students actively using phones, but rather simply having them out on their desk within easy access.
Though the intentions of the policy are clearly to keep challenge and creativity inside the classroom environment, many students dislike the new rule. Some students also feel that they need the phones on their personnel to contact family members in case of emergencies. The high schoolers also claim that they expect to be treated more maturely in high school and taking away phones from them makes them feel like they’re being treated like children. They say that if some students want to mess around and not pay attention in class it’s their fault.
Another controversial topic is the prohibition of phones during FLEX, previously known as Encore, which many students believe is a problem. This rule extends from the ‘No phones from bell to bell’ rule, which many believe isn’t a problem for core classes, but when you have nothing to do in FLEX, it can seem like a punishment for people who’ve done no wrong.
“It’s an incentive so if you finish your homework, you should be able to mess around on your phones,” said Nathan Nelson, Maize High junior.
Even though many students continue to protest against the new change, the board’s decision is set in stone. The board members voted unanimously in favor of the new policy and change seems unlikely. The new policy could yield good results for students and for our state’s test scores, which have decreased on average by nearly four whole points since 2018. The rise of phones could often be attributed to these problems, which is why the board has decided to enact such strict rules.
