Cell+phones+should+be+banned+in+schools

// Ron Kurtus is an engineer, writer, and founder of School for Champions, an educational website. //

Cell phones in and out of class are a major problem in schools and should be banned. [|Teachers] constantly struggle with texting in class, which also distracts students from lessons. And when students receive calls in class, the ringing disrupts the entire classroom; even worse is when students answer the call, which is disrespectful to teachers and other students. Other problems include thefts of the devices and insulting texts that cause fights between students. Bans on cell phones in schools reduce both distractions and disciplinary actions, improving the environment in which teachers teach and students learn.

Many teachers have had to fight the trend of students continually sending text messages to others in and outside the classroom during class. Some students take calls on their cell phones during class or talk on their phones while walking in between classes.

Instead of requiring teachers to constantly try to maintain order, some schools have banned cell or mobile phones during school hours. The result of such a ruling has been less problems, better discipline and even a more positive school culture.

**Problems with Cell Phones **

I n many schools—especially in more affluent areas where most students have their own cell or mobile phone—the use of the phone during class hours has become a major problem.

**Texting during class **

Some teachers report that they are constantly trying to stops students from sending text messages during class, especially since it is sometimes difficult to spot or detect. This is a problem among high school and [|college students] and even among middle school students. A student who is communicating with someone else through text messages is not paying [|attention] and might as well not even be in the class. Although the student's grades will probably suffer and is only hurting him- or herself, the poor grades also can reflect on the instructor's ability to teach.

**Getting calls in class **

Teachers report that often a cell phone will ring during class, disrupting the lesson. What is worse is when the student answers the phone during class. Some will actually leave the classroom to complete their call. Getting calls during class is not only disruptive, but it is also disrespectful to the teacher and the whole educational process. The results of banning cell phones and other electronic devices in school have been dramatic in those schools which have implemented the rules.

**Other cell phone problems **

Other problems concerning cell phones in school concerns thefts of phones and fights as a result of insulting text messages.

**Solution **

Some school principals have eliminated this problem by preventing the use of cell phones—and in fact, any electronic devices such as iPods and headsets—during school. If a student's cell phone or electronics device is seen during school hours—even during lunch and break periods—it is confiscated and will only be returned when the parent comes to pick it up at the school.

Obviously, many students and some parents do not like such discipline, but it has been effective in schools that have implemented those rules. Going half-way often is not enough to stop the problem.

**Benefits **

The results of banning cell phones and other electronic devices in school have been dramatic in those schools which have implemented the rules.

Obviously, the teachers have been able to teach their classes better, without as many disruptions and the need to discipline students. Those students who got caught up in the texting fad or who would be listening to music on their iPod or similar devices not actually were learning something during class.

The removal of cell phone use during break times seemed to change the educational climate and culture of the schools. Teachers reported that students now would be seen in groups talking and some would actually be sitting and reading in common areas. This is as opposed to students communicating to others via their cell phones or text messages at that time.

Some schools reported a dramatic drop in behavioral referrals and the need to discipline disruptive students.

Many teachers must battle the use of texting, cell phones and electronic devices during class. Instead of requiring teachers to constantly try to maintain order, some schools have banned the use of electronic devices during school hours. The result of such a ruling has reduced problems and improved the educational culture in school.

**Further Readings **

**Books **


 * Mark Bauerlein //The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30)//. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008.
 * Susan Brooks-Young, ed. //Teaching with the Tools Kids Really Use: Learning with Web and Mobile Technologies//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010.
 * Gerard Goggin //Cell Phone Culture: Mobile Technology in Everyday Life//. New York: Routledge, 2006.
 * Andrew Keen //Digital Vertigo: How Today's Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us//. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2012.
 * Rich Ling and Scott W. Campell //Mobile Communication: Bringing Us Together and Tearing Us Apart//. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2011.
 * Susan Maushart //The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale//. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2011.
 * Charles Miller and Aaron Doering //The New Landscape of Mobile Learning: Redesigning Education in an App-Based World//. New York: Routledge, 2014.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">John Palfry and Urs Gasser //Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives//. New York: Basic Books, 2008.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clark N. Quinn //The Mobile Academy: mLearning for Higher Education//. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Larry D. Rosen //iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us//. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

**<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Periodicals and Internet Sources **


 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Patrick Barkman and Stephen Moss "Should Mobile Phones Be Banned in Schools?" //Guardian//, November 27, 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">John-Paul Dickie "Why Teenagers and Children Should Be Banned from Using Smartphones Like the BlackBerry or iPhone," PostDesk, December 29, 2011. www.postdesk.com.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Robert Earl "Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom?" //Atlantic//, May 18, 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Berlin Fang "From Distraction to Engagement: Wireless Devices in the Classroom," //EDUCAUSE Review Online//, December 22, 2009. www.educause.edu.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Sarah Gonzalez "How Schools Are Coping with a Communications Obsession," StateImpact, August 2, 2012. http://stateimpact.npr.org.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Randi Kaye "How a Cell Phone Picture Led to Girl's Suicide," CNN, October 7, 2010. www.cnn.com.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ryan Lytle "Smartphone Use Among College Students Concerns Some Professors," //US News & World Report//, March 21, 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Anne Michaud "Instead of Banning Cell Phones, Schools Should Teach Responsible Use," //Newsday//, February 20, 2013.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Brad Moon "Cellphones in the Classroom: Bad Idea, Inevitable, or Both?" //Wired//, September 20, 2010.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Sarah Pottharst "Cell Phones: A Classroom Distraction," //Daily Campus//, January 21, 2010.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Kelly Puente "Mobile Devices Drive Creative Instruction," //District Administration//, February 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Matt Ritchel and Brad Stone "Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in Classroom," //New York Times//, February 15, 2009.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Brian Shane "Schools Use Smart Devices to Help Make Kids Smarter," //USA Today//, December 28, 2012.
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Gerry Smith "Smartphones Bring Hope, Frustration as Substitute for Computers," //Huffington Post//, June 6, 2012. www.huffingtonpost.com.

**<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Full Text: **<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">COPYRIGHT 2014 Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. **<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Source Citation **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">Kurtus, R. (2014). Cell Phones Should Be Banned in Schools. In R. Espejo (Ed.), //At Issue//. //Cell Phones in Schools//. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Improving School Performance by Eliminating Texting and Cell Phones, //www.school-for-champions.com//, 2009) Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&dviSelectedPage=&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010912202&source=Bookmark&u=971hctnet&jsid=c8eacdfb6c1cb079008353e13d598a70