Should cell phones be allowed at school?

Principals and teachers alike are concerned that if cell phones are allowed in school, there will be problems with texting in class. My solution to this is to make a rule that says cell phones have to be off and put away during school hours. If a student is caught texting in class, have the teacher take up the phone for the rest of the day, or maybe even until the next day. This seems like a reasonable compromise, because that way the kids are still able to contact whoever they need to after school, but are free from distractions during the day.

As with the rule that bans the students from chewing gum in school, how is the school really supposed to enforce the banning of cell phones? Students will continue to bring phones to school regardless of whether or not it's against the rules. I think at least a few students bring their phones because it's against the rules. The recent search at West High School, where over six hundred phones were taken up plus an unidentified number of iPods and the like despite the fact that electronic devices are banned from the grounds, only prove my point. Six hundred phones is over half the school!

Cell phones, while they might seem like nothing but a distraction and a safety hazard for school across the country, are in actuality quite the opposite. Banning cell phones from the school premises will only ever have detrimental effects. As long as there is a sensible rule in place, such as 'Students are required to leave cell phones off and out of sight during school hours', there is no chance of distractions or of safety hazards because of them. The point I’m trying to make is they shouldn’t be banned.

By Pavithra Poobalasingam 8G