The Paradigm of Cell phones in High School

Since I began attending Broward schools, the Broward Schools Code of Conduct (the workbook with like 70 pages) have always being mandated for teachers to review with their students. I remember dreading every moment sometimes yarning while listening to fellow classmates and teachers read the book aloud. This year its not the case. The school board has finally learnt how to highlight. It not like I didn’t receive the same book as last year or the year before or the year before that, which I felt was irrelevant, but this time, I also received a single sheet of paper that efficiently summarized the expectations for Broward County students.

The simplifying of the rules, which was obviously apparent years ago, was not the only aspect that fascinated me. Instead the fact that the no phone policy in classes didn’t come up baffled me. To put this perfectly in the words of Public Affairs Instructor Mrs. Bell “the school board realizes that it couldn’t win the war against phones at school.” And I totally agree. I knew this day would approach but I didn’t know that it would be while I was still in high school. These phones have upgraded. They are smarter now and efficient. And with the unavailability of some necessities in the class rooms, these technology gadgets have been used as supplement in the place of classroom necessities.

What I find most interesting is that teachers are condoning the use of smart phones in classrooms. At first I thought they loosened up due to the idea that I was now a senior, because in middle school and as a freshmen in high school, cell phone use was definitely intolerable. However, I realize after speaking to a teacher that it goes both ways. That was four to five years ago and the smart phones have advanced expediently over that period. But the other argument and the strongest argument is the Supplication.

Students can use their phones to perform quick researches in class. For instance, the other day a teacher asked for the definition of a complicated word and a student was able to provide the definition with the use of her phone due to its fast connectivity to the web. Even more vital was when students in my English class had to download books such as Bartleby, the Awakening, and Invisible Man for our  AP English Language class because there was not enough books to go around.

At the end of it all, the benefits of using cell phones are truly outweighing the disadvantages. Maybe sooner students will start using Ipads and nooks as textbooks. We never truly know how far the future is.