Why Students Think the Cell Phone Policy is Here to Stay at QHSS!

The cell phone policy has been a debate between the students and school administrators. The cell phone policy has been seen by administrators as justifiable, due to cell phones being seen as an impairment on student learning and an overall distraction to the learning environment. However students share differing points as they believe how the cell phone policy should be lightened and allow for certain uses within campus. There have been instances of punishments for violation of the student cell phone policy with some teachers being restrictive. The major question to be answered is whether the punishments for having cell phones are too harsh.

The main points of the QHSS cell phone policy includes the following directly quoted from the student handbook: “Cell phones must be turned off in the classroom, put away, and stored in backpacks; Students who do not follow the protocol will receive a warning, after three warnings, students will receive detention; If a cell phone is visible (not in a backpack) by teacher, administrator or proctor during an exam the result will be a zero on the examination even if it is not being used. Cell phones may be used during a student’s lunch period and in the hallways”

Whether or not the cell phone policy is too restrictive or cell phones are too distracting has multiple viewpoints that no one can seem to agree on a middle ground. Through the interviews it’s apparent that students had very thoughtful and well-articulated responses that analyzed both sides of the argument in terms of the cell phone policy, and how it affected our school as a whole.

What do Students have to say?

Firstly, a junior at QHSS, named Alexander Rosa, had his opinions to share on the cell phone policy.

Alexander, sharing his views on the student cell phone policy, said that they’re fine and they’re fair, because he doesn’t really use his phone for anything during class, and there’s usually a clock somewhere. If there isn’t a clock, he doesn’t really need his phone for anything, as he uses his  Chromebook.  However, He does emphasize that the punishment for phones is unfair such as detentions . Other than that he comes to the consensus that it’s pretty fair, and states he does not know the purpose for having your phone out in class.

Alexander, in response to people opposing his views, states that one reason people might oppose him is that they’d be worried when their parents text them. In response, he does agree with them and says it’s a valid point. Therefore, Alexander proposes a  policy change to allow students to keep their phone in their pockets, rather than “being stored in their backpacks.”. This allows students to access it in case of an emergency. He also points out that if someone’s texting, then they can check it after, but don’t need to do so during class. If it’s urgent, they can call later.

Alexander also says that the cell phone policy has a negligible impact on students academically.  He thinks that it does not affect them at all and that Chromebooks are sufficient enough if they need to Google something.

I agree with this take as the student believes the policy is fair due to us having chromebooks and clocks concerning our technological needs. This is true with my experience as I never need my phone within school hours unless it is an emergency which I have not had yet. I  have access to chromebooks for our schoolwork and anything else regarding needing a phone is unnecessary in most situations. unless there is an emergency in which you are supposed to go to the main office as per the student handbook, which I find a little too restrictive but other than that we do not need our phones.

Instead, Alexander advocates for phones to be in our pockets and that the first offense is too harsh. I also agree with this take as having the phones in a pocket incase of an emergency is a good way to be in contact while not using your phone. However due to the policy it must be in your backpack sealed away which I kind of disagree with since things do happen and it is better to know if you feel a notification and have access to your phone at all times so this is one instance where I disagree with the policy. And the first offense is also harsh as the student said, which can be changed but other than these tiny little things, for the most part I agree with this student and the policy is alright.

We next have our second and final interview, in which the interviewee is also a junior at QHSS, named Sarah Sachdeva, who wanted to express her beliefs on the QHSS Cell Phone Policy.

Sarah stated that she thinks the cell phone policy is pretty good. It’s not as strict in other schools where they lock up your phone and don’t give it to you.  She also expresses her gratitude in that some teachers are very understanding in freshman year about the cell phone policy and not being as harsh. However, now she has expressed that the policy has gotten stricter, where even if your phone is showing a little or in your pocket, they’ll get you in trouble. She does think however, that the school does have good intentions in mind.

Sarah also  says that it’s okay and does not affect the academic life of a student too much. She is just  happy that we get to use our phones during lunch, because some schools don’t let their kids use our phones during  lunch.

Sarah then stated people who think this is too strict  are being unreasonable because under a school’s premises, it’s  obvious that one can’t use their phones. There can be room for improvement with the policy, but for now the policy is alright within our school.

In my opinion, I agree with this take as well. Now personally I do not know the cell phone policy of other schools to give my own judgment but from what I know, I think QHSS cell phone policy is decent since it is not fully restrictive and gives us access to our phones outside, or in lunch, so basically when we have free time outside of classes. I do agree that the cell phone policy has gotten stricter especially with the punishments and teachers’ strong enforcement but I do believe in that regard that the administration has good intentions in mind and it is just to prevent us from distraction. I can see both sides of the argument on why it is good or not good to have a strict cell phone policy but considering we do have time to use it and only in an emergency we should use our phones, I think it is alright. Lastly, I do agree with the point that there can be improvement with the policy as mentioned before by making it less strict, but the policy right now is alright and it should be strict to have a proper learning environment.

My Overall Opinion

Now these are the responses of some students around the school, but I myself have my own opinions to share on the cell phone policy at QHSS. As a junior at QHSS, I think that the cell phone policy, while there could be some improvements, is ultimately reasonable within our school.

One of my main reasons for my agreement with the policy is that I do not really see the need for phones inside the school. I think that school is a place where we should be able to learn and that cell phones can cause a distraction especially to me, so making sure that there are guidelines and regulations in place to enforce said rule is a policy that I agree with.

I also think that it isn’t as strict since we can have our phones in the hallways to scan things such as QR codes for events, have them in lunch or outside of school allowing for that balance.If you need to use your cell phone, you can always ask a teacher or administrator for permission in that instance. In my experience the school cell phone policy isn’t that bad as I usually keep it in my pockets outside of school until I get into the classroom where I put it in my bag, with the only instances when I take it out being during lunch or during club periods.

Maybe the punishment being detention for only 3 violations of the policy might be too harsh and the big question of “What if there is an emergency.” Also the fact that maybe concealing it in your bag is too much, perhaps having it in your pocket is a better alternative which is not allowed in the policy. All of these things may contribute to the disagreement among students who oppose the student cell phone policy but I think myself and the majority of other students agree it is not that bad and the school is acting in our interest to create rules for us to follow.