On July 24th, 2024 the Broward County School Board made changes to the cell phone policy where students’ phones must be on airplane mode or powered off, and it must stay that way from opening to closing bell. This means no use of phones during lunch and in between classes. With this, the main question arises. What will teachers and students think about the new cell phone policy? We asked three teachers and three students their thoughts on the changes.
Students Perspective
“I was very confused [on cell phone policy] because I understand that there is a problem with cell phones in the classroom. However, I don’t see how completely removing the cell phone from the classroom environment would solve the problem… It’s going to be very tough for seniors and juniors because we have been so used to having cell phones for more than two years and suddenly taking that away will be hard to adjust.” – Kameron Dunkley, Senior
“I do not agree with it [the changes to policy]. For the past ten to fifteen years, cell phones have taken over, but not in a negative way. Think of it this way: if anyone is confused about something, we go to our phone… It’s the 21st century. I think it can “hurt” school for the younger generation. They won’t be able to talk and text friends when they don’t have a class together… or even to your parents because lockdowns and threats are becoming more and more common.” – Noah Escobar, Senior
“The lunch restriction [on phones] is too far… using phones during lunch should be allowed. Probably not [on phones hurting his school experience]… I’m not antisocial, but it is hard to be social when everyone else is using their phones.” –Hadi Mooney, Senior
Teachers Perspective
“I feel like phones have been a detriment to the learning development when it comes to students because they don’t know how to temper their usage of it… I was raised in an age where if my parents needed me, they called the office and the office called my teacher. Absolutely, students will be better academically. I said on the first day that I will not be surprised if the grades on the average will increase… now they will have no choice but to concentrate more during class.” – Adam Bolaños, Science Teacher
“ I think not having your phone during lunch is a little extreme because that is basically your time to just decompress after a long morning. However, in between classes, I understand the reasoning behind it. It’s a safety issue… when students are on their phone, they are so oblivious about what happens around them. A 100% [students will be better academically]… it’s different when a student needs special accommodations for technology… they want to take the distraction away from you guys [students]” – Maria Pardo, Science Teacher
“It is both a good thing and a bad thing [the cell phone policy]… a good thing in terms of them [schools] understanding that there has to be a regulation to the use of cell phones during instruction time, but to make it to where even on their lunch or their break they can’t use their phones is unrealistic. Absolutely, they will be better academically… if students can put the energy they do on their phones to their work and getting things done… to be invested, you have to be fully focused.” –Patricia Lateef-Jackson, English Teacher
