Sidney Jackson

Prof. Dunham

English 1101

14 November 2018

Should Cellphones be banned in schools?

Getting your phone taken away by an administrator at school and getting it sent to the

office is definitely not a positive feeling. Students frequently abuse the use of technology by

using their cell phones for social media rather than for educational purposes. In many instances,

once the educator requests the students cellphone, the student becomes insubordinate and resists

to give up their device. Occasionally the student will begin to argue with the teacher, making the

situation much more complicated and very problematic. Not only is the use of cellphones a main

cause of distractions and problems between students and teachers, but as well as the increase in

cyberbullying among students. Studies have portrayed that cyberbullying has increased in

schools because of how easily rumors can be spread throughout schools. As well as harmful or

threatening texts, all these things can happen as simple as a click of a button. Not only are the

distractions and cyberbullying problematic, but also cheating. Cheating can occur very easily

with the use of technology. Prohibiting the use of cellphones in schools can help eliminate these

problems that occur in schools.

Cheating in this generation is very common with the technology we have in schools.

Students can share answers or look up answers online with the click of a button. Texts can be

sent very easily while in the classroom. Also, students can excuse themselves to the restroom,

and use that time to send text messages to other students about questions. (Betts, Par. 3) Cheating

has become a big problem in most classrooms. A study has shown that about “41% of students
admit to storing notes on phones to use during tests and 46% of teens admitted to texting friends

about answers.” (Betts, Par. 4) For some students, cheating is something that is a normal habit

because of how easy it is to cheat. Many teachers don’t know that students are cheating because

of how discreetly it can be done.

As most people know, in schools, rumors can spread like wildfire. By having technology

in school, rumors, threats, and many inappropriate things can be spread even quicker throughout

texts or on social media. The students in this generation have very easy access to technology and

cell phones. This means that “cyberbullying can become much easier to accomplish.” (Betts, Par.

8) Prohibiting the use of phones in school can lower the amount of cyberbullying in schools. As

Timothy Gibbs, a head teacher at Reepham High School, states in this article "We actually find

there has been a decline in bullying between students during school hours.". (Wright, Par. 15)

Not only is there problems with cyberbullying in schools,but as well as inappropriate and

harmful texts. Students at a young age don’t think about the consequences of saying

inappropriate things over the phone. Once these students say certain things over text, someone

could bring it to the school and things could escalate quickly.

Although cellphones can cause many problems in school, they can also be very helpful

when used for the right things. Cell Phones can be very helpful for educational purposes and can

be helpful in the case of emergencies. For educational purposes, “Some teachers use interactive

learning activities such as the game-based platform Kahoot!.” (Corbett, Par. 5) This platform can

be very benificial for students when used in the right way. As well as it is much easier to access

Kahoot! with cell phones. Phones can also be benificial in schools because we will use them as

we grow up, especially in the generation we are in. This is another reason why people believe it

is important to incorporate technology in schools. As Stephen Corbett states, “Whether we

embrace it or not, mobile technology is a fundamental part of the modern world. Today’s

students will have jobs that rely on technology, and they need to be mature enough to use it

wisely – and appropriately” (Corbett, Par. 11).

The biggest problems with cell phones is the amount of distractions they cause in the

classrooms. Many teachers deal with problems with cellphones daily during school. Many

students would rather focus on the latest feed on social media rather than learn what is going on

in class. As Dr. Sahlberg (A professor as the University of South Wales) discusses, “smartphones

were distracting students from reading, school-related work, physical activity, and high-quality

sleep.” (Baker, Par. 2). This shows that not only does cell phones distract students with

educational platforms but as well as things outside of school. As we know, some students can get

bored with some of the material they are learning quite easily. With having a phone on them, it

doesn’t take the student much for them to take out their cell phone to play a game or check their

social media. (Betts, Par. 1) Students will continue to use cellphones in class and cause

distractions if phones are not prohibited in schools.

Prohibiting cell phones in schools would be the wisest option to do. This would help

eliminate many problems such as distractions in the classrooms, cheating, and cyberbullying

throughout school. Many students do not pay attention in class because they are too occupied

with the things on their phones. This leads to failures in classes and the lack of knowledge in that

class because of the fact that they did not pay attention. Although cell phones can be used for

educational purposes such as Kahoot!, Quizlet, or other educational platforms, there are more

problems that occur with trying to incorporate cell phones into schools. There are studies that

have shown that there has been a decrease in bullying and cyberbullying from prohibiting cell

phones in schools. Cheating will also decrease in the classrooms and schools from eliminating
the use of cell phones because of the fact that they will not have a device to look stuff up on or

share answers with so easily. Prohibiting phones in school will help solve problems in school

that have become significant in this generation.

Works Cited

Baker, Jordan. “'Schools Need to React Quickly': Education Expert Urges Smartphone

Ban.” The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 May 2018, 6:02
 pm,www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/schools-need-to-react-quickly-education-expert-

urges-smartphone-ban-20180525-p4zhm4.html

Betts, Jennifer. “Cons of Cell Phones in School.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, Dec.

2017, cellphones.lovetoknow.com/Cons_of_Cell_Phones_in_School.

Cirelli, Cheryl. “Pros of Cell Phones in School.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, Dec.

2017, cellphones.lovetoknow.com/Pros_of_Cell_Phones_in_School.

Corbett, Stephen. Mobile phones should not be banned in schools. Jamaica Gleaner.

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc

t=true&db=b7h&AN=130447195&site=eds-live. Published July 2018. Accessed

November 2, 2018.

HARRIS D. Teen Phone Addiction. Good Morning America (ABC). December 2017:1.

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc

t=true&db=bwh&AN=126575743&site=eds-live. Accessed November 2, 2018

Wright, Katie. “To Ban or Not to Ban: Should Phones Be Allowed in Schools?” BBC

News, BBC, 20 June 2018, www.bbc.com/news/uk-44546360