NPSD has recently faced a major controversy surrounding the newly implemented cellphone policy. While cellphones have been a point of contention for years, the issue has recently gained attention when the District banned the use and possession of cell phones during the school day.
We will hear from two students with opposing perspectives: Anissa Tennekoon, a ninth-grader who strongly disagrees with the policy but acknowledges the district’s reasoning, and Joan Herrera Blanco, a junior who strongly supports the rule.
Ninth-grader Anissa Tennekoon argues that the cellphone ban is negatively impacting students. Her reason for this is that it might make students feel unsafe not being able to contact their parents directly. Another reason for this is that some students who listen to music to help themselves focus but without their phones they might not be able to do either of these.
Even though Tennekoon thinks that the school should not have the ban on cell phones she understands why they have this rule.
She said: “I think they have this rule for students’ mental health safety and so that kids can be more social with each other during school hours.”
Tennekoon would be happier if the rule was changed so that students could use their phones in an emergency and during study halls and lunch. Some students don’t feel comfortable talking to teachers about private things so talking to their parents directly might make them feel more seen.
Another thing that wouldTennekoon change about this rule is how strict it is for not just students but also teachers.
“I think that it’s not fair because it’s very strict in certain cases. Especially teachers should have the freedom to be able to go on their phones. I think teachers are old enough to be responsible with their phones in class,” she said.
While Tennekoon does see the negatives of having phones in school, such as affecting students’ mental health, not being able to focus, and students being attached to their phones, she still believes that the positives outweigh the negatives.
11th grader Joan Herrera Blanco disagrees with Tennekoon. Herrera Blanco believes that the phone ban is actually a positive thing because students who have access to their phones can abuse the privileges by cheating and not paying attention. He believes that school should be an escape from all of social media and anxiety that social media builds up.
“Some of us just communicate, but we have no balance,” he said. “I feel like I don’t need it because I’m already not attached to my phone. But I know that kids just use their phones all the time to not pay attention and use it to cheat.”
Herrera Blanco thinks that the school all of a sudden put the ban on phones because of the sudden outburst of AI. Many students aren’t just using their phones to cheat but they are using AI to just completely do their work for them.
“It gets to a point where it’s not you the one that is going to school, it’s the AI that is going to school,” he explained.
Herrera Blanco may see some positives of having phones in school but unlike Tennekoon, he thinks that the negatives outweigh the positives.
Lastly, Herrera Blanco believes that if students can’t have their phones then neither should teachers. He thinks that if teachers did have their phones then students would not be as cooperative with the rule. Teachers should lead by example.