Following Phone Policy at Northern

Feature
By Allie Wight
Husky Herald Reporter

  All of the classrooms in Port Huron Northern are supposed to abide by the rules laid out by the  Port Huron Area School District in the student code handbook. This handbook includes a wide range of policies that are to be followed by both students and teachers at Northern.

  In the Electronic Communication Devices section of the handbook, it is stated that “Students may possess a cell phone in school, on school property, at after-school activities, on a school bus and at school-related functions, but students may not use cell phones or other personal technology during class time at school unless it is approved by the teacher for appropriate educational purposes.”

  I think that just about every student at Northern would agree that the amount of students who follow that rule is slim to none. There also are not many teachers who enforce this rule.

  In some ways, I think it is understandable that some teachers do not see it completely necessary to comply with the rules, because if a student is on his or her phone the whole class period and therefore does not learn anything, they will have to suffer the consequences. This will help to teach the student a sense of responsibility for him or herself

  I think the school district handbook is too strict in stating that students can’t use their phones for anything in class with the exception of using it for educational purposes.

  There are times in class when the teacher issues a “free day” or a day for make-up work, and some students are already all caught up. In this situation, I think that students who have all of their work done should be allowed to use their phones to text or play games at their own discretion.

  The handbook also states that “Cell phones must be turned off during class time unless approved by the teacher for educational purposes. Ringing, buzzing, and/or vibrating or any interruption of class due to cell phone use/misuse is prohibited.”

  I disagree with this only because I do not believe that phones have to be completely turned off. I think they should be on for emergency purposes.

  However, cell phones should be silent so that they don’t distract other students. The biggest concern involving technology use during class is distraction, but moderation is key in combating this problem.