Phones in Middle School classrooms

In today’s digital age, living without at least one electronic device is seemingly impossible. Electronics have become an essential part of our lives, not only for entertainment but also as important communication and work tools. However, as we become increasingly attached to our screens, an important question arises: Should phones be allowed in the middle school classroom?

Currently, in the Middle School, students have to place their phones in their advisory spaces every morning before classes start. However, in the Upper School, students are allowed to carry and use their phones every day. Some people think that it’s because high schoolers are more mature. However, no matter the reason, I believe that phones should not be allowed in middle school classrooms.

Phones will inevitably become a distraction to your daily life. From texting to watching YouTube to playing games, there are a million distractions that could happen. Phones are also very small and portable, making them easy to quickly glance at. Even laptops have already become pretty distracting during classes; I have heard many teachers remind students about closing their laptops, saying, “Those screens have just magically opened up again!” If phones were to be allowed, students could be even more off task during class, meaning the teachers would have to constantly “patrol” the classroom, which is wasting time and also more unnecessary work for them.

Additionally, students might start getting attached to their screens instead of socializing in person with friends and family. Yes, friends can watch social media together and socialize that way, but doing so would prevent them from being active and actually going outside. Not allowing phones during class gives students the needed break from screens and makes sure of human-to-human interaction. Besides, people can be on their phones as much as they want outside of school!

Also, we should keep in mind that not everyone has phones, me being one of them! Phone usage in classrooms could make people who don’t have phones feel left out, which is the opposite of what our Statement of Community Expectations encourages! And while using educational apps on phones might be a good thought, we already have laptops which are sufficient! Also, it would take more time to download apps and figure things out on a phone than on a computer, not to mention the fact that it is a lot harder to type on phones than on computers!

So, to conclude, I strongly believe that phones should be not allowed in Middle School classrooms. First, it could create so many distractions, and it certainly doesn’t help that phones are very small, making it easy to glance at them! Second, students will slowly get attached to their phones instead of socializing in person. Lastly, not everyone has phones, and this might make people who don’t have phones feel excluded! Also, laptops are already enough for our learning!