A Case against Cell Phone Use at Elementary Schools
In this modern era, cell phone use has become very popular among youngsters. The phenomenon soon stirs up a controversial issue, that is, whether students should use cell phones at elementary schools or not. Teachers, parents, and students hold different opinions based on different concerns. In my point of view, elementary schools should restrict cell phone use by students during school time for the sake of etiquette, learning efficiency, and health.
Cell phones are used improperly by many elementary students at school. Some students see cell phones as inevitable and fancy gadgets. They have fierce competition about the newest and the most fashionable mobile phones. They treat cell phones as a fad and a token of status. Some students even phone someone nearby, simply for fun. Students easily feel restless in class while expecting a phone call. Some might even have no resistance on sending text messages, making phone calls, or playing games during class. Mobile phones go off during class, distracting both teachers and students. The interruption could annoy all participants in class and contribute to poor study quality. In this case, such behaviors are improper and rude because they influence not only themselves but the whole class. What’s worse, some students might use cell phone to do illicit behaviors. Some school banned cell phones because they were associated with drug dealing or other improper behaviors. According to Vivian S. Toy’s article, in America, “schools across the region, including the New York City public schools, have banned pagers and cell phones. A 1996 New Jersey law bans pagers in schools, and many schools apply that to cell phones.”
Carrying cell phones to school could have other negative impacts on elementary students. First, they would not fully control themselves concerning making or receiving a call. As what is mentioned above, they turn distracted easily. What’s worse, some experts find the dependence on mobile phones even has bad impacts on health. Some adolescents use cell phones at bedtime, which interrupts their sleep and makes them tired. According to Deborah Rice, Clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller says, “They actually end up with disrupted sleep and poor social habits as a result of their addiction to their mobile phone.” Lack of sleep also contributes to low moods because of the improper time of using cell phones. Therefore, people could imagine that the same problem might occur when they use cell phones in class. The extreme dependence on mobile phone could lead to different levels of distraction and emotional unrest. The anxiety of making a phone call in class could interrupt learning and cause impatience and exhaustion. If students cannot control themselves but use cell phones in class (a more formal situation), how can they control themselves in their free time such as bedtime? The overall addiction to mobile phone makes them cranky and depressed, severely affecting their social habits and behaviors.
On the other hand, indeed, there are some legitimate reasons for students to carry cell phones: when they suddenly change schedules, become sick, or encounter some unexpected events, for example. Truly, cell phones could be associated with safety. However, the odds is rather low, and most of time, students can use regular phones. In emergency, students can still easily contact the school faculty to help them solve the problem. Some students might think cell phones are important devices to build connections. It could be true, especially when lots of people have cell phones. However, students can still be in touch with their friends on the phone after school. They could enjoy more time chatting instead of struggling between lectures and phones. Students can also learn to discipline themselves and learn to know what’s proper to do under certain circumstances. As to some special cases, school authorities could have the rights to lift the ban to help and protect specific students, such as students with severe disease or injuries.
To conclude, cell phones bring people great convenience, but the negative impacts should not be ignored. In my opinion, I support elementary schools to ban cell phone use by students. In this way, they can be focused and have better achievements on learning, instead of being attached to cell phones all day long. After all, sufficient time is left for them to talk on the phone-- right after school.
