By Eva Tooley
Round Table reporter
The cell phone use policy of Middletown High School says that all cell phones must be turned off and out of sight between 7:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. each day. However, along with the rapid innovations occurring in technology and helpful features that many cell phones now include, it could be time for a change.
One of the most prominent positive aspects to letting students use cell phones in class is that most phones have a calculator, and if that calculator is high-tech enough, then students could use that rather than spend a hundred dollars on an official graphing calculator. This can save students and parents money and prevent the loss of a calculator because students always keep their phones on them.
Another positive is that a lot of students also have the Internet on their cell phones, so if a class needs to get on the Internet, then it would be much easier for students to just whip their phones out of their pockets rather than have the teacher set up a time in the computer lab and have the whole class waste time going to and from the lab.
However, there are also a few downsides to allowing students to have cell phones in class, as well. For example, as stated above, many cell phones have Internet access, which could make it easy for students to cheat on tests or quizzes without the teacher seeing.
Also, students could use their phones for non-instructional purposes as well, such as texting or going on social media sites.Middletown High School Principal Denise Fargo-Devine, she agreed with previous MHS Principal Jay Berno in saying that she is supportive of cell phone use, if used by students for educational purposes.
As pointed out by Fargo-Devine, there are also prevalent potential dangers that could accompany the use of cell phones in school.
“It is also always a hazard for students who can use their phones to cheat, or cause harm to themselves or other students by walking and using their phones at the same time [in the hallways],” says Fargo-Devine.
Cell phone use, however, would not only affect students, but also teachers.
Katie Roberts, teacher in the Career & Technology department at MHS, said that although cell phone use could distract students from what the teacher is saying in class, teachers also use their cell phones sometimes during the day when they don’t have a class.
If the cell phone policy continues to be banned, these teachers wouldn’t even be able to use their cell phones when they don’t even have a class. Using cell phones would also benefit the teachers, however, because the teachers wouldn’t need to make arrangements at a computer lab just to get on the Internet.
A final, and possibly most important, negative to allowing students to use cell phones in school is the issue of what would happen to the students who do not have cell phones.
“I think that the kids who do not have cell phones or internet access on their cell phones would be at a disadvantage to those who do, but it would be our responsibility to make sure that they have access to a computer with internet or a textbook with the same information on an assignment in class when the other students are allowed to use their cell phones,” said Fargo-Devine.
Nonetheless, technology is changing every day, and it could be time for the Board of Education and Technology Services Department of the Frederick County Public School system to come together and make a change in their cell phone policy.
