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Schools Should Rein In Students' Cell Phone Use

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 8, 2008

Considering today's technology, it's a wonder those of us who went to school in the 1960s, '70s and before that were able to make it through the day.

From old-school portable tape and CD players, to cell phones, iPods, PDAs and other devices popular among students nowadays, technological advances pose yet another challenge for teachers and school administrators working to keep proper decorum in classrooms.

In Pasco County, as well as other school systems, the latest concern is students' text messaging - using cell phones and a few other devices on the market to send written communications to classmates and others.

It's troubling enough that some students disrespect their teachers by secretly texting classmates with small talk and jokes when they're supposed to be paying attention in class. But school board member Allen Altman raised another valid concern last week: high-tech cheating.
Altman told fellow board members that teachers have told him some students are texting friends the answers to tests. It's a lazy way out that will come back to bite them in the real world. And it's an insult to students who make the grade by doing their own work.

The question now is what the school district should do. There's a simple answer - make sure students put their phones and devices away during class.

In cracking down, school officials should refer to their policy on cell phone use by students as a good starting point.

The policy allows students to bring personal electronic devices to school, but they are not to activate or use them either on campus or a bus unless a school official gives them "explicit" permission. Students who disobey the policy risk losing the devices, at least temporarily.

It's a clear policy that should be enforced. The regulations appropriately give school officials discretion, and they are in line with a 2004 state law that allows students to bring their phones to school.

Schools are places of learning, first and foremost. The use of cell phones and other devices must be regulated to protect this immensely important mission. Tens of millions of students - probably more - in the United States have survived without them during the school day, and this generation should be able to as well.

All school officials have to do to address the text-messaging issue is make students put their phones away - out in the open - so teachers are able to fully concentrate on doing their jobs.

But parents can't leave it all to teachers and school administrators. They need to keep abreast of school policy and preach to their children the importance of following it, too.

Requiring students to put their cell phones on a shelf, or, as some school officials suggest, in an envelope on their desks for the teacher to see until class is over, is a simple step that can put students' focus on education, which is where it should be.

Doing so also could eliminate another possible abuse - students using their cell phones to snap a picture of a test to pass on to friends.

Teachers and school administrators may not be able to keep a step ahead of technology, but they can certainly control how and when students use it. And they shouldn't hesitate to do so.

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