Cellphones in the classroom have been a widely debated topic since the entering of high school. The basic consensus is that some students argue that cellphones are beneficial to the classroom environment because it helps them to access information quickly and gives them the ability to listen to music to help concentrate. On the other side, some teachers argue that they are distracting to the learning environment and will promote the use of social media instead of listening to the lecture. It is a popular topic discussed between students about which teachers allow you to have your phones during class, and the ones that have you put your phone inside a bucket or a hanging phone organizer. Two teachers weigh in on why they do not allow cell phones in the classroom.

Government and Civics teacher, John Garrish, opts for students to have to place their phones into a container. When asked about this decision and if he believes that it helps students to achieve better grades, he commented “I just think that having limited distractions no matter what it is, is going to help you focus more on the things that we want you to focus on, and although I don’t have too much to compare it off, I can almost guarantee that most students are going to do better on tests just because you’re not going to be missing small things over a large period of time, ‘cause those things add up.”

Demonstrating a different point of view, English Language teacher, Jillian Dobosz, argued that students should also not be allowed the use of cell phones in the classroom. However, she does go as far to say that “cell phones can be an excellent tool for students – – if a question pops up in classroom that we’re interested in, I often ask a student to research it. It gets that particular student engaged in learning and allows us to answer questions quickly and effectively! If the tools are there, I think we should use them to the best of their ability!” Although she does not allow them in the classroom, she also demonstrates a point of view of understanding of why they can be effective.