The Permission To Allow Students To Use Cell Phones

In this era of information and technology, built upon a foundation of free and easy to access data and knowledge. One question has boggled the minds and has been a cause for discourse between traditional and orthodox educators against the opinions of modern and unconventional educators. Should students be allowed to use their cellphones in classrooms? A question I define to be ambiguous, being open to more than one interpretation or vague. Therefore, I shall focus on the most probable direction to which this question pertains and reword it into the question, should students be allowed to use their cellphones during class. I’ve reworded it simply because the original question is like a lock which opens to any key or a mother who loves you for who you are no matter how dumb your answers may be. Such as citing the use of cellphones as a non-law violating act, as of right now there are no laws that prohibit individuals to use their cellphones at any given moment. Another way of answering this question is through a case to case basis, wherein relative autonomy is given to some institutions for safety and protective measures. Even the simplest answer of I will because I can, could even be a sufficient answer. But back to the matter at hand, I shall give a reason as to why students should be allowed to utilize their phones within classrooms.

The use of cellphones and electronic devices in general is a greener alternative than traditional pen and paper note taking. Not everybody has the finances to buy laptops or iPads, but a lot of people can purchase cellphones. We need to be pragmatic and sympathetic about this, if even higher learning institutions allow their students to use electronic devices such as laptops and tablets than what is preventing us from allowing the use of cellphones, it is highly contradictory and backwards thinking. Electronic notes are the future, they are faster, greener, and one has a higher degree of control to the way they make notes, which in the end aid a student in creating notes that he/she/they can actually understand and learn from. Furthermore, students can now suffer less from finger fatigue or the hands and fingers being overworked due to a heavy load of note taking.

Cellphones are basically portable libraries, the keys into the known unknown. They have been monumental in the twenty-first century development and innovation of humanity. Borders have been torn, distances have been shortened and families and friends have been brought together no matter where in the world they are. This technology which has helped us grasp our present and our future should also be the technology that will open even new areas of benefits. Thus, I reiterate my claim, cellphones should be allowed in schools, if the only reason as to why they are banned is that they are a distraction and a disturbance to the class is merely a claim of preference and conformity. For what is the difference between a cellphone, a tablet, and a laptop aside from the larger screens and better specifications? In a classroom setting they can all still be used for the same purpose. Let us be pragmatic and logical in this, that we may be more inclusive and that we may forge a path that leads to a more efficient future that allows more time for students to bond not only in the classroom, but perhaps even at home, with their families.