With the technology boom of the 21st century, cell phones have become a central feature of everyday life. Students in particular are some of the main people using cell phones on a daily basis, which has caused some controversy around whether or not they should be used on campus during school hours. I feel that during school you should still be able to have your phones, but if you have your phones they need to be put away in pockets or backpacks.
In what many consider a shocking, unnecessary or impromptu move, California Governor Gavin Newsom has intent to ban all usage of phones statewide for students during school hours starting in the 2026 school year. According to Imperial Valley Press, this idea is intended to “reduce distractions” for students in class, “improve academic performance” and “address mental health concerns” that have to do with excessive screen time and social media usage.
A compromise that I believe can be beneficial for both students and teachers is that teachers should be able to make sure students are not on their phones. If they are, it can be taken, but the student should get warnings before it is confiscated. This is what Buena currently does, which I think is very logical.
“I do believe that without phones in the classroom, it’s going to show positively in their academics, there’s nothing to distract them, and I do believe it will help [students] socially. As they’ll be able to communicate more with their friends rather than spending their break time on their phones,” English teacher Candice Hernandez said.
I feel that when someone says phone usage is disrupting the education of students, it may also help students. When I use my phone for school, I use it to check my answers once done with work. Or when I need help, I will text one of my friends to help, or I will look up a study guide or even a Youtube video to help me with said work.
Phone hotels have been see more and more in classes, I feel the phone hotels aren’t a terrible idea, but instead of the phones should only be condemned to hotels when testing. Simple assignments should not require students to have their phones taken.
Social media has been seen as negative for students, however it has a lot of positives to it too. From my personal experiences, I have been able to make a lot of positive relationships with friends over online platforms and ask other students or friends for help with school work.
“[Social media] can distract me during school, but I also feel that phones can help especially during school for studying. I am not saying to use AI, [but] I’m saying [people can make] study guides and [use] a bunch of different tools with your phone,” Karzo said.
Phones used as a tool for studying is not the only reason why phones are beneficial at school. For example, if there is a family emergency and my phone isn’t available, there is no one that can contact the school other than my dad. However, he lives in Las Vegas, which isn’t convenient for the time. If something like that happened, since the school doesn’t have my full contact list, I would not be notified of the emergency.
“I think that we should have our phones on us almost at all times, just in case of a[n] emergency were to happen [so] we can contact our loved ones,” Sophomore Joseph Karzo said.
I feel that to fix the phone usage at school instead of taking phones away fully, the school board should imply that students keep their phones on them, but there should be no usage in the classroom unless given permission.
