Take a second and think, have you seen as many phones on campus as last year?
If you aren’t aware, the AISD phone policy has changed recently. The new policy states: “To foster a healthy learning environment focused on wellness and mental health and to strengthen our community at Lively, we require students to refrain from using cell phones, smart watches, and wireless headphones or earbuds throughout the school day. We ask each student to keep their cell phone and wireless headphones/earbuds powered down and out of sight for the duration of the school day, including during lunch and passing periods, to enhance focus and engagement. They must be kept in backpacks, not on their person.”
What do the students think?
“Phones can be distractions but when used smartly, phones could be a good tool,” said 8th grader Zella Pryor. “I get that you shouldn’t have your phone out when someone else is talking but I think it’s not fair that teachers don’t get a say in what they allow.”
“If I were in charge, I would allow devices during lunch and before school, cause we aren’t learning, so what’s the point of not using them,” said 8th grader Eliza Burkhart.
“I think the main reason I would want to have my phone on me is safety concerns, especially with the state of America right now,” said 8th grader June Ligon. “I understand that phones don’t have a place in the classroom but I don’t understand the problem with using them during lunch, especially when it’s not disturbing anyone else.”
What does the admin team think?
“I think there are two main reasons phones shouldn’t be allowed at school with one being the distraction, part of learning is learning how to engage with each other… Taking phones away decreases some of that stress from texting and bullying, all kinds of things that happen online that doesn’t happen in person,” said Mrs. Tipton, Magnet Director at Lively Middle School.
“Our cell phone policy here at Lively Middle school states that students should have their cell phones turned off during school hours, school hours beginning at 8:15 and end at 3:50, that is now a district policy and not just a policy at Lively Middle School,” said Lively Principal Mrs. Rodriguez. But in favor of the other side of the argument, Rodriguez also said “In the event of an emergency or anything like that where we would need immediate cell phone access, your phone would be in your backpack if you would need to access it.”
“I think if you’re on our grounds… and you’re on your phone, its our policy,” said Robert Johnson, one of the new assistant principals at Lively. “I guess you have to think about how kids use their phones all the time right? Especially here, literally y’all are beefing all the the time.”
What do our teachers think?
“I do think the phone policy is fair, I love technology and implementing it in a classroom but I think we can implement all the technology we need through Chromebooks,” said Samantha Gang, Theatre Director at Lively. “I’d say that the cell phone policy this year has really improved the style of the classroom and the learning ability.”
“I have been teaching for the past 15 years but I’ve really seen them escalate in the past 10… Slowly over time, phones became such a distraction,” said Travis Horne, one of the Law Teachers at Lively. “People are always trying to make their conversations digital and that’s a hard habit to break… I do think it is a habit that I even struggle to break.”
“I think that it is needed. I think that its a necessary thing we have to do. Some students can handle maybe having airpods in. They can maybe handle some things and I would say to those students it feels unfair,” said Mallory Warrix, an 8th grade science teacher at Lively. “I like to use chromebooks for things like cool simulations and for things like quizzes so I can grade it instantly and it makes it better for y’all cause (you) get faster feedback.”
There are a lot of different and valid opinions about our phone policy. What do you think? Leave your answer in the comments.
