By Ryan Pike<\/p>\n
Managing Editor for Writing and Reporting<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent use of [electronic] devices during regular school hours is strictly prohibited,\u201d reads the Jamesville-DeWitt High School Student Handbook. However, rules and enforcement have not deterred the students of J-DHS from using their phones to tweet and text to their hearts\u2019 content throughout the strenuous school day.<\/p>\n
Some students at J-DHS want the school to change the rules regarding cell phone use in class.\u201cIn college you get to have your phone out, and this is a college preparatory [high] school, so why don\u2019t we have our phones out?\u201d junior Tom Canfield asked. However, it\u2019s not as simple as Canfield makes it seem. Many teachers and faculty members find there to be no benefits to phone use. \u201cI don\u2019t see any way that a phone could help you in high school,\u201d admitted Hall Monitor Jim Tuck.<\/p>\n
Like Mr. Tuck, not all students at J-DHS are pro-phone. \u201cThere\u2019s no need for phones in classes,\u201d said senior Ryan Wright; \u201cYou\u2019re there to learn.\u201d Freshman Ryan Mandelis is another student who doesn\u2019t see the value of cell phone use. \u201cKids will play Subway Surfer on their phone [while] the teacher will be teaching them this important lesson,\u201d he said; \u201cThey\u2019ll not know [what was taught] when it comes to the test, they\u2019ll flunk out of high school and they won\u2019t go to college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mandelis\u2019s hypothetical scenario does not scare students off from using their phones in class. Many students say they use their phones in class by hiding it on their desk behind a stack of books. \u201cIf people don\u2019t want to pay attention, they won\u2019t pay attention,\u201d said sophomore Brian Cieplicki.<\/p>\n
Junior Eric Nuss, who is the Vice President of the school slate, suggested that phones be allowed in the hallways of the school between classes but not during actual learning time. \u201cIt gives you a break from all the tedious learning and can help you prepare for a class and look things up that you need to know,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Several students suggested that phone use be permitted during lunch periods. \u201cIt\u2019s a distraction during class when you\u2019re supposed to be learning, but when you\u2019re in lunch you\u2019re not learning!\u201d said junior Adrianna Sotolongo. Principal Paul Gasparini said phone use in the lunchroom has been discussed, but many issues arise from what many think would be a simple rule change. \u201cIt\u2019s far too fluid,\u201d said Mr. Gasparini. He continued to say that he does not want students to claim they are on their way to lunch and therefore get away with using their phone in the hallways. \u201cWe don\u2019t want any ambiguity there,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
Another potential problem Mr. Gasparini finds with the phones is the issue of test integrity. \u201cIt is easy, even for the best student, to look up an answer on their phone,\u201d he stated; \u201cWe want to minimize the temptations that students have.\u201d Junior Bora Nanaj said that people already use their phones to cheat, so it shouldn\u2019t be a new concern for administration.
Mr. Gasparini has kept an open mind when it comes to using new technology in the classroom. \u201cObviously there are ways to use the phone for positive educational purposes,\u201d Mr. Gasparini affirmed; \u201cWe\u2019ve been having a lot of discussions internally about how they\u2019re used. The question becomes, \u2018should we allow non-educational use of the phone?\u2019 We believe that its important for students to be focused in class, especially on the work in front of them. We want to minimize distractions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students believe that they can focus in class despite the potential distraction. \u201cYour grades are on you,\u201d said sophomore Adrian Autry; \u201cIf you have all your work done and want to use your phone, go ahead and use your phone. The grades are gonna reflect whether you pay attention or not.\u201d \u201cYou can use an iPhone for good things besides just texting,\u201d said freshman Grayson Burns. Burns is right; all the quotes used in this article were recorded on an iPhone. Junior Chris McGee agrees with Burns. \u201cPhones can actually help you,\u201d he said; \u201cThey help with notes, they help answer questions and they can be a planner.\u201d \u201cLooking things up in the dictionary takes too long!\u201d complained junior Sam Mignacca; \u201cYou can just Google it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ryan Pike Managing Editor for Writing and Reporting \u201cStudent use of [electronic] devices during regular school hours is strictly prohibited,\u201d reads the Jamesville-DeWitt High School Student Handbook. However, rules and enforcement have not deterred the students of J-DHS from using their phones to tweet and text to their hearts\u2019 content throughout the strenuous school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}