We live in a digital world. Everyone has some sort of a device, the most popular being cellphones and airpods, which are both very essential to whoever owns them. Although most people are already used to having/using their phones and/or airpods at all times, it’s important to keep them out of sight during school hours due to the fact that it is a huge distraction for yourself and for others.
It’s sad to say, but the majority of people, specifically teens, are addicted to their phones. One vibration and they are grabbing their phone as quickly as they can to check what that notification is all about.
If you were to walk into a classroom before the bell rings or to walk around the halls during passing period, the majority of students you will see will be using their phones. They won’t have their heads held high as they are walking casually to class. What you will see is the top of people’s heads as they are looking down, using their phones.
All that teachers do is kindly ask for cell phones to be put away. Some ask for it to be out of sight, in other words in your pocket. While others ask for it to be put in a box or inside a backpack. Yet, for some students it’s apparently not that easy.
Now, I do understand that school can be very tiring. Seven hours sitting at a desk and working in front of a computer screen all day. Of course you’re going to want a break eventually. But, using your cellphone during class, during a lesson or a lecture, can distract not only you but also other students around you, which can later on negatively affect those students’ grades/learning experiences. On top of cellphone usage being a distraction, it can also be seen as disrespectful towards the teacher and/or students in the classroom that are trying to teach/learn.
We go to school to learn, whether you like it or not. And yes, at times it can feel like a really long day, but not paying attention and using your cell phone instead, shouldn’t be an option when you will have plenty of time in the afternoon to be on your phone all you want, without wasting the little time out of the day that your teacher has with you.
Another way that students tend to become sidetracked when in a classroom, is hearing someone’s music as it’s blasting through their airpods. Although it’s been said that listening to specific types of music can reduce stress while working, improve your focus, and help learn or memorize information quicker, it can also lead to that specific student becoming distracted by the music and begin to lose focus while working which can later on delay its completion. On top of it being a distraction for the person who is actually listening to the music, it can also affect other students around them who hear it by becoming distracted themselves.
In a classroom, there’s always a person or two who have been told several times to do something, but still decide not to do it. In my classes, there’s that set of people who always have their airpods in. Sometimes the teacher notices it, sometimes they don’t. But when the teacher does notice it, they simply ask for them to be put away. Yet for the majority of the time, they don’t, which then makes the teacher repeat the same thing over and over again throughout the class, wasting the time that other students can be learning. The sight of airpods also affects how a teacher runs his/her classroom by making it seem that you are not paying attention to the information that is being presented and can simply give off the impression that you just don’t care about being there.
Throughout my years of high school, I’ve had teachers ask for my cellphone to be in my pocket, in a box, and/or in my backpack. All of those being very easy to follow and are ways that allow me to be able to focus more on my assignments during class. I find these tactics more useful in classes where I have to be taking notes consecutively and be more focused in comparison to other classes.
All in all, my take on this issue is that I truly believe that cellphones and airpods shouldn’t be allowed in classrooms due to the fact that they’re not necessary and that all it does is worsen someone’s learning.
