For years, schools have faced a tough argument; should cellphones be banned in classrooms?

This year, Kennedy’s new cell phone policy went into effect, discouraging students from bringing their cell phones into school and strongly encouraging them to be locked in cars during the school day. If a student brings their phone, it is mandatory in all classrooms for them to place it in a designated pocket holder.

Additionally, if a student is seen on their phone during class, they will be asked to put it away by their teacher. If the student refuses, they will be sent to the office where they will be given a suspension, a significant change from the warning system of 2023. Along with no cell phones in the classrooms, a student is not allowed to have their phone while going to the bathroom or any other action resulting in leaving the class. 

“I understand the reasoning behind it as cell phones take away from the students’ attention in class, but having to police it can be trivial,” Kennedy social studies teacher Tony Vis said.

With the transition to cell phone holders during lessons, teachers have seen a change in students’ attention. Teachers don’t have to worry about students playing games or watching videos during class time anymore.  

“So far, all of my classes, which consist of both upper and underclassmen, are doing a really great job,” Kennedy English teacher Dana Burger said. 

Teachers agree that the less time students spend on their phones, the fewer fights that will happen on school grounds, and cyber-bullying incidents will lessen.

“There were fights that were precipitated by social media use and phone usage last year so less phone time equals less fights,” Spanish teacher Jennifer Neilly said.

This connects directly to the students who record school fights. 

“I think recording school fights can go both ways, good and bad,” sophomore Maddex Underwood said. “It can be a good thing because it can be evidence of what happened or who started it, but it can also be a bad thing because kids like to spread/post the videos.”

The humiliation of students is also an aspect of fights being recorded.

“I think that students who record school fights are incredibly insensitive,” junior Brook Bruns said “It’s a lot of emotion being openly displayed and sometimes when not all parties are ready for a fight, they are purposely trying to humiliate people and I don’t think that is morally right.”

Despite the learning benefits, student safety is called into question. Phones have an impact on violent and dangerous situations within schools. If a student is not allowed to have a phone, there is no way for them to reach an emergency line or even text their parents about such a situation. 

“If there was an emergency at school we wouldn’t be able to call the police or our parents,” senior Lily Parks said. “You never know the situation someone is dealing with and if they need to reach out to someone or they need to keep tabs on a situation they can.”

While a sad reality, school shootings are a prevalent enough issue in the United States to require the consideration of this possibility. Just last year, the entire Cedar Rapids Community School District was shut down due to violent threats. If a student happens to be outside of the classroom during an emergency and the situation escalates quickly, it can be life-threatening.

“Students should have at least minimal access to their phones in case of an unfortunate instance where they’d need to communicate with loved ones,” said Bruns. “In instances like this safety needs to be put before education.”