Do Phones Affect Learning?

Do Phones Affect the Way Students Learn?

By Gerry Cenobio

    Cell phones have been around for half a century and their intended purpose of communication has exceeded the bar on what they were initially made for. Should cell phones that heavily influence the youth in these new generations have stricter regulations in a school environment.

Usage of Phones in Classes

    Phones have affected and transformed the world around us and have brought us good and bad memories with their ability to take and save pictures and call people around the world as well as being able to find any information around the world within seconds. But along the way, phones have become a source of addiction and a distraction for students who use them for entertainment purposes during school hours that are supposed to be dedicated to learning.

     At Greenfield High School students are encouraged to follow a cell phone policy that is the California State Law about cell phones. It states that "Electronic signaling devices shall be turned off and kept out of sight during class time or at any other time as directed by a school district employee, except where deemed medically necessary or when otherwise permitted by the teacher or administration.” Yet students don’t follow this state mandate, rather, they follow the specific policy that their teachers tell them verbally, or in their class syllabi. Yet these classroom-to-classroom policies contradict the district policy given in the school agenda issued to every student. The agenda contains the South Monterey County District-wide rule that all phones should be left at home. With these contradictory policies and messages, students may ask questions such as: Am I able to use my phone in class? Am I learning more when I use my phone in class? Are these policies better for my academic grades? Is the teacher's policy for my well-being?

Journalist Omar Garcia uses his phone to do research in class. Photograph by Gerry Cenobio.

Are Phones Being Used Correctly?

The exact role cell phones should or should not take in education is still up in the air. One question being raised today is whether the school system should take into consideration the huge effect phones have on students. Another is if the students should be taught how to use a cell phone effectively as a classroom tool, since most students have never been taught how to use a phone for something other than entertainment. The Bruin’s Eye asked Alondra Lopez Alvares, a senior at Greenfield High School, if she thinks she benefits from using her phone at school. Alondra declares, “No because teachers will have their own rules anyways, so it doesn’t really matter.” In other words, Alondra believes it's up to the teachers to ensure these students use their phones the right way on campus. Currently, Alondra discloses she typically uses her phone “just for entertainment whenever I have free time.” 

    Elizabeth Baltazar, one of the new Vice Principals at Greenfield High School spoke to the Bruin Eye about the cell phone policy. Baltazar told our reporter that on average teachers hand over phones about 3 to 4 times a week that she must confiscate due to misuse or disruption in the learning environment. She also observes “it’s a balance on how to teach students how to regulate phone usage.” Baltazar also stated that “No one has actually educated us on how to use our cell phones, [such as] when to put it away, [or to ask] the why behind it. You’d think that would be valuable.” The problem is that most teens use cell phones as a tool to escape from reality. Using a phone can become as addictive as a drug with more people in our society spending more screen time on the daily.

Strict Rule of Phones in Class

    Yet a strict phone policy or a rule that a teacher implements might not be to the liking of many of the students. But at Greenfield High School, Ms. Gray, who covers Health and credit recovery, recently spoke to the Bruins Eye and when asked what phone policy she exercises she declared, “I have students place their cell phones into a pocket on the wall. We do this for a few weeks until they get the routine down. While I am lecturing, the phones are away. Once I'm done and turn students loose to work on independent assignments, I allow them to use their cell phones.” She also emphasized, “I'm very strict with the policy at the beginning of each semester. However, once I get to know my students better, I allow them the autonomy to keep their phones on them but expect them to be put away when I am teaching.” This shows if the teacher is willing to step in and take control of the situation, a good outcome will come.

    A few teachers have a somewhat strict rule of phones in their classrooms. Mrs. Cortes, an English teacher at Greenfield High School who has taught at the school for several years, has recently taken up a new cellphone policy. Students come into class and put their phones in a cell phone cady and have the option to charge it there as well. Students don’t use their phones in class nor use headphones and those who don’t follow this rule will get their phone taken away if caught again they don’t get it back until the end of the day, and sometimes get a phone call home. When asked if she thought if this rule was strict, she responded with “I think I'm strict with this policy and I think my students think so too.” Although her classroom policy is somewhat strict, when asked if she thinks this policy helps the way she teaches Cortes replies “I think it does. I think it prevents distractions as students aren't using it for academic purposes [..] and I don’t have to constantly be reminding them saying phone, phone, phone.” Cortes words repeat the earlier statements given by some on campus: that teachers’ methods of regulating phones in class help students to get a better understanding of the subject their teachers are trying to teach. And learning is the real goal of our classes, even if enforcing those cell phone policies are not to everyone’s liking.