5 Minutes to Text a Waste?

September 6, 2010  
Filed under Entertainment

Into the second week of school, students are struggling to get used to the new changes, such as seven classes every day. One change that many students seem to have taken advantage of, however, is phone use during passing periods. Students get to check and use their phones for five minutes while getting between classes. So, why have students earned this privilege?
“We were looking for ways to decrease phone use in class. Other schools were experimenting with the idea and we decided to try it out. We want students to be able to check in between classes so that phone use will be cut down in class,” Principal Johnson said.
But how will this cut down phone use in class? If all of the students use them between classes, they obviously have them with them during class. I would think that having it in class and sending a message right before would make a student more tempted to use their phone in class.
While many students are thrilled with any allowed phone use during the day, is this the right way to use our phones? Or is it a pointless advantage to students? Our student handbook states that students are encouraged to leave their phones and electronic devices at home, but how many students honestly do that? If we are encouraged to leave them at home, why are we allowed to use them for five measly minutes in between class? I may be in the minority, but I feel as if this new “advantage” is pointless, and I do not benefit from it. I see all of my friends from 7:45 to 3:10 at school, and even afterwards if I choose to, so why would I need to text them the whole time? I am at school for a reason, and that is not to socialize. Does this new rule say that we should be more worried about socializing instead of being focused at school?

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Angela Geist

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