How Phone Usage in School Affects Students Grades

Gabe Rentfrow, MVC Writer

Students these days are more obsessed with their phone than with the class they are sitting in at that moment. Some students use their phones for things other than school work during class. If students checked the school handbook they would see,”Students must have cell phones turned off and put away during classes from beginning to end. Students may use cell phones during passing periods and at lunch as long as the use of the cell phone is not causing a disruption to school purposes. For safety reasons, students using headphones can only use one ear bud during passing periods and lunch.”

While there may be rules for cellphone use in the handbook, not everyone follows them.“ 

Charlie Runyan, 9, said “I use my phone for about an hour a day during school.” 

        However, some students like Ella Hodnett, 9, do follow the rules,¨I use my phone for about 20 minutes during school, but just for reading during lunch.”  

Mrs. Huth, a  biology teacher, has noticed this outbreak of phone usage during school. She said, ”All these students that have used their phone in class for things other than schoolwork have changed their way of learning in school, and it’s really affected them. Last year my students stayed in the A/B range  with only one or two with a C, and now this year I have multiple students with C’s and D’s. I feel that my students in class are more obsessed with the video they’re watching or the game that they’re going to play when they get home, that they tune out my class.¨ 

          Mrs. Huth does not believe that phones should be taken away from class, but should be used with caution and only for schoolwork, “Those phones that students have in their hands can be a wonderful classroom tool, but if used unwisely, can cause many problems in the students future career.” 

      If cellphone usage which violates the rules continues, students may be banned from using their phones in the school. This will make certain parts of classes harder since many teachers have their students use their phones regularly in class for schoolwork.