With the start of the new school year comes a brand-new policy: the cell phone policy. With more rules against cellphone usage as well as punishments for both students and teachers if a student is caught with any electronic device being used, there have been a lot of mixed opinions. For some students, this policy seems overbearing, and they believe that it should be looser with its strict rules. “I don’t like it at all.” Cooper Blaine said. “I can’t even pull it out to check the time, without being yelled at to put it away. I’d say we could have certain times where we could use our phones, like when we we’re done with work and stuff, not just a straight no phone policy. I haven’t had my phone taken away thankfully.” 

However, for some teachers, this cellphone policy brought a new breath of fresh air, with them noting an increase in their student’s engagement in their classes, “This year, more students are attentive, they’re paying attention, there’s less issues, better conversations in class and better questions being asked,” said Mr. Blair, “I think in the long run, once people buy into it, it’s going to be really good for students and teachers as well.” 

Prior to this year, a lot of thought and questions went into the making of the policy, with teachers stating their concerns about what the policy may have brought to the school, “There were a lot of questions asked, I was one who asked a lot of questions, I asked if we were missing an opportunity to teach [students] how to use their phones in a professional way and monitor themselves,” Blair said, “Us teachers went back and forth, talking about how students may need them in emergencies and stuff like that. We talked about teachers needing their cellphones, so there were a lot of conversations until we got to where we are now.” 

Not only do there seem to be academic benefits with the new policy, but also health benefits for teenagers. Teacher, Mr. Andersson, describes the issues that cellphones cause in teenagers, “I was for the phone policy, because if you read this book called, “The Anxious Generation“, that book talks about the damage that cellphones have done to teenagers. For example, in 2012, Apple introduced the front facing camera, and that’s when teenage suicide started skyrocketing,” said Anderson, “Because of the front facing camera, taking photos and selfies easily when before you would have a break from social media because you would have to do it on the computer at home. Also, the doom scrolling, everybody’s attention span is now shortened to like 4 seconds. Nationwide, if you look at schools with cellphone policies, within two months, those attention spans naturally fix themselves.” 

Overall, though the cellphone policy may be strict, there are plenty of benefits that come with it, and as the students naturally adjust to it, it seems to be a great change that the school needs.