July 26, 2007

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Students and the Cell Phone Ban

Filed under: Education Guest Bloggers by Seth Pearce @ 2:18 pm

[Editor's note: With the results of this morning's poll, I asked Seth Pearce from the NYC Student Union to blog about the New York City Council's vote to reverse the cellphone ban. Seth is one of the student leaders opposed to the cell phone ban.]

Today, as a student, I would like to applaud the City Council’s decision to let students have their cell phones during the commute to and from school. I am glad that it has become clear to them that for us students, this is not a matter of convenience but a matter of safety.

Plainly, students should not be scared to go to school. Just as our teachers, administrators and School Safety Agents work every day to keep us safe inside, City policy should protect us outside the walls of the school building. A student should not have to be afraid that in the event of an emergency, they will be isolated and imperiled because they were forced to leave their cell phones at home.

Second, I want to point out that this is an issue that has really riled up the students of New York City. This is an issue that, in Spring 2006, brought together over 100 students at LaGuardia High School to say that they would not enter the building in the event of a random scan in which cell phones were confiscated. This is an issue that brought students together from schools in every borough to the New York City Student Union’s first meeting, in September 2006, to say that it is time for students to have a say in the policies written about them.

Most importantly, this is an issue that keeps us students at a distance from our schools and our education.

There has been a lot of talk about how this ban affects the relationship between students and teachers. Some critics have said that a lift of the cell phone ban would pit students against their teachers, turning teachers into police officers. Although it may present a challenge, it is one that thoughtful teachers and school administrators can manage. As the UFT said when it voted to oppose the policy:

In lieu of banning the possession of cell phones outright, each school should develop and enforce a policy prohibiting cell phone use by students in the school building.

Even at the grassroots level, teachers have supported students in their crusade against the cell phone ban. At the aforementioned LaGuardia meeting, a teacher who was present suggested that students place their cell phones on their desks during a test to ensure the integrity of the test.

When students are asked, “What is wrong with the NYC education system today?” many of them will answer, “the cell phone ban.” When faced with a rule that students feel is such a threat to their safety and security, students are likely to direct their fear and anger toward the Department of Education, their schools and sadly, their teachers. This undermines all of the work that the Department of Education is doing to improve our schools.

Thank you, City Council, for voting against this threat to our safety and our education.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.

5 Comments »

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  • It’s great that the City Council has allowed students to carry their phones with them to and from school, but how feasible it is to require schools to hold them during classes? I wonder if it might place an undue burden on the individual schools, as the City Council doesn’t seem to give any recommendations as to HOW this plan should be implemented.
    Yet, the decision is a step forward in the right direction. I only hope that it is an effective solution.

    Comment by bluedaisy — July 26, 2007 @ 3:39 pm

  • My school “allowed” students to carry phones but entrusted them to maintain a “hear no evil/see no evil” situation. This allowed students to feel validated as thinking, responsible individuals. However, the fact of the matter is that students don’t need to have their phones ON or IN-USE in school. If this message could be impressed on administrators, we’d be in pretty good shape. Admins will never win to ban cell phones from schools; however, compromise is not only possible but effective.

    Comment by hippogriffinator — July 26, 2007 @ 5:06 pm

  • We had the same policy as hippogriffinator’s schools: out of sight and turned off. At the same time, the teachers who had the best handle on this policy were the ones who were absolutely strict about it: any cell phone seen or heard (morning and afternoon homeroom were the exceptions, when students could store/turn off their phone) was immediately confiscated. This gives students the sense of responsibility that comes with carrying a cell phone. I thought it a sign of responsibility and maturity when one of my 6th graders would raise their hand and quietly tell me they forgot to turn off their phone. The first two times this happened I would allow them to do so quickly and quietly.

    As far as parents’/students’ concern for safety, on a day-to-day basis, I told both that any emergency can be relayed through school phones in the office: if a parent can have their child’s cell number stored, they can also have the school’s number stored. But we had the sense of safety that if a situtation were ever to arise that needed mass contacting of parents, students would be explicitly allowed to take out phones and call to get picked up.

    Comment by greek625 — July 27, 2007 @ 10:06 am

  • [...] response to yesterday’s ruling, Edwize- the UFT blog and the Inside Schools Blog both referenced the NYC Student Union’s actions against the [...]

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  • [...] New York Daily News, more in the New York Sun, and be sure to read yesterday’s guest blog post on the cell phone ban by Seth Pearce from the NYC Student [...]

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