Should Teachers Collect
Students ’ Phones During Class ?
By Nick Kim
Nowadays , most students have their own phones , which can be immensely helpful to them in many ways . However , they can also distract some students during class time , causing them to misuse them with inappropriate classroom behavior . To prevent these actions from happening , the teachers can collect students ’ phones at the beginning of the class and return them at the end of the lesson . Max Yeo , an SLAS 8th grader , has a Wildcat teacher who allows his students to use their phones during his Wildcat time . He claimed , “ I think teachers should not take students ’ phones during class unless they behave inappropriately using their phones . I think taking students ’ phones even before they do something might make them even more distracted , causing them to think about their phones for the entire time . Instead , teachers can strengthen the rules about phones and give harsh punishments .” If students continue to behave inappropriately in class after being given a second chance , teachers may be granted additional authority to punish students harshly . Thomas Wang , a CAIS 8th grader , said , “ I think teachers must collect students ’ phones every class unless they don ’ t return them to the students after class . I have seen a teacher who took students ’ phones and didn ’ t return them [ at the end of the class ]. Except a few cases like this , I think collecting students ’ phones will be a good teaching policy .” Additionally , www . througheducation . com stated that the teachers may have the privilege to take students ’ phones if needed , but with a few limitations . For instance , they can ’ t unlock students ’ phones and read over their personal content . Teachers should also have limitations when punishing the students since they might not have enough evidence of what their students were doing unless they actually saw what they were doing . Alternatively , if students who see what is happening are honest and tell the teacher what their classmate
was doing , teachers can figure out what the student was doing with their phone . However , this process can also be a problem since the students can lie to protect their friends . Mark Liu , a CAIS 8th grader , stated , “ There are many cases where students lie for their friends . Those students might confuse the teachers with their dishonesty , and that ’ s clearly against the students ’ duty of being honest people .” Eventually , everything will depend on students ’ honesty . Therefore , the solution to this problem will be to collect students ’ phones only if they make a bad decision . Teachers , in my opinion , should not collect students ’ phones every class because it causes students to obsess over their missing phones . This method might also help teachers identify students with good and bad behavior .