This school year Mendham High School is re-instituting a cell phone policy that requires students to put their phones in phone holders at the beginning of every class. The rules of the new phone policy are that every student is required to drop their phone in their assigned phone holder pocket at the beginning of class and pick it up at the end of class. While teachers seem to \be in support of this new rule, many students are disgruntled by losing the privilege of keeping their phones with them during class time.
The older students at Mendham were surprised when they came into school and had to put their phones in the holders. Many students are even referring to the phone holders as “phone jail.” Upperclassmen were expecting it to be similar to last year, where students were expected to leave their phones in their backpacks and occasionally be able to take it out with permission during silent work to listen to music. Seniors at Mendham said they liked having their phones on them so they could communicate with parents during school hours. These communications are usually related to grades, rides home, or other after school activities. Shayna Petrucci brought up a recent issue with attendance and parents receiving calls that their children were absent. Many parents, including Shayna’s, tried texting their kids to make sure they were at school, but students were unable to respond because their phones were in the phone holders. Petrucci noted her parents were concerned that they were unable to contact her when it happened. Junior Tyler Gilmore said that he was worried if any type of emergency happened at school, students might not be able to reach out to their parents to tell them what was going on and if they were okay.
On the other hand, students from all grade levels were able to agree that not having their phones would help with learning and paying attention. It was mentioned that there would be less distraction and there would no longer be the temptation to use a cell phone because it is not right next to a student, which is one of the reasons why the administration put the policy into effect. Elizabeth Panfile commented that even though there is no longer the ability to give into temptation, it might make the students dislike and want to disobey the rule more.
Many teachers seem to be in favor of the new cell phone policy. Ms. Brown, the psychology teacher, is especially excited about the new policy. She believes her students are interacting with each other more at the beginnings and ends of classes. There are more conversations between and among the young adults sitting next to each other, which is something she loves. One of her favorite aspects of the school year so far is asking her class to quiet down for the first time in years. While in the past students would usually just scroll on their phones upon entering class, now they talk to those around them, take out a book, or do other more cerebral activities. Ms. Brown also thought the new cell phone policy is good because it prepares students for college when they do have to choose to separate themselves from their phones and no one requires them to do it. In response to students not being able to contact their parents, Ms. Brown suggests parents could call the front office if there is an emergency or just send a quick email.
From an administrative standpoint, Mrs. Meagher says the new phone policy has been working very well. Last year there were problems with students meeting up in the hallways, bathrooms, or just walking around in the hallways with their phones. Another problem many teachers noticed was when students were told to leave their phones in their backpacks, students would still try to hide their phones under their desks or elsewhere to use them during class. The phones became too much of a distraction, and students were disengaged in the lessons. Surveys were conducted and meetings were held to see how to potentially change this. Some teachers already had the holders, and those policies worked very well, so the district invested in them for the whole school. The only problem so far is when students put burner phones in the holders and then walk around with their actual phone. For the most part, though, teachers find students to be more engaged in lessons and more interactive with each other.
There are many different points of view on this new policy. Regardless of one’s opinion, it is working very effectively to keep students engaged and learning. This policy is definitely going to be around all year, and we will have to see what the long-term effects are for both students and staff.