Students' cell phones have no place in schools

Frontiersman editorial board

The Mat-Su Borough School Board is considering a change to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook that would limit cell-phone use in schools. We think the school district is on the right course.

Advances in technology have made what was once considered a luxury item into an everyday communication tool; some would even argue that cell phones are a necessity.

While cell phones most assuredly are convenient and provide an additional safety outlet for those who spend a lot of time on the road, and they are a reassuring connection between parents and children, there are public places where the use of cell phones is just not appropriate and the classroom is one.

Aside from the disruption and distraction a ringing cell phone causes, enhancements such as voice and text-messaging make it all too easy for students to cheat on exams.

Newer cell phones equipped with digital photography capabilities create yet another set of concerns, including the chance students could use them to take pictures of other students changing clothes in gym locker rooms or restrooms. If an incident like this were to occur, what would the school district's liability be?

Some students and parents may argue that cell phones are needed in case of emergency contact.

While a valid concern, we need to keep in mind that all schools are equipped with their own telephone systems and parents can get messages to their children through the school office. I know that system worked well for my mother when I was in school, and it worked well for me when I needed to communicate a message to my own

children.

In this day of instant communication, instant messages and instant gratification, it becomes easy to become dependent on the tools we use to send and receive. We need to remember that these devices were designed for convenience and to make our lives easier, not to control and monopolize our time.

Teachers are facing enough challenges in ensuring a quality education for our children without having to compete with a cell phone for students' attention.

Our children are our greatest resource and we should all be working diligently to make sure we are educating them well, as they will, one day, be the leaders for

our community.