WOODBURY– This fall at Nonnewaug High School, new rules have been put in place to eliminate the distraction of cell phones in an effort for students to be less distracted and more focused on their school work. The new rules include putting our phones “out of sight out of mind”.
This new policy isn’t exclusive to just the NHS as surrounding towns, and states are looking to break the student reliance on cell phones during the school day, yet one question remains: have school administrators gone too far? Or rather, is the new phone policy for the better?
One concern is how do student’s parents feel about not being in contact with their child, especially if in an emergency.
“Until my kids had cell phones, I never had a way to contact them,” said NHS English faculty Marisa Holtman. “But my son now has a phone he brings to school. I think it’s important to have it away during academic times, but I’d like to be able to reach him if he’s in the hall or at lunch. I think that is equally important.”
When asked about what the most pressing concern is about the new rule, Holtman noted student distractibility.
“I don’t really have a concern,” Holtman said when evaluating the benefits of removing phones from the classroom. “I think it’s beneficial for them to not be distracted with the phones, even in their backpack it’s still a distraction.”
Does the new cell phone policy change their routine communications with parents and family? Absolutely, but students are having a difficult time balancing academic life with life beyond campus, a life that often requires communication during the school day.
“If there was ever an emergency and I didn’t have my phone,” said Julia Longoria, a senior at Nonnewaug who noted that her parents aren’t happy about the new rules, “I don’t know how I would contact them. My parents are concerned about it.”
Longoria’s parents are one out of many that feel this way.
Olivia Piche, a student at NHS replied with: “My parents get really frustrated because they try to communicate with me about scheduling, it’s even harder because my parents are divorced and I also don’t have my license.” “they are not happy about the new rules.”
Piche is tired of her parents not understanding why she can’t answer her phone right away.
“It’s a whole miscommunication and it just causes more problems,” Piche said.
For other NHS staff who have had children attend, this is a new frontier that’s new to everyone on campus.
“Times really have changed,” said Ellie Bruce, NHS staff. “School isn’t like how it used to be.”
