WOODBURY – One month into the new cell phone policy at Nonnewaug, teachers are seeing improvement within the classrooms.
“Teachers have been saying that students appear to be paying more attention and better grasping what is going on in class,” Nonnewaug social worker Sharon Gomes said. “When we just had cell phones away, but not in the [phone] holders, kids were like, under their desk, going on their phones, so how can you pay attention when you’re doing two things at once?”
The policy states that students must place their cell phones in the cell phone pocket on each classroom wall at the start of each class. If a student’s phone is not in the assigned pocket, then the student receives a disciplinary referral.
While many staff members see a positive difference in the classroom, some students need their phones to focus. Some students find their cellphone as a safe zone.
“It kind of makes us more anxious and I believe kids feel more comfortable with their phones on them,” said junior Tessa O’Neil. “Now it doesn’t mean kids will go on them [if they have them]. It makes me feel more focused, lock in, and get my work done.”
But have the teachers and the staff recognized the struggle from the student’s point of view? Some students struggle daily with this new policy.
“I do believe it’s been a great struggle for many students to put their phones away because they’re not used to it,” said Gomes. “Because they are reliant on their phones and they use their phones for mental health support rather than going to people. I do think that, um, it has affected some kids’ negatively.”
Most kids rely on their phones because that’s all they knew for two years when COVID-19 was around. Students relied on the internet and electronics to communicate with one another. Teenagers struggle every day with mental health within Nonnewaug High School, it’s just all about how you deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Some students read, write, draw, and dance but most find an easy way to deal with it is by distracting themselves with their phones which is very normal in this day and age. But is the cell phone affecting students negatively?
“In the past, you’d have to go to a real-life person because you didn’t have a phone to rely on,” said Gomes. “But it’s like it is what it is, it’s what we have, we have our phones, and as adults we rely on them, you see adults all around the school carrying their phones.”
Even staff and teachers rely on their phones, but staff and teachers aren’t required to follow the student’s policy. The policy consists of placing your cell phone in the cell phone pocket on each classroom wall. On the second offense if a student’s phone is not in the assigned pocket then it’s required to report to the office. The phone is to remain in the holder if the student leaves the room (i.e., goes to the bathroom) and returns.
But is this fair for all students? Some students who follow the rules don’t believe they deserve these rules. If you follow the rules and stick to what they are asking, students will most likely stay out of trouble.
“If you abused the power of having your phone by you, then you should get it taken away from you,” said O’Neil. “But I don’t believe every student should have their phone taken away from them. I followed the rules because I don’t want my phone sitting in the office so whatever.”
