Pittsylvania County’s new phone policy has caused a recent stir among students at Chatham High School with mostly negative opinions on the change.
PCS will require students to keep phones off their person at all times during the school day, and it is currently unknown how administration will achieve this.
This policy is required of PCS because it is a policy for the whole state of Virginia, and schools will lose their funding if they do not comply with these regulations.
Another reason for the cell phone policy is students are addicted to their phones and phones usage is harmful for students. It negatively affects students both physically and mentally, which is why schools want to prevent students from using their phones as often.
Students may be required to leave their phone in a locker, or leave their entire backpack or purse in their locker if the school adopts a bag ban as well. This is only a proposal at the moment and is not the official policy.
Some of the students at school do not use their lockers. Students who haven’t kept up with their lockers will have to find out their locker numbers and combinations and make time between classes to retrieve items.
“It’s unfortunate that it [strong cell phone policy] comes to that, but some people have just caused a problem with it,” Mr. Gary Poindexter, science teacher, said. “It is a distraction and temptation which is why there needs to be tighter regulations. Personally, I see complications with this. I understand both sides; it [cell phone usage] is distracting and students give into the temptation to use it as a mechanism to get into things they shouldn’t be. How that is going to be enforced without that becoming a distraction; I don’t know. It’s going to be a hard thing to make it work smoothly.”
Teachers obviously do not want students to be on their phones in class because they are a distraction, but they also do not know how they are going to enforce the new cell phone policy; especially because students do not follow the current policy in place.
“I think PCS has bigger fish to fry, including the sixty percent of the student body that vape in middle school and high school,” Susannah Wilkinson, senior, said.
It is true that there are many issues at school that like vaping. Vaping is another huge issue, and there is currently no way to prevent students from vaping because it is difficult to regulate. It is very similar to the phone issue because it is something that can be hidden in a backpack, and students do not care about being caught because they are addicted and will continue to use the device.
“I feel like they’re treating us as if we’re criminals,” Marckayveon Martin, junior, said.”Does freedom not exist anymore? Is the First Amendment not freedom?”
“I’m gonna keep it in my pocketbook like I always have,” Tiana Myers, junior, said.
“That’s stupid, I’m keeping it in my pocket,” Daimon Golden, senior, said. “They can’t take my phone away.”
Students think that they should have a right to keep their phones on their person because it is their property, and they should be able to do what they want. However, this is because they are addicted to their phones and cannot get through the day without them. This new policy is also not the decision of Chatham High School or Pittsylvania County Schools, because they are only following the law signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin who says he’s trying to do what is best for the students.
“What if we have an emergency, like an injury or something else, and we can’t call anyone and the school won’t do anything about it,” Aden Gross, junior, said.
Students are concerned that there will be an emergency where they need to use their phones, but will not be able to. Emergencies could include needing to call your parents or 911, but the teachers and administration can, and already do this if there is an emergency.
Many students plan to fight against the new phone policy, but it is likely to bring positive change to how students perform in their classes.
Students may get more work done because they will not be distracted by their phones.
Students’ attention spans and productivity may increase as well because they will not be able to have entertainment or pass free time on their phones.
The governor thinks the new cell phone policies are best for students’ physical and mental well being, though it seems it may be a rough transition.
