Have you ever thought the cell phone policy was unfair to students? Mrs. Steckel, West Middle School’s principal, explains why the policy exists.
The cell phone policy helps with mental health. According to Mrs. Steckel, “If you pick up your phone 200 times a day, it will impact how you pay attention in school.” Struggling in school has a negative impact on how you feel about yourself, and paying attention in class gives you the best chance of success.
The cell phone policy helps with grades as well. “It definitely helps with putting it away to be more engaged and more focused when you’re in class, rather than having something that is buzzing,” said Mrs. Steckel.
For those who are wondering about exceptions to the policy, Mrs. Steckel said, “Sometimes we may have students that may need to have their phone and it would be for a medical reason.” For example, a student with a Dexcom monitor for diabetes may need to access real-time information about their blood sugar. In these cases, Mrs. Steckel notes, “It’s less about it being a phone and more about it being a tool to help support them for their medical needs.”
Why should students support this policy? Mrs. Steckel said that there is, “just a ton of research.” She said that, “we had cell phones for a length of time and we could really see the harm about having it when brains are still developing.” The policy is in place to help students.
