Cell Phone Crackdown at APS

Tomas Segovia
Soc 313-003
Blog Post #7

This article comes from the Albuquerque Journal and it evaluates the use of cell phones in school. APS is making a proposal which will ban cell phone use in schools officially. There has been constant struggle over the issue since cell phone use began to rise years ago. One main argument against banning cell phones is the loss of contact between parents and students, which parents argue is essential in organizing after-school logistics. Despite that however, there is many more arguments which support the proposal including stopping cyber-bulling, distractions, cheating, blocking sexual/violent content and social networking sites, which are deemed inappropriate in a school setting. APS is trying to circulate a draft of the proposal specifics in order to get comments from parents, students, and teachers before they decide to make anything official.

I found this article interesting because it is a battle between education effectiveness and personal commodities. Education is important, plain and simple, but at that level students are uninterested with school topics. Cell phones give them a link to the outside world, a way to stay active in their social life; which at that age is all that matters. So should we force students to pay attention in class because we know it will help them later or give them their freedom now, which could deter them from excelling later on? Obviously, limiting their cell phone usage is a control mechanism as well as limiting the flow of information between friends and family; but what if its for a good cause? Its important to note that most controlling acts begin as good causes and later transform into something else. But, how else are we to get students engaged in class rooms if we don't segregate them from the outside world and all its distractions?


http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/102244373834newsmetro12-10-09.htm
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/102355148093newsmetro12-10-09.htm