Controversial New Phone Policy
““There are seniors that are eighteen years old … old enough to die for our country but not to have our phones in class,” said senior Idan Sharabi.”
JCHS has recently begun implementation of a new pilot cell phone policy designed to reduce the distraction of cellular phones in class. The pilot has been met with mixed reviews from students and praise from the Professional Community. A similar program implemented this year at the Urban School of San Francisco has inspired the program, according to Rabbi Buchin. The initiative requires students to place their cellular phones in the pockets of hanging organizers usually used for shoes.
In the past, students have often left their phones face-down on their desks. However, teachers do not believe that this reduces cell phone use in class to a manageable level. The program will last until the end of the year amongst participating teachers with the possibility of becoming school policy, but only if the pilot is deemed effective. Many students opted to express their disappointments verbally.
“I think they’re treating us like five-year-olds,” said senior Moze Thurmgreene.
“It’s ridiculous, we’re big kids, we know when to use our phones and when not to,” said sophomore Rachael “Rymo” Hymowitz, another critic of the pilot policy.
“There are seniors that are eighteen years old … old enough to die for our country but not to have our phones in class,” said senior Idan Sharabi.
Yet despite the criticism, some participating teachers support the new approach, claiming, among other reasons, that the new policy will increase in-class productivity, allowing students to get more work done. They believe students will eventually become accustomed to and enjoy the policy.
“I think that we still have a lot to learn about how we interact with those phones, so this new policy is progressive in that it might help us open the conversation about how phones affect student learning, and in that way, it’s somewhat experimental,” stated the Humanities Department Chair, Michael Mirelman. “So far, I’ve received positive feedback from students; they like the policy, it diminishes some of the distractions and allows more time to learn.
Despite the criticism, some students support the pilot program.
“I believe the policy is a step forward. In an English class with this policy, my peers have been increasingly more productive,” said a student who wished to remain anonymous.
Participating teachers include Ms. Rubin, Mr. Steinglass, Dr. Lessy, Mr. Mirelman, Rabbi Buchin, and Mr. Wolkenstein. However, Rabbi Buchin and Mr. Wolkenstein are using a modified version, forcing students to place their cellular phones in the organizer only if they have had prior instances of using a cellular phone during class.
The policy, in some form, may be implemented in every classroom at JCHS by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. Whether the school will implement this policy, use another similar policy, or do nothing is yet to be determined, contingent on the program’s success.
