Should Students Be Allowed to Bring Mobile Phones to School?

As a teacher, I feel safer when I have my cell phone with me. I keep it in my pocket on vibrate and do not answer it during class. Those who think that students are entitled to the same privileges as teachers are wrong. Teachers are adults. Adults have privileges that children do not have. I imagine that parents who feel this way wouldn't feel the same way if someone told them that their children should be entitled to all the privileges that they as parents have.

Ideally, students should be able have phones and control their own usage. Unfortunately, the temptation is too much for most students. It's a constant battle to keep the phones out of sight with the ringer turned off. Phones have become major disruptions in most classrooms.

Surprisingly, some of the biggest offenders of cell phone use in school are the kids' parents. You would not believe how many parents insist that their children answer their phones even if they are in the middle of class. My students have actually been punished if they didn't answer phones when their parent called.