The new policy? It’s not at all a ban on phones; this policy has been completely misunderstood. The issue of phone usage has been an ongoing problem for a while now. With the constant use of cellphones during class lessons and work time phones have become a distraction for students and from their learning. 

This year, the phone policy at Plainfield South, that pretty much already existed prior to this new school year, is being heavily enforced. Students who have their phones out after the bell rings where the teacher can visibly see them  will get a warning the first time and will be asked to put their phones away. Students will get  three warnings before the teacher has to take action, such as contacting the dean if students continue to disobey the policy or writing a referral. This new restriction is meant to help provide a more productive learning environment for both students and teachers. 

The phone policy is not anything new, and it is not saying that phones are strictly forbidden. Instead, it’s stating that students should have their phones away during instructional time. 

There has been a misconception since the start of the school year, that this phone policy enforces a strict no phone policy at all times. That if phones are seen whatsoever, both in class, and while in the hallways, they will get it taken away and written up. That is not the case. Instead, it enforces that students are attentive in class, and not distracted by the constant usage of their cell phones. 

This is an issue both students and teachers face on a day to day basis. The tendency to reach out for a phone when it instantly vibrates or rings is constantly there. Students instead spend their class time being distracted by whatever is on their phones. 

 Students have been provided with a couple of options with the enforcement of the policy, such as having their teachers hold on to their phones during class and returning it to them at the end of the period. Options like phone jail are also being provided. Students can place their phones in a brown paper bag for the entirety of class in order to keep themselves off it. 

The enforcement of the phone policy allows students to stay more focused on the tasks at hand, do their work, and be prepared to be fully engaged in class discussions and activities. Teachers on the other hand will be able to better hold the students attention and present the lesson  smoothly and efficiently. 

Instead of viewing the phone policy as restrictive, we should view it as a positive change towards our education and productivity.

In order for students to start viewing it as a positive change, understanding of the phone policy is important. Misinformation has been spread since it became known that there would be a more strict policy on phones this school year. Students, without the proper understanding of it, misinterpreted and jumped to the conclusion that phones were being banned. But now with the clarification of this policy students are becoming more aware of the new rules placed on usage of phones. 

This school year, there is a hope that this will no longer be an issue. That there will be an increase in engagement in the classroom, and less of looking down at their phones while the teacher is teaching, and while walking in the hallways, and participating in P.E.