It’s hard to tell when phones are a distraction or something that is needed. Mr. Mitchell, a math teacher at WVHS, thinks they can be a distraction in class. “I’m okay during work time in class like if a student would like to listen to music,” he stated.

It’s very common for teachers to allow phones while working to help people focus or to help look something up. “There are times though when a student doesn’t use it as a tool to help them with their work and it becomes more of a distraction than anything else,” added Mitchell.

Mr. Coller, a forensics and chemistry teacher for Wilsonville, agrees that phones can be a distraction along with being a necessity. He described his class policy on phones as: “I allow phones out on the desk if the student wants and I ask if they use them I can see it to make sure it’s not becoming a distraction. I understand that sometimes there may be an emergency that needs to be taken care of or a problem that needs to be solved.”

Phones connect us to each other, and that’s how everyone communicates nowadays. The use of phones in class is something that students see every day; it’s inevitable for phones to disappear from the classroom because they are a constant for this generation. The usage of phones in class will always be present as long as they are around.

The usage of phones in class can be both beneficial and detrimental to the learning process. It really depends on the type of student you are. 

 If appropriately used, having a phone can be very handy to have close by while in class. If a teacher uses slides for their lecture, many students use their phones to follow along to ensure they have enough time to take notes. Another way students put their phones to use within a class is by searching for quick questions when they need extra information. 

Senior Chole Russel explained, “I use my phone to look up questions I have when I’m unfamiliar with the content the teacher is teaching.” She believes that phones are only a distraction if a student makes it out to be. If the student is using their phone to play games and check social media, then that’s when it becomes a distraction in school. 

Other students have different ideas about the usage of phones in class. WVHS student Talia Valdez believes that phones are a distraction in school. She states, “I don’t get classwork done when I am on my phone.” She hasn’t been using her phone in class due to strict rules against it enforced by her teachers. If she does go on her phone, she tends to scroll through social media and message her friends. 

Phone usage at school can both be a distraction and a useful object to have within the classroom, depending on the ways students use them.