According to the Freedom Area Middle School Student Handbook, students are not allowed to use their cell phones during school hours. Many students have recently been getting in trouble with teachers for using their phones. One of the main times this happens is in the morning. The student handbook says that students may use their phones before and after school. The staff counts the school day as starting at 7:15 a.m. and the day ends when you leave the building. 

“It’s … something that I wouldn’t necessarily, completely go away from. We could explore it and you know do a trial, a pilot, to see if that is something that we could put in place,” said Mr. Ryan Smith, middle school principal, talking about possibly having students be allowed to use their phones during restricted times.

Many students also think that they should be allowed to use their phones. Some students say that lunch is their time for a break so they would like to use their phones during that time. Many students also think this for when they are in the auditorium in the morning or during breakfast. 

“We are learning all day so shouldn’t we be allowed to have a break? I think every time we have a phone Friday we are so much quieter and they (the staff) are always saying we are too loud so why not just let us on our phones,” said Gianna Guandolo, seventh grader. 

Many other students feel this way too. Some students say that the school day is stressful and using phones during lunch, along with a few other times, is our way to relieve that stress. 

According to Psych Central’s website, using electronics can help people who suffer from anxiety by giving them a break from reality. The website also says that some of the benefits of playing a game on phones are that they give people feelings of achievement, accomplishment, and progress. These feelings can help get rid of social anxiety and even depression. 

Many others believe that phones would be a problem. They believe that kids will go on websites that they are not supposed to, but there can be solutions to this problem. The school could set in place certain rules and if you follow them then you will be just fine, but if you break the rules you get your phone taken away and are not able to have it back until the end of the day. 

               Some of the teachers feel that they have had trouble with the eighth graders this year who are listening to the radio full blast and taking videos and pictures. Many teachers think that there is a certain level of respect people should use when using their phones and if you follow this level of respect it is not a problem for you to use your phone. Those teachers say that they wouldn’t have a problem with us using our phones during restricted times as long as we use them properly. In the morning if kids sat down with their earbuds in and were quiet the staff in the auditorium say that they would not have an issue with that and it’s just the people who abuse it too much.

“I wouldn’t actually have an issue with people using them (their phones) in the auditorium on a daily basis if that level of respect was shown. I think phones are a great device when used properly,” said Ms. Ging, sixth grade teacher.