Searcy, AR (LP) — Is phone usage really getting out of hand? In an article How Smartphones Create Distractions in the Classroom, it states “Research shows using electronic devices in the classroom can even lower students’ grades.” Phone usage during school is a known thing. All teens have phones and with the phones comes notifications, the biggest distraction to everyone. When students get notified whether that is with social media or just a text message someone’s first instinct is to check it. At Searcy High School teachers usually take around four phones a week from students for being on their cell phone during class time. Teachers have announced that cell phones in classrooms are a huge distraction and make students struggle with paying attention and getting work done on time.
A teacher at Searcy High School, Heath Stewart, a business teacher goes on to say, “I think that phones are a huge distraction to students. A lot of students miss key points in class and get upset when they miss good information that I tell.” Staff at Searcy High School also notice that students’ are more common to have bad grades not just because they didn’t pay attention, but since they didn’t pay attention they had to cheat and then soon get caught which leads to an automatic 0%.
Liam Wessel, a student at Searcy High School says “I noticed that the peers around me their grades drop when I see them on their phone during class and they also ask for more help and answers too.” Other students at Searcy High School also say “It’s hard when someone doesn’t want to pay attention because if I help them I can easily get in trouble because they want to be on their phones. ”
When students get distracted by a cell phone they can easily miss out on a lot of information and fall behind faster and easier than when not on the phone. It is shown that students that use their digital devices during class time, their GPA is slightly lower and their grades are around just passing or failing. Phones can cause an easy distraction to students and staff that are around you. Some teachers at Searcy High School have rules to balance phone time and class time in between activities in class.
Mrs. Farhatt, an English teacher at SHS has the rule to be on your cellular device at the beginning of class, end of class, and if there is any free time between activities. Mrs. Farhatt balances her time with teaching and time for the students to check their phones for a few minutes.
