Mobile Phones Being Banned In The Classroom

Back when I was in school there was no such thing as a “high tech cheat sheet.” If you were looking to try an artificially inflate your test scores, you had to scribble notes on your forearm or cleverly slide a sheet of paper under your long sleeved shirt or something.

A lot of things have changed since I was last in a classroom and now mobile phones are the cheat sheet of choice for many students, but many schools are implementing cell phone bans to prevent kids from cheating (and being otherwise distracted) while they are in school.

Students in North Carolina’s Cherokee County School District that are found with mobile phones or digital music players in the classroom face having them confiscated for up to an entire semester.

“It’s not that we feel kids can’t be trusted, but like any group in society you’re going to have those who violate or misuse technology,” school board Chairman David Ackerman said.

Students have used phones to communicate during tests, talk to each other about the locations of administrators and school resource officers and take and display inappropriate photographs, Ackerman said.

Other school districts are investing in cell phone signal jammers that prevent the transmission of cellular signals in the classroom.

What are your thoughts on banning cell phones in the classroom?