by: Jill Spadea & Ali Manson
The faculty has come together with a mutual consensus: Phones do not promote a positive learning environment for students here at Oliver Ames.
The overall goal of the adults is to have everyone here be present. But what does everyone else at Oliver Ames think? Is this policy fair to the students here? Is it affecting different classes in different ways?
Many seniors feel that the topic of immaturity is booming right now. It is the feeling that the upperclassmen and past classes set bad examples and abused their power when the current seniors were underclassmen. That was because, as an underclassmen and student in general, you should learn how to manage your phone usage.
As you grow up, you learn and you understand that phones aren’t really your main priority. You grow to have more respect for your teachers, it shouldn’t be so hard to listen to them when they say “please put your phone away.”
What is going on now though? It’s the OA class of 2023’s senior year and they can’t freely use their phones? What about the rest of the grades here? Many students are worried that the upcoming classes will not learn how to properly manage their cell phone usage now, and they will get to college not knowing how to.
Most students interviewed seem to not like this policy.
Some students like freshman Ella Broadmeadow “understand the reasoning behind it and see the benefits.” Other students like junior Bridget Duggan seem to think “the ban on cell phones is unreasonable” and they don’t like it, especially since we have to put our phones into “pockets” in most classes.
A majority of the feedback received from students here at OA was overwhelmingly negative. One junior named Emma Walker even said that “not having free use of our phones is a violation of our rights.” She wonders what would happen if there was a fire? A lockdown? Some kind of other emergency situation that students aren’t prepared for?
These are the things that students worry about. It’s an overwhelming feeling for some kids, like sophomore Michaela Scott who feels that “the administration isn’t fully taking students’ emotions into account”.
Even though the negative things we heard seemed to override the positive ones, there were still some nice ideas from the students and staff.
A senior, Grace Harrington, expressed that she “feels more confident going into college because her previous years at OA helped facilitate her phone usage in classes.” She says she learned how to manage her time more efficiently and effectively because the old cell phone policy allowed her to learn how. Now, the underclassmen don’t have that same opportunity. It makes some wonder how they will feel going into the future.
On a positive note, our librarian, Mrs. Vasiliou said more books have been checked out lately in the library! Less time on the cellphone is correlating with more time spent reading and checking out books it seems.
Mrs. Cavanaugh, the principal here at Oliver Ames High School, wants students to be present in their classes. That’s why she has enforced the “new” cell phone policy. In reality though, the phone policy isn’t actually a new thing. It has been in the handbook for a while.
The faculty is now enforcing the policy more for the benefits of student learning and the future. Mrs. Cavanaugh stated that her phone is a “huge distraction” for her as well, and it’s something she wants to work on with the rest of us.
If you want to give any additional feedback, Mrs. Cavanaugh would be happy to hear all of your voices. She truly encourages it. A cell phone policy survey is being released to all students and teachers here at OA by mid-October. Keep an eye out!