Going about the bush is not really my thing, so going straight to the point.
In my family, there was a rule, and the rule is that until you were set to enter the university, owning a phone was completely out of the question. And as at then it felt like punishment, I watch my older sibling's fave such, so who am I. I’d watch my classmates sneak their phones into school, acting like they own the world, even those who used this button torchlight phones, and I just wonder why my parents were so strict.
I felt out of touch, disconnected, and honestly, a little embarrassed. But looking back now, I realize it helped and taught me something important which is how to use a phone without letting it use me. Now that I have free access to it, I’m not as obsessed with it as I see some people are. Though very frustrating, that early restraint helped and shaped how I make use of my phone and view technology today.
Should students be allowed to use phones in school?
Today, they (phones) are not just communication tools anymore they’re calculators, research assistants, sometimes even a gateway to opportunities and AI tutors as we all know. Allowing students to use phones during classes is still understandable, but I won't want to suggest a phone, it be laptops or computers that could just help them during certain lectures, mind you those laptops and stuffs should be owned by the school and its usage be monitored. But during a test or exam, that's definitely a bad one, then that is no more a test or exam as they connotes, that means you ain't testing their level of reasoning or intelligence, they literally don't need to study to pass, they would do same if they were in an interview and questions were asked, they pick up their phone and straight up to chatgtp/meta ai.
Though phones can help students learn faster and effectively, they can also become distractions, countless times have I seen students misusing it, instead of focusing on the task at hand, they’re scrolling through TikTok, checking Instagram, or playing online games and the various WhatsApp filled "gossip" groups.
I would want to go back to this as it is a sensitive topic "allowing phones or AI tools during tests or exams". Whats the essence of teaching to test their intelligence later then, do you want to argue that it would make things easier, let's go on a journey.... a student uses AI to solve a complex question during an exam and gets a very good grade,hope you following, fast forward to few years later, the same student lands a job where they’re required to apply that knowledge practically what happens then, they never really understood it from the beginning. Reliance on technology could harm our ability to think critically and solve problems independently.
Its more of a different time and age now, so
I’m not saying phones should be completely banned, it will be too extreme I guess, as today technology is part of our everyday live. Instead, there should be a balance if possible, if it can be controller and monitored in the school environment, what about the home, maybe such a good should be incorporated into the schools syllabus to teach students digital discipline, how to make use of phones responsibly without letting it control them.
Not having a phone until I was almost an adult was tough for me, but it taught me restraint. I learnt to focus, engage, converse and solve problems without Google there to save me. And when I finally got a phone, I was excited but not obsessed. I never got glued to it because I learned how to function without it. That’s the balance I was saying our schools should aim for, teaching students how to benefit from technology without becoming slaves to it.
If managed well, phones could become powerful tools that enhance learning and prepare students for the tech world they’ll inherit, but allowing unrestricted access to it would lead to a generation who won't be able to think for themselves.
How the phones are used or will be used if allowed does matter, so let's make use of technology in a way that complements our thinking, and not replaces it. Till then, lets keep the phones out of lectures, tests or exams. Let students learn how to think first, then give them the tools to support that thinking. That way things will be easier.