Pros on The New Phone Policy

In our current world, phones have become an inescapable part of life, essentially acting as an extension of ourselves. However, the administration has taken steps this year to decrease students’ time on phones. 

To start, a policy was implemented by Upper School Head Ricky Lapidus that required students to put their phones away in a box during all classes. While this change has been controversial and drew complaints from screen-addicted teenagers, it has benefited the School’s learning environment. 

When asked why he chose to implement this new system, Lapidus stated, “What I worry about is that our culture at the school and much largely is profoundly affected by cellphones in a [harmful] way.”

The allure of a phone easily steals kids’ focus, causing them to not bring their best selves to a class, and takes away their learning opportunities. Junior Jake Kangas says the new phone policy “allows students to focus on the present moment without being distracted by outside things like notifications…so you can really dive deeper into the learning.” 

However, Lapidus plans to expand this phone policy beyond the classroom and to the school as a whole. “The idea that makes the most sense to me is to have a ban on phones during the school day,” he stated. The new policy will have its first test run on Monday, October 7th, where kids will not be allowed on their phones at all from 8:25 am to 3:20 pm. Lapidus plans to enforce this policy by having students put their phones in magnetic pouches that only faculty members can unlock. 

Lapidus outlined his goals for the new phone policy, stating, “My hope is…that we are interacting with one another more than interacting with this device.” Even if kids dislike the idea of their phones being taken away, the new policy will have a distinct benefit for everyone both socially and emotionally. “It will definitely help foster a better community…What I’ve noticed is a lot of people will be walking in the halls and immediately get on their phones when class is over and they don’t talk to anyone else. It’s very cliquey,” claimed Senior Dahlia Peeters. 

Though many students will plea that they’ll need their phone for urgent matters during the school day, Lapidus says that the pouches can easily be unlocked by faculty members and kids will be allowed to use their phones in case of an emergency, or even for something less serious like taking a promotional photo for a sports team.  

While it’s hard for everyone to let go of the endless possibilities of phone usage, students should eventually realize that phones often do more harm than good.