Clarke Central High school English department teacher Ginger Lehmann stands outside her classroom holding a box for students to place their phones. Lehmann, as well as many other English teachers, have taken a new initiative to limit distractions in the classroom. “Most everyone is giving me their phone, but I’ve also made it really clear that if you do have a phone out in class it will go to security on the first time,” Lehmann said. Photo by Colin Frick
Select teachers in the English department have begun a new phone policy beginning the 2018-19 school year in which they take cell phones as students walk through the door.
Beginning the 2018-19 school year, certain teachers in the English department have implemented a new policy regarding cell phones in the classroom.
“In my class, I am collecting all of the cellphones at the beginning of class in a box and then I’m locking them in my cabinet until the end of class,” English department teacher Ginger Lehmann said.
While some English teachers have introduced this new policy, not all English teachers handle cell phones the same way.
“I am different from some of the folks in the English department because I do not collect the phones at the beginning of the period. However, the consequences are that in my classroom if a student has a phone out (are that) I’ll take it from them, call their parent that day, give it back to them at the end of the period,” English department teacher Andy Dean said.
Associate Principal Amanda Gorham believes that the cell phone policy is beneficial to students’ learning.
“From different people, from different standpoints, from me as an administrator evaluating teachers I felt like it wasn’t conducive to what was going on in the classroom and I think teachers felt the same way and that’s why (the cell phone policy) was number one on the list,” Gorham said.
Students who take English classes from teachers who enforce this policy have seen a change in how lenient teachers are about cell phones from last year to this year.
“(Last year), the teacher would have to yell at people to put up their phones, but they would still take up your phone if they saw it, they just wouldn’t give it to security right away,” sophomore Grace Lang said. “(This year), they don’t care anymore, especially in English. If (the teacher) sees it after they’ve taken up the phones, they’ll give it straight to security.”
Despite the fact that she notices a change in discipline, students like Lang do not agree with the level of responsibility that teachers have for phones.
“They aren’t liable for (a phone) if they lose it, or if it’s stolen,” Lang said. “It’s clearly very expensive and not everyone can afford to replace it.”
Although students have misconceptions regarding the liability of teachers regarding cell phones, according to the Student Code of Conduct, “The school is not responsible for lost or stolen electronic devices or cell phones.”
Lehmann believes it is up to students to be responsible for their personal devices.
“If a student is really concerned about that, then they shouldn’t be bringing a phone to school, or they should be putting it somewhere they do think is safe,” Lehmann said. “The fact is that the school’s not responsible to protect your phone and you’re not supposed to have it in class. If you chose to bring it, then you create that liability.”
More from Colin Frick
More from Valeria Garcia-Pozo
