The Cellphone Debate: How does Northwood compare to other schools?

    Out of all the school rules, one in particular that is discussed and debated by the students and faculty of Northwood is the cellphone policy. Many people believe that it is strict compared to those of other schools in the area, and many students and faculty members at Northwood have conflicting opinions regarding whether students should be able to use their cellphones during class.

    The student handbook states that with the exception of lunch, cellphones should not be visible or used by students during the school day, and if students break this rule, teachers should confiscate their cellphones and turn them into the office where the student’s parents/guardians can retrieve it.

    Sophomore Christopher Medina thinks that Northwood could benefit from adopting a more lenient cell phone policy.

    “Honestly, I feel like we should be able to use our cellphones as long as it’s not disrupting our performance in class,” Medina said. “I know when I’m on my phone in class, I don’t get anything that the teacher’s saying because I’m paying attention to my phone and trying to hide it, but if I don’t have to, I’ll actually hear them.”

    Sophomore Juliana Hubbard says that although the cellphone policy is reasonable, some teachers take it a bit too far.

    “I do think that it’s necessary, but I also think that some of the teachers go a little bit extreme,” Hubbard said. “Before school, I have had a couple of teachers tell me that I wasn’t supposed to have my cellphone out before the bell rang, and I was very confused about that.”

    English teacher Christine Mayfield, who transferred to Northwood from Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools three years ago, says that the cellphone policy there is inconsistently enforced.

    It’s supposed to be up to the teacher, and therefore you feel like the mean teacher if you make them put it away, you know?” Mayfield said. “It’s actually better at Northwood because it’s really clear cut; the idea that we take [cellphones] and take them directly to the office is a big disincentive.”

    English teacher Terrence Foushee says that he appreciates the cellphone policy at Northwood, and that phones can be a major distraction in the classroom.

    “Now that technology pretty much permeates every social facet of our lives, folks can really lose focus within a classroom if they’re permitted to use cellphones,” Foushee said. “I wouldn’t like to open up pandora’s box for that.”

    Phillip Little, assistant principal of Northwood, also supports the cellphone policy.

    “Maybe the biggest piece of [the cellphone policy] is making sure that students aren’t distracted from what’s going on in the school day, because the truth is, you don’t have to have your cellphone out to be successful at anything that we’re doing here,” Little said. “When we sort of eliminate that distraction [of cellphones] and sort of pull away the social networking, then I think students are better able to focus on what they need to do in their classes.”

    Sophomore Cera Powell suggests that Northwood should implement a cellphone policy similar to her previous school, Woods Charter, which has an open cellphone policy.

    “At first it would be a distraction, but then people would get used to seeing phones out,” Powell said.  “When they changed the [dress code to allow leggings], at first you’d see someone with leggings and be like ‘oh, they’re gonna get dresscoded,’ but now, everyone’s wearing leggings, so you get used to it.”

    Chapel Hill High School (CHHS) endorses an “open cellphone policy” in their student handbook, meaning that students are permitted use of their cellphones at all times during the school day with teacher permission.

    CHHS freshman Riley Caylor agrees with her school’s cellphone policy.

    “It depends on the teacher; some are more lenient than others,” Caylor said. “Most teachers will sometimes take it away from you if you’re on it during class. [With the open policy,] you’re less worried about people catching you… so it’s easier.”

    Davis Boyle, Spanish teacher at CHHS, says that the open cellphone policy comes in handy while doing online activities, but that students take advantage of the policy.

    “I know a lot of teachers try to utilize technology in classrooms, you know, like taking little polls in class where students can at least use their phones… or you know maybe play online games,” Boyle said. “I love playing Kahoot with students at the end of a class for review, like vocabulary, and if students didn’t have their own device, we would have to make sure to have the laptop cart reserved for the day; it would be really difficult.”

– By Carolyn Hammond