Dear Spartan Spin,
We are writing to you to address the concerns about the phone policy. There are some
of us in the school district who believe that phones should be allowed, with restrictions. Some of
our concerns are backed with the fact that having the phone policy with so much restriction
causes panic and uneasiness within the building. There are a few issues we have decided are
important to mention: problems with contacting those outside of the building, the hyperfocus
teachers have on following the policy, and compliance within the student population. In this letter
we will explain clearly the pros and cons of the issue and the solution that we composed.
To counter the issue the school seems to be facing, we suggest allowing phones during
teacher regulated periods and other downtimes during the day, including lunch and passing
time. A few minutes on the phone can make it easy to send a text about after school plans or to
those in the building trying to communicate about meeting, either to find each other easier at
lunch or even before the end of the school day. Regarding the ability to contact outside of the
building, some of the positives that come with having access to phones during given times of
the day allows people to complete unfinished business that would unfortunately not be possible
without phones, because our devices have become something that we as a society now rely on;
Although, with every issue and solution, there are negatives. One thing that could happen is that
with the introduction of phones people could become too consumed by them and they could
become a distraction.
We hope that you understand our stance on the issue and we bring our best solution,
that being teachers regulating the times students are able to use their phones, to your attention.
It would work to both improve student compliance as well as allay the time teachers spend
focusing on the phone policy.
Sincerely,
Greta Clark, Hailey David, Annabel Manion, Olivia Mihalik