PHONES IN CLASS
Are We Managing Our Addictions?
Phones in Class
By: Persea Sanchez & Miah Garcia
95% of students bring their phones to class everyday. Many students, teachers, and parents argue whether phones should be allowed in class.
“A lot of students have an addiction to and need to seek professional help.” Says a teacher here at ECTA. In 2020, the average screen time for teens was 7 hours a day. Phone activity causes the release of dopamine in our brains. “Studies have shown screen time affects the frontal cortex of the brain, similar to the effect of cocaine.” Eventually, this pattern of phone usage and dopamine creates an addiction.
However, not all teachers believe students need to seek professional help. We interviewed a few ECTA teachers and asked their opinions on student phone usage in classes. One teacher said, “I see it as both a pro and a con, on the plus side whenever there are some technological issues they have that as a solid backup and they’re very familiar with how to use it, so they can use it to get a part of the lesson and sometimes are a little more comfortable. Plus sometimes there are certain things that will not work on a chromebook but will work just fine on a cellphone, so it’s very handy in that sense. The con however is massive, massive distraction. You do see students many times coming into the classroom putting their head and looking at their phone, they think we don't see them. I see them.”
Another teacher expressed a similar opinion. They said, “I think it is okay for students to have their phones especially if they can use them in the course of what they are learning, right like, I think it’s cool that students have access to, I mean essentially, infinite resources. So on the one hand I think our job, moving away from teaching just knowledge, is teaching skills that are connected to understanding how to get quality information. But I also think there are moments they are a hindrance and I think it’s two things. I think one, when it’s just continually distracting, but two, when it keeps you away from having to struggle. Part of the learning process is struggling, whether you’re struggling through a difficult math problem or you’re struggling to understand a concept in science, you’re struggling through a difficult conversation in your English class, okay? Having something that takes you out of that struggle also removes you from the learning, it pulls you out of the emotional part of the learning, it pulls you out of the kind of process that your brain and your body need to go through to have a breakthrough to make that learning pliable. So it kind of creates this like, I don’t know kind of a security blanket, so it keeps you from getting that opportunity to struggle because we know that is where growth happens.
Students have their own opinion on whether phones in class is a good idea or not. “Our phones are distracting, but are also very useful. They’re useful in the sense that if we need to reach out to a teacher we can use Remind, canvas, and can even send an email from our phones. Cellphones can help us gain context in lessons if a teacher says a word or phrase we don’t understand we can easily google it, or if the wifi on our chromebooks is slow we could potentially do our English work for example on google through NoRedInk.” Some seem to agree that, yes, phones are distracting but they are useful. Other students know how to distance themselves from their phones during class.
We asked teachers what is one thing they wanted students to know about phone usage. One teacher said, “Phones are a phone, they are a tool, they are not a lifestyle though. If it is there to help, certainly, if listening to music on your phone will help you with an assignment that’s neat, that's great. When we’re doing an activity where it requires whole class participation seeing students watching videos on their phone just checking out… Why are you in a classroom? If you’re not there to learn and be a part of that environment, I just honestly wonder why because you can do the same thing at home.” After hearing this statement I think that as students, we all need to reflect on ourselves and think, “Are we distracting ourselves from our lessons?”
In conclusion, many have different opinions and thoughts on phones in class. Multiple students, teachers, and adults argue yes, others no, and some in between. What are your opinions on phone usage in class?
ADRENALINE OUTLOOK
By Dayana Romero
Mental health is a touchy subject for some because of the bad outlook the media has put on it over the past years. People who struggle with mental health are subject of being put down for it. Teenagers need an escape from school or sometimes problems that go on at home and the ways they do that can be unsafe and lead to harm in themselves and others around them.
Here at East Tech I took a survey on various people of all grades about the problems teens face with the use of marajuana and other substances and the connection between adrenaline and happiness. While conducting the survey responses were split down the middle with some agreeing with the fact that seeking adrenaline is a problem amongst teenagers and others disagreeing. Students face hardships such as stress and depression when it comes to school and trying to balance it out with their personal life and problems.
When asked the question “Do you think that mental health is a reason why some teenagers turn to smoking?” The responses received were unanimous in the favor that students turn to smoking because of high stress, peer pressure and even personal problems. A student interviewed stated “Smoking makes teens feel like they have purpose” and others saying that it alleviates stress and gives them a temporary feeling of happiness. Three out of ten students interviewed stated that school has turned them in the direction of bad habits such as bad sleep schedules, not caring about grades and even thinking about turning to marujuana use to relieve stress and sadness.
Adrenaline is also a big part of this problem, with over half the responses saying that it makes them forget about school and grades. Five out of ten students said that seeking adrenaline can both be good and bad depending on the situation, some say that this craving can be bad if getting hurt is at risk and others say as long as it's not hurting themselves or people around them then it shouldn't be a problem.
Students shouldn't have to be risking their own mental and physical health in order to feel something other than stress or sadness. Schools need to have trustworthy resources that teens can confide in when looking for help in regards to substance abuse and poor habits. Teachers and administration sometimes don't understand how hard it can be for students because most graduated 10+ years ago> things have changed since they were in highschool and it is their job to learn how to adapt to these changes for the wellbeing of students.