Summer school 2024 was when MCHS was starting to experiment with the phone ban. When my summer school teacher said to us that no phones were allowed in class, even when we finished our work, I got really upset. I decided to just sit there and tune out everything he said to prove that the phone ban won’t work and that I won’t pay attention.

However, as the real school year started, I do believe the phone ban is working to some extent.

The phone policy has been around for 15 years with places around the school being red zones meaning no phones are allowed. Despite it being included in the school’s rule book, the phone ban saw little enforcement until recently. Since the beginning of the 24-25 school year, the teachers are becoming more strict and classrooms are now red zones.

To many, this doesn’t sound like a good thing, but it is. Phones have been huge distractions in the classrooms and have caused kids not to succeed in their class because they aren’t paying attention to what the teacher says.

Students have been more focused in class now that teachers are making their classrooms red zones. Teachers have said they see a difference in their students and how they pay more attention in class now since they do not have their phones. The students have better test scores and for the most part they have turned in their homework on time.

Interactions between students in classrooms have also increased. Students have been talking and building relationships with each other a lot more now that they don’t have their phones. Lauren Blake, a senior at MCHS says that it has been easier to talk to her peers due to there being no phones, “I feel like I’m able to just talk to my classmates more, and I’m just more engaged in what’s going on in the class, because I’m not distracted on my phone.”

There’s been more participation from students in the classroom as well. A recent Study.com survey says that 76% of teachers say the cell phone policy has helped with participation in classrooms from students.

Granted, I understand why a student may not want to give up their phone in class, but I also feel that the pros of this policy outweigh the cons. The phone ban should stick around and other students agree with me. Chesnie Weidner, another senior at MCHS, says that taking her biggest distraction away has helped her become more immersed in her classes and participate more.

Although at first I didn’t believe that the stricter phone policy was working, I truly think that it does work now. It eliminates the main distraction in classrooms and makes the students succeed in their classes and keeps them more focused.