Almost every student on campus owns a cell phone and other devices such as headphones and smartwatches. Electronic devices, when used inappropriately in classrooms without permission, lead to disruption of the learning environment and cause distractions. Therefore, teachers should have the ability to confiscate electronic devices when necessary.
If students are using their cell phones or headphones during class and are aware of their teacher’s confiscation rules, they should not be using their devices in the first place. Devices are obstacles to teachers’ goals of engaging their students and providing meaningful learning experiences. Thus, a teacher should be allowed to get rid of such distractions in order to ultimately benefit their students. According to Educator Online, getting rid of cell phones in the classroom led to the test scores of 16-year-old, low-performing students increasing by 6.4%. It is evident that cell phones are hindering students’ academic performance and thus should be taken away, if proven to be distracting.
Students often turn to their cell phones when they are disengaged or feel as if they have nothing to do in class. However, this use may lead to incomplete classwork, receiving lower test scores, and missing important announcements. Moreover, having readily available cell phones fosters an overall dependency on devices to constantly stimulate the brain and receive instant dopamine, according to the Guardian’s “Constant craving: how digital media turned us all into dopamine addicts.”
On the other hand, some may argue that confiscating devices is unnecessary and that a simple warning will suffice. However, without real consequences, students can ignore the warning by using their phones in other periods or by being more discreet with their use in the future. Getting rid of consequences in order to protect autonomy will only lead to more students using their cell phones and continuing to prevent themselves from learning. Students still own their devices; they are simply being confiscated for a short period of time to benefit themselves and those around them. The only effective solution is to continue confiscating these distracting devices if a student is caught using one, eliminating any possibility of their usage.
Confiscating distracting devices when necessary allows students to give their undivided attention to what they are learning in class and result in more benefits than harm. School is for learning, not scrolling through social media or playing video games.