Persuasive Essay by Gauri Kaushik

Cellphones should not be allowed in International School of Beijing

             These days almost all of ISB students have some sort of technology, apart from the MacBook Pro issued by the school. Having cellphones in school is a very bad idea and will affect the students' academics and can also affect their health.

             My first point is distraction caused by cellphones. As a teacher or student, we all know how distracting cellphones can be. Texting, video chatting, Facebook and all these things distract students from paying attention in class. The study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows that more than 80% of the students admit that their cellphones distract their learning. Also in a 15-week management surveillance program conducted by the California University, it is found that students are on non-school related websites 42% of the time in class. Not only will this result in unsatisfactory grades but the ability to concentrate and learn will also be decrease.

Talking about school behaviour let’s to refer to the point of cheating. When teachers allow students to bring cellphones into the class, they expect them to manage it with responsibility and usually trust the student, but what if this is not the case? What if the student actually cheats in tests and the teacher does not know about this? By eliminating cellphones in school we are not only ensuring that the student is not cheating it will also help in gaining your teachers trust and less dishonesty. After all, when you cheat on the test you are cheating on yourself by not knowing your true capability.

Another issue that is raised in most schools is the use of cellphones to cyber-bully someone. According to the i-safe foundation more that 1 in 3 teens in the United States have experienced cyber threats on the phone. Apart from the MacBook that is issued by the school, students can use their cellphones to either bully someone else or get bullied. As a result teens and pre-teens have increasing rates in depression in the past few years.

I think cellphones are a bad idea, they don’t only affect a students' academics but can also affect their lifestyle and health in various negative ways. To prevent this from happening we can ban cellphones in school. This will prevent bullying, distraction and cheating in school.

 

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Citations:

 

"Students Think They Can Multitask. Here’s Proof They Can’t." Faculty Focus Students Think They Can Multitask Heres Proof They Cant Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.

 

"UNL Study Shows College Students Are Digitally Distracted in Class." UNL. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

 

"The Age of Distraction: Getting Students to Put Away Their Phones and Focus on Learning." Faculty Focus The Age of Distraction Getting Students to Put Away Their Phones and Focus on Learning Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.

 

Hunter, Nick. Cyber Bullying. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2012. Print.