March 01, 2010




Dear Editor:

Shocked, Bewildered, Aggravated, describe how I felt after reading, “No Cell Phones in School”, an article written by a student at North Allegheny School District where I also attend. In summary his article stated why cell phones should be banned in schools. He also never had a cell phone before. Being in the graduation class of 2011 I feel that I’m the perfect candidate to discuss this topic because cell phones became popular during my generation. I believe that cell phones work to relieve stress, help students focus, and aid students to reach their full potential.

Stress is something that most people have come to accept as a part of life. Many psychologists claim that high school is the most stressful time in life. Studies have shown that knowing you have a “Lifeline” whether it’s a gun for a police man, pepper spray for an old woman, or a cell phone for a student, drastically reduces stress.

“She said whatttt? No way! Blab Blab Blab.” Try to study when you have Sally-talks-a-lot and her best friend sitting behind you, well with today’s technology most phones can play music with headphones, studies at MIT confirm that listening to familiar music helps your brain focus on the task at hand. Personally I agree that being able to tune out chatter with some nice calming owl city has really helped me study.

Imagine you’re sitting in the auditorium ready to do you’re homework, bell rang when you were writing down the assignment, If you had your phone, you could text your friend Jake who’s in another study hall, But instead you’re forced to waste 45 minutes that you could’ve used on your hw. It’s common to find people using iphone, droids…etc to do research and check grades during study halls. Having access to the internet has saved me on multiple occasions.

Banning cell phones in school is a step backward. Some people say that texting leads to more cheating on tests but teachers are here to teach not just hand out tests, “Teachers cant rely on policies to stop cheating” To improve as a society we cant put so many restrictions on technologies. Balance the pros and cons, its clear in this case that the benefits of having cell phones in school, relieve stress, help students focus, and aid them to reach their full potential, out weighs the negatives.


Sincerely,





Tyler Martin