In a society like today's where anybody can know anything within seconds, is it really necessary to ban cell phones in class? Schools across the nation are torn on this subject. Some New York schools have metal detectors and confiscate cell phones on campus even if they aren't in use. Some Californian schools are the same way. But there are some schools, such as the few in the Tampa Bay area that made headlines, that embrace the use of cell phones on campus. What is the point of cell phone bans? Do mobile phones interfere with learning? Some schools are slowly adjusting their rules to become more technologically proficient and allow learning to happen at a faster pace without interruptions.

There comes a point where schools need to compromise with the growing number of cell phones along with the essential part they play in people's lives. It's not a question of whether phones interrupt learning. It's well known that it's hard to listen to a lecture when you're texting away to your friend. But what about during passing periods and lunch? If I pull out my phone in between classes and text one of my parents asking if they can give me a ride somewhere right after school, am I interrupting somebody else's learning? Nobody in the halls is paying attention to what I'm doing. It's a whole lot easier to text my parents in 10 seconds and check my phone next passing period than it is to ask to go to the office, call them hoping they're not too busy at work to answer, and still be late to class. If anything cell phones can be embraced to save students time and to increase learning efficiency. There is nothing at our school that can compare technologically to the flexibility of cell phones and smart phones that teenagers increasingly own. With my phone I can Google a question and get the direct answer faster than it would take to ask to go to the library, check out a laptop, sign in, open Firefox and search it. It seems like a waste not to use technological advances.

I will admit that when you are in English Lit. reading Beowulf or Dr. Faustus it probably isn't necessary to have your cell phone out. So what if we compromised the rules to allow cell phone usage during lunch and passing periods, and allow the in-class policy to be set by individual teachers? If you are doing the Government Stock Market Project as a senior and need to know the value of your stocks, what is the harm in checking them on your phone as opposed to checking out a computer. Many students complain constantly about the dated technology at Kingman High, but the school would be able to counter that by allowing students to use their own technology in their own pockets. Our school's no-use policy is outdated thinking. Student's are going to use their phones whether there is a risk or not. Why waste time trying to stop it when you can compromise and advance at the same time?

Many school administrators use the reasoning that "Students will cheat using cell phones if they are allowed." So why not just ban cell phones during tests? How does cheating play into whether or not a student can contact his parents during passing periods? Schools can be strict and compromise at the same time. This failed rule is due for change. Kingman High can evolve to technological changes just as any school in the Tampa Bay area can. Allowing students to email non-faculty members during school is a start, but it is not enough.

Rules are in need of a change, and I don't see why Kingman has to wait for another, bigger school to do it first. Kingman may be a smaller school, but that doesn't mean it can't lead the way on this controversial issue showing that it is not a dictatorship stuck in it's old ways and reluctant to change, but rather a flexible school that is intelligent enough to realize when change is needed. Maybe Kingman can lead the way for once and embrace something that is inevitably going to happen someday.