Should mobile phones be allowed in schools?

Dear editor,
I recently read your article, ‘The Guardian view on mobile phones: schools are
better without them.’ My thoughts are contradicting your article. The digital
minister of the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock, proposed that schools prohibit
the usage of mobile phones for students. Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted
sees eye to eye with this suggestion. In France, the Macron government also
displayed instantaneous approval with this proposal and has already put
legislation in place to ban the use of mobile phones in primary and middle
school. Four paramount disadvantages are given significance in the article.
The first is that ‘some games and apps are so overwhelmingly attractive when
they first appear that unhappy children can be entirely swept away in them.’
Although games can act as a distraction tool, I believe that the advantages of
smartphones’ as a learning tool undoubtedly outweigh their drawbacks. First
and foremost, during the pandemic, millions of students worldwide opted for
online education and this was possible due to mobiles, laptops, etc. Applications
such as google classroom currently have more than 100 million downloads.
Apps like these have aided not only students but also made the work of teachers
easier. I also would like to point out that researching with the help of mobile
phones is so much more convenient than books. The internet has boundless
volumes of information which can be accessed instantly using a mobile phone.
Additionally, mobile phones can be used to find supplementary study material,
and do myriad more things. I would also like to state that playing games do not
only have drawbacks. According to a study by oxford university, it helps your
mental health. Video games improve your decision-making skills and your
hand-eye coordination. I have experienced these improvements. Also, not every
student in a classroom might want to play games. Many punctilious students
will use the mobile phone to their benefit, and just because of some annoying
children, not everyone in the class should be punished! (ASK MA’AM)
According to the article, ‘The second problem, which is not of course confined
to school hours, is that social networks make bullying and cliquishness easier
and perhaps more attractive.’ I find it utterly hard to believe that using mobile
phones will make cliquishness seem more attractive. Leaving aside that fact,
first and foremost, the article is itself stating clearly that this problem is not
confined to school hours. Also, I have a very interesting idea. Teachers can
teach all pupils how to use a mobile phone for learning purposes. For example,
students can learn to use online dictionaries. This will mean many students who
previously used to indulge in cyber-bullying will be inclined towards studies
and they might change as well and stop the heinous behavior they are doing.
Also, I would like to suggest that there can be awareness camps about cyber-
bullying which can help children understand the severity of this mischief that
they are doing.

I do agree with the next point in the article, which is the only one that does seem
sensible to me. If the phones are stored at school that raises security questions
about where they are kept. What would be the sanctions for repeat offenders?
This is a valid point since, if thousands of children in school brought a thousand
phones, then it would be a nightmare for the school to handle. It also seems
reasonably obvious that if any phones are damaged, or stolen, or lost, then the
consequence will be that the teachers and the staff of the school will be
questioned. Also, maintaining the security of about a thousand phones does
seem virtually impossible to me. However, this one timid problem does not
mean that we should disremember the advantages of using mobile phones in
school. A solution to this is that every child has to compulsorily switch off their
phone and store it in a small locker, and he/she can only access the phone if the
consent for it has been provided by a particular teacher. If a child is found to be
using a mobile phone without consent, then severe consequences must be taken.
Finally, I would like to mention that during emergencies, it would be very safe
to have a phone with you. The concern raised by the article about securing
phones in school is valid, however, won’t it be better if you had a phone during
a crisis to call your parents or call emergency services. Hence, again I believe
that the benefits of a mobile phone indisputably exceed its disadvantages.
The final point in the article is one, although which has been proven, but still, I
am completely opposing it. The most serious, though, is that the constant
interruption and the state of twitchy half-attention promoted by the mobile
phone. I would simply argue by mentioning that teachers themselves use
technology such as mobile phones, laptops, computers, etc., to make their work
easier, but why can’t students do the same. Of course, smartphones can be
distractive, but won’t it be simpler if we could all have interactive quizzes
during class, or just lookup millions of stories, or watch videos to learn. This
will certainly make our lives easier. However, what is the use of applications
that help children, when we cannot use them at the appropriate time? What is
the use of millions of articles on the internet when we cannot access them at the
right moment? What is the use of having a mobile phone, but not using it during
emergencies when we need them the most? How are we, as students supposed
to use mobile phones, if the school itself discourages us?