Elephant in the Room

By Ehreon D. On Wednesday, April 23,  I realized that I have never had a real relationship with a cell phone. I guess you could say that’s one thing that makes me different from my generation. The only time I had one was when I was in 7^th grade but I lost it on a bus about two months after. On Monday, April 21, my English teacher announced that there would be a contest and first prize is 300 dollars. The prize goes to whoever writes the best 750 word essay on whether or not students should be able to use their electronics in class, which is another thing that came to my mind that Wednesday. When she told me, I automatically knew I would win even though the contest hadn't started yet. I knew I would win simply because I thought of an excellent argument as to why they shouldn't be allowed, as well as an excellent counter argument. I think its because I have only had one phone and I can think back and remember how it affected my behavior in class. I was always on it for the smallest reasons. I was texting, on the internet, playing games and I was even checking the time for no reason even though there were clocks everywhere in the classroom. Today, one major thing that students use their phone for is to listen to music. I think that students should be able to listen to music while they are doing individual assignments because it helps them concentrate. I do, however, see where teachers are coming from when they are actually teaching the class and they see someone who has their earphones in their ears. If I were a teacher, I would feel disrespected because I notice that the students who do have their earphones in while the teacher is teaching ask for help on the exact same thing they had just taught on the board and I also notice that the teacher gets confused and irritated. But I can also see why students do that. Teens are under a lot of pressure and stress these days and bad days happen on a regular at school. When they listen to music, it blocks out noise and keep them focused and eventually they cool down. I think students should be able to listen to music during times when the teacher isn't speaking to the class because when you are doing an assignment and you aren't listening to music you can hear everything and you're easily distracted by the littlest noises. But when you have music in your ears, it calms the body and focuses the mind. I can see both sides of the fence because a cell phone isn't a priority in my life but I remember that relationship I had with one .