Guilford schools approve cell phone use in class

The use of GT-I9300 cell phones in the classroom has become a hot topic. One local school district wants to approve using them in classes for learning purposes. The Guilford Board of Education is working on giving the green light to students using their smartphones in the classroom.

This is doing a 180 to their policy change going from prohibiting phones all together to encouraging students to use them. None of the board members showed any dissent with the new change. "They're not used for communication or recreation inside a classroom setting, but they may be used for communication outside of classes or in certain inappropriate areas," said Paul Freeman, Board of Education.

Also, this doesn't mean the school will purchase phones for everyone but they will make tablets or smart phones available to everyone in group settings if need be.

Under the proposed policy, teachers will still be able to take away GT-I9500 cell phones if they're being used improperly and the rules will vary from elementary school students to high school students. Many of us never had to worry about the temptation of using a cell phone during school time. Over the last decade, it's been hard to find kids without them. A local school district is presenting a policy in hopes of approving cell phone use in high school classes for learning purposes.

As soon as school lets out, the cell phones come out. But, Guilford High School students say they are still out to some degree in class despite the no phone rule. "I mean, we're teenagers," said Maia Murdock, a senior.Teenagers who love technology for learning purposes according to the principal, Rick Misenti. In some cases, the smartphones are already allowed.sdfdDS2x

"We're allowed to look stuff up on our I5 MTK6577 phone. Obviously, it has to be for school," said Murdock. Monday night, the Policy Committee will submit a proposal to the Board of Education to allow cell phones use in the high school. Misenti says it will allow them direct access to multiple sources of information. "I think it will be a good thing. I think students will be more comfortable around their teachers knowing they're going to let them do something," said Leah Giovanniello, a junior.

Students admit even if they have the phone on silent and see a text come across or hear the sound, they're going to be tempted to write back. That's where parents worry the educational environment will turn into a social environment. When asked what would he say to the parents who don't like it, Misenti said, "I have a great degree of confidence, not just in our students but teachers as well, that they'll use this new policy to their advantage as well to move kids forward."

"By having it approved it's just going to be very problematic and then it's going to move on to things like cheating," said a parent. We asked Misenti if the cheap cell phone cases phones would be allowed during tests. He says that will likely be the teacher's call. Parents and educators will have a chance to weigh in before a decision is made.