[Letters] Abusive cell phone use

The Aug. 31 letter to the editor “Cell phone use in school” particularly drew my attention. I agree with the statement “schools should respect the rights of children to bring their private property to school.” However, I do not agree with the claim that the use of cell phones in school should be permitted. Banning cell phones at school would be beneficial for a couple of reasons. First, it will allow for an effective educational climate. Secondly, prohibiting the use of cell phones will, in fact, foster the relationship among friends and bring the community closer together.

The newly added functions in cell phones mean nothing more than an increased number of distractions in classrooms. Along with basic functions such as a dictionary, stopwatch and calculators in cell phones, time-killer games are also now on many phones. Teachers are no longer deceived by students who pretend to look up things in their mini-dictionaries while playing games.

Texting during class time is another huge source of distraction for students. It is not uncommon to witness children who text their friends during class by hiding their cell phones underneath their desks. To eliminate completely this huge distraction in classrooms, the best bet is to ban the use of all cell phones.

I entirely agree that the use of cell phones has fostered general communication in Korea. I also acquiesce that cell phones are a very useful device when in an emergency, because I have personally been in such a situation. However, most students are not that desperately in need of cell phones, at least while they are in school. The educational period should be solely devoted to learning; it should not be chitchat time with buddies across the hall.

Sung Ji-eun, Holderness School