A Future Without Technology?

It’s May 14th, and for those in high school, classes are starting to wrap up. In honor of the school year almost being over, let’s look ahead to the next… and the new rule it’s going to bring. The New York State Government decided that phones are a giant problem in schools, distracting kids, taking away from learning, and overall just being a huge liability in the public school system. For that reason, they implemented a new rule in the budget saying how phones will no longer be allowed in New York public schools, from the start of the school day until the final bell. This move is, not shockingly, extremely unpopular, both among students and school administrators. It’s rather unfortunate that this move is coming just as I’m set to have only one year of grade school left before college, and have to deal with this for the first time. Many teachers and staff I’ve talked to have expressed their displeasure with the new rules, as it just seems rather unnecessary. Most teachers have no problem controlling their class, and phones are rarely ever more of a problem than just a small annoyance every now and then. In addition, there really is no way to fully enforce the rule, as kids can say they didn’t bring their phones, hide them in their backpacks, etc. It’s up to every school district to enforce their own brand of the rules, but each one needs something guaranteed set in place. I personally feel that this is a highly unnecessary rule change, especially the time it’s being implemented. Good luck to all current and future high school students; it’s going to be interesting seeing how this whole thing shapes out.