Students left the meeting thinking teachers were no longer allowed to confiscate cellular phones, which is wrong, Bruckerhoff said. Teachers are still allowed take the communication devices if they are seen in class.
Still, juniors such as Brett Williams are confused as to the consequence of using cell phones. He explains what happened to him after the meeting: “Bruckerhoff said, ‘We have a new cell phone policy,’ and I was all nervous, like, ‘Oh, no, we’re not going to be able to use it in the hallways and stuff.’ And [Bruckerhoff] is like, ‘We’re not going to take your phones anymore because we wouldn’t like it if people took our phones away so we’re not going to take your phones away. We’re just going to tell you to put it away, and you can get a referral, but we won’t take it away.’ But then, in personal finance, the teacher’s all, like, snatching up the phones, and I was, like, ‘There’s that rule.’ And I just found out [Bruckerhoff] said otherwise.”
Bruckerhoff said teachers may take cell phones away, and any “referral” would be the punishment of insubordination when students who are told to put their cell phone away do not comply.
“What I said during the meeting was that we try to do a new phone policy,” Bruckerhoff said. “I didn’t say [teachers] weren’t allowed to do [take phones]. I said we weren’t asking teachers to do it anymore.
“People always misinterpret what they hear, but it’s still up to a teacher’s discretion,” Bruckerhoff continued. “If a kid’s taking it out in class, and [teachers] feel like it’s causing a classroom disruption because it’s against what they said in their classroom, then [confiscating the phone is] certainly O.K. to do.”
In any classroom, teachers have the authority to create their own rules regarding cell phone usage, Bruckerhoff said.
“Teachers can still have their own rules in classes as far as saying, ‘I don’t have to give you a warning. First day of school, I’m telling you all no cell phones in my classroom ever. If I see it out, you’ll get a referral,’” Bruckerhoff said. “Cell phones can be a distraction to learning.”
Teachers such as biology teacher Nathan Harness say the school’s establish policy is on target.
“I don’t think it’s a problem as long as they’re not using them in instructional zones or at the teacher’s discretion. I don’t think they’re a problem at all,” Harness said.
In the end, it all boils down to freedom with responsibility, Bruckerhoff said. Students must learn to regulate themselves and what is appropriate in a classroom setting.
“It really puts it back on the students to know, ‘I’m responsible for my actions,’” Bruckerhoff said. “And if I don’t listen to what the teacher had requested for me to do, then I know that instead of getting two to four hours of a consequence, now I’m going to get a Saturday detention because I am refusing to listen to what the teacher is asking me to do.”
By Daphne Yu
