Mobile Devices are Ubiquitous

Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom?

Robert Earl May 18, 2012 U.S.

There may not be one right way of educating. The Waldorf School philosophy of pen and paper, blackboards and chalk, can work fine for some students. But computers in the classroom can also work. What's clear either way is that students must be taught to love learning -- to embrace the process of finding answers. In a recent New York Times article titled "A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute," Paul Thomas, a former teacher and an associate professor of education at Furman University was quoted as saying, "Teaching is a human experience. Technology is a distraction when we need literacy, numacy, and critical thinking."

And students need more than just discipline in the classroom. They also need to be inspired to learn about the wonders of life, of humanity, of nature, of our planet, of the cosmos. School policies outlawing cell phones are clearly not enough -- the effective teacher must connect with his or her students in order to hold their attention. There must be a magnetism, a bond between them, a sparking of a brotherhood in the battle for knowledge -- a quest to figure things out, to understand, and to marvel and rejoice in that insight.

All of this may seem easier said than done, and the most idealistic teachers often find themselves running up against unimaginative curricula and restrictive policies. But the incessant cell phone use going on in our classrooms must serve as a challenge, forcing us to remember what education is really about. The teacher's goal must be to instill an insatiable desire to learn. Because both inside and outside the classroom, there's so much to do and so little time.