Is It Right for Students to Bring Cellphones to School?

Most Chinese primary and middle schools forbid students from bringing cellphones on campus， though to little effect. Some parents hope schools can accept students bringing cellphones to school， as it makes it easy for them to contact their children. But schools have concerns that cellphones will distract students. It seems that simply banning the use of phones at school might prove inadequate in dealing with the problem. The following are excerpts of opinions from the public on this issue：

Huang Lixia （Tianjin Daily）： Schools have an obligation to make clear to students the advantages and disadvantages of cellphones.

Phones are not necessarily bad. Properly used， they may help students in their daily life and study， while ensuring they remain connected with friends.

Nevertheless， it is important that teachers set an example by not using their cellphones in class and effectively communicate the issue to parents in order to address the problem at its root. Schools should also install sufficient communication devices on campus for students to use. In turn， more entertainment and sports activities should be organized to enrich extracurricular life and combat technological addiction.

Strict rules are necessary to regulate cellphone use at school and what kinds of information can be accessed. Parents are also tasked with the responsibility of teaching their children good behavior when it comes to using such technology.

Xu Jianing （Hecheng Evening Daily）： Students tend to compare phones and show off. This means that ordinary work- ing families are now placed under greater financial pressure to provide their children with the latest gadgets.

Many teachers complain about disruptions to class due to the cellphones. Worse still， they may be used to cheat during examinations. While most schools do not support the use of phones on campus， no firm regulations exist that forbid it.

Proper use of cellphones depend on the guidance of both teachers and parents. With information technology ever present in modern life， simply banning its use will have no longterm impact. Schools are expected to keep up with social trends in education and mobilize whatever resources necessary to help students use their phones in a healthy manner.

Cong Yi （People’s Daily）： There are many reasons to forbid cellphones on campus. For children， cellphones represent toys more than communication tools and can easily disrupt studies. Moreover， unhealthy information could pose a threat to their development. However， simply banning their use is both unreasonable and pointless. Instead of worrying about the use of cellphones at school， why is more time not spent reassessing China’s current education system？

Shang Qinglian （Zhengzhou Evening News）： It would be great if cellphones were banned at school， though they pose little negative effect on students. In Seoul， an act has been passed to forbid primary and middle school attendees from using cellphones at school， while the UK Education Ministry has said that except for emergencies， students under 16 years are forbidden to use mobiles on campus across the country.

Cellphones are undeniably helpful communication devices. Nevertheless， their use in class， alongside the spread of undesirable content， could prove extremely harmful ICTWrOsmXRHVZCs/c6CXyw==in the long run.

Mao Jie （Zhengzhou Evening News）： It would be almost impossible to ban cellphones among primary and middle school students. The issue lies in offering useful guidance instead. Despite the provision of public telephone boxes and magnetic card phones at school， most children still use mobiles to keep in touch with their parents. As long as schools implement proper regulations， I can’t see anything wrong in using cellphones on campus.

Ran Naiyan （China Education Daily）： Many hi-tech products prove to be doubleedged swords. The key is in how we use them. It’s also important to realize both their positive and negative effects. Cellphones will do more harm than good to students who use them on campus. These devices could easily affect studies， encourage unhealthy competition.

It’s necessary to allow students the chance to learn for themselves how to cope with daily and social life. For example， at a middle school in Shenzhen， south China’s Guangdong Province， the question of whether to bring cellphones to school or not relied on discussion between class peers. After heated debate， it was finally decided that phones would not be allowed. In turn， providing facilities such as pay phones on campus could prove a good alternative for parents to keep in touch with their children.