Students should be allowed to use their cell phones in school

Responding to my opponent's most recent arguments: 1. Cheating My opponent says that teachers can ban cell phones during tests. This is only possible if students are not allowed to use the tools on their cell phone. If students don't have another calculator other than their phone, how can teachers ban cell phones during tests? My opponent essentially agrees that it's necessary for students to purchase tools other than their phones, like dictionaries and calculators, if they want to use these during quizzes or tests. In addition, if my opponent agrees that teachers have the authority to ban cell phone use in their classrooms, how does this constitute cell phone use being "allowed" in schools. 90% of a student's day is spent inside a classroom. 2. Distraction My opponent says that students will "get their fill" while texting outside of class. My own experience denies this. When I was in high school, students would routinely get caught texting each other during class. While some "good students" would rather pay attention than miss a lesson, many "bad students" find class time boring and would rather socialize using their cell phones. Students who choose to text during class would be constantly distracted; they could also "corrupt" students who are trying to pay attention by texting them and trying to distract them with a conversation. This is particularly important for elementary school students, when most students still have the potential to learn skills and habits that will make them good students later in life. Younger children have much shorter attentions spans and would be even more prone to distraction by being allowed to use cell phones during class. If they are allowed to use cell phones at a young age, they will learn bad habits and be more prone to partial attention disorder later in life. 3. Safety My opponent says people could just fight outside school. My responses: 1) Students are less likely to fight outside school because fights are usually caused by heightened emotions as a result of close and forced proximity to someone who you don't like. Students are not forced to associate with people they don't like when they're outside of school; thus, fight are less likely to spontaneously occur. 2) Who cares? The cell phone ban policies are not designed to stop all fights. Cell phone bans in these schools are designed to protect the safety of other schoolchildren and the safety of school administrators who have to break up the fights. If a bunch of kids want to meet outside school property to fight, that's between them and the police. Tools: Encyclopedias The only free online encyclopedia is Wikipedia, and I don't think students should be citing this particular source for school projects. Voice recorders: Digital voice recorders are relatively inexpensive. A Sony model only costs $30. [1] Just like you have to buy a calculator if you want to use it in school (since you can't use your cell phone), you also need to buy a voice recorder if you want to record lectures. If you can afford a smart phone that is capable of recording a 45-minute lecture (has enough hard drive space), then you can afford a $30 digital voice recorder. Replacement: Laptops could also be allowed in schools where there is no internet access. Laptops would allow students to access tools, like encyclopedia programs, and digitally record their teacher's lectures, without the harms of distraction (since there is no internet access) and without the safety risks. Other need for cell phones: My opponent claims that students need cell phones to call their friends when they are sick. They can call their friends before or after school to socialize and ask what they missed in class. She also says that parents need to contact kids to remind them about doctors' appointments. Either a) the doctor's appointment is after school, in which case cell phone use is allowed or b) it is during school, in which case the parent must arrange beforehand with both the child and the school for an "excused absence." Parents, as adults, should be responsible enough to remind their kids before school that they need to pick them up early for a doctor's appointment. The courts have also agreed with me that cell phone bans are legitimate. [2] Since cell phones are a MAJOR distraction and can jeopardize a school's safety, I strongly urge a negation of the resolution. [1] http://www.google.com... [2] http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com...