Students Should be Allowed to Have Their Cell Phones at School

Thank you for your response. “I am currently in school and I do not have a cell phone. I am in over 7 school clubs, some of which meet after school and I still use the school phones. My point is students just do not want to use the school phones and make excuses to their parents about it. Students now, at the age of 6, have cell phones and it would be best to define this as spoiling a child. A more detailed definition can be found here” My opponent commits an argument fallacy from personal experience. Personal experience cannot be verified, nor proved, and in turn can therefore not be taken as a legitimate argument. Just because something may personally work a certain way for you, does not mean that that is the general case for everyone. It is irrelevant when a child gets a cell phone because that is a parents decision, and that parents’ decision should be based of whether or not their child is responsible or ready for a cell phone. Ultimately, my opponent’s contention that students are too young are irresponsible to have cell phones is irrelevant to the debate resolution at hand, because whether or not students are ready to have cell phones depends entirely on the parents’ of those students and is irrelevant to whether or not the school should allow cell phones to be used in school. “But also, in your previous argument, you said that parents use cell phones as a way to teach children responsibility. Some children do not get the point of responsibility and in turn, lose the phone and get their parents to buy them a new one. This cycle repeats over and over again if the parents really spoil their child.” Like stated in my last response, it is the parent’s decision to decide whether their child is ready for a cell phone or not, and it is certainly not the school’s fault if that child turns out to not be responsible enough for a cell phone. However, my point still stands that through trial and error regarding cell phone usage, students will mature regarding appropriate cell phone usage, even if they must be punished in the process. “Some parents will actually press charges on the school for their child's phone being stolen because it was somebody in the school and the school was not responsible enough to keep his/her child's phone safe. There are many other ways to press charges and you never know what could happen in a democratic government system. There are quite a bit of stupid rules put in place.” As stated last round, this is not the fault of the school nor is it a fault of allowing students to possess their cell phones on school grounds. Rather, it is the fault of a flawed justice system. Therefore, the blame cannot be placed on schools that allow cell phones so this argument is therefore dismissed. “Cyber bullying is another large topic when discussing the use of phones by students. Many students do not know the full impact of a text or IM or anything else. Here is a link with further information:” Irrelevant. Cyber bullying is not the fault of schools that allow students to use cell phones. Anyways, your own source states that cyber bullying happens even outside of school. “About 20 years ago (or less) students did not get phones until about 15 or 16 years old because it was not necessary and it still isn't today” I am not arguing that cell phones are necessary; what I am arguing is that all the benefits cell phones bring are great, and students can have those benefits while schools also deter the negatives that cell phones may bring through strict rules on cell phone usage. “why would anyone need to call their parents in a school shooting? Should they not be more worried about the shooter in the school or calling the police?” The point is that in the case of a dire emergency, students will be able to communicate to anyone they need to, which could very well save lives. Thank you for this debate.