Schools Should Allow The Owning And Usage Of Mobile Phones.

To begin, I would like to note that I as the negative merely need to demonstrate that the resolution as it stands is an incorrect position. I will agree with my opponent's definition for now, but reserve the right to clarify my understanding of it throughout the debate. I assume that my opponents statement about "why mobile phones should be banned" was a typing error, as the pro debater, my opponent's burden is to argue that schools should allow the owning and usage of cell phones. Answering Reason one: Emergencies Usage of cell phones during emergencies often contravenes school policy, undermining administrator's ability to keep order. Furthermore, mass student usage of cell phones jams cell phone towers, preventing their usage by law enforcement or other personnel who are trying to help the students in the case of emergency. (Reasons 9 & 12 on page 2 of . https://kycss.org...) Answering Reason two: Independence The reality is that cell phones function as the modern status symbol . (. http://www.examiner.com...) While the goal of teaching children independence is admirable, the purpose of a school is to teach children the curriculum. If they are too busy socializing they are missing out on the information necessary to their futures. Independence is a good thing, but not at the expense of education. Indeed cell phones are one of the main ways that students cheat, which is a) not an independent behavior, and b) not academically beneficial (Reasons 3&5 on page 2 of . https://kycss.org...) Having answered my opponents arguments I will now move on to other reasons why this resolution ought to be voted in favor of the con. 1. Legality Schools do not have the authority to prevent students from owning cell phones. Since this is a key portion of the debate, then since it is illegal for them to perform this action, then they should not do it. 2. Discipline "In the Tinker v. Des Moines case, the U. S. Supreme Court said students have the right to free speech at school unless their speech would cause a "material and substantial disruption" to class" (. http://www.acluvt.org...). Because of the potential and actual disruptions made possible by cell phone technology, not only in the immediate classroom, but also in disrupting the learning of any other number of students at the school, cell phones cause material (loss of education) and substantial (as a high portion of the school is often involved in cell phone usage) disruption to the school/. (Note that this is specifically United States case law, but I think that the Tinker Standard is a good standard to base any discussion of technological/social development"s impacts on education) 3. Social Harm a) "The undoubted freedom to advocate unpopular and controversial views in schools and classrooms must be balanced against the society"s countervailing interest in teaching students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior. " . http://law2.umkc.edu... Thus, under Fraser, although in a different context, schools have the duty to teach their students socially acceptable behavior, which I will contend does not include texting during a presentation, or when being spoken to by another. b) Students are texting all the time in class. The average college student checks their cell phone 11 times a day while in class, anew University of Nebraska-Lincoln study finds, and only eight percent say they never look at their mobile device while they should be paying attention to their instructor. When they are looking at their phone, 86 percent said in the survey they're texting. Two-thirds admitted to checking email or social networks in class either on their mobile device or laptop. A majority -- 55 percent -- said they did this out of boredom. " (. http://www.huffingtonpost.com...) Furthermore, "The most commonly cited disadvantages were that they don"t pay attention (90 percent), miss instruction (80 percent), or get called out by their instructor (32 percent). More than a fourth said they lose grade points because of their digital habits. " ( . http://news.unl.edu...) Given these three reasons (Legality, Discipline, and Social Harm) , as well as the refutation of my opponents two reasons, I see no reason to support this resolution. Thank you to the viewers and my opponent, and I look forward to the next rounds of debate.