WHY electronics should be alloud in school

As much as I might enjoy demonstrating why young goats should not use microwave ovens in aquatic environments necessary to have groups of fish I shall try and restrain myself. Unless of course that was the debate my opponent was seeking. Definitions: Electronics [1]: (1) A branch of physics that deals with the emission, behavior, and effects of electrons and with electronic devices. (2) Electronic components, devices, or equipment. I'll assume that we're talking about the second definition here but that still leaves us with a ridiculously broad field. For the purposes of this debate we should narrow the definition the "electronic devices typically used by minors". Thus, my opponent won't argue the benefits of having schools upgraded for the electric light and I won't try and demonstrate that school board budgets might be strained by installing an LHC. More thoroughly, we should discuss why the electronic devices should be used in schools rather than simply permitting their presence. School[2]: (1) An organization that provides instruction as (a) an institution for the teaching of children (b) college, university... (2) A large number of fish or aquatic animals of one kind swimming together. Ignoring the entertainment value in the second definition, we are still left with a wide variety of types of "schools" including colleges, universities and schools of thought. For the purposes of this debate we should stick to definition (1a) and should probably restrict the discussion further to public schools as private schools have a different standards and rules too varied to properly cover. If my opponent would prefer to use different definitions I'd appreciate clarification in the next round. This still leaves a variety of electronic devices to cover: Entertainment This is the most easily dismissed category of electronics. Personal entertainment devices in the school environment serve only to distract. They distract not just the child but other children in the same classroom. Their only possible use is improving hand-eye coordination and in an age where childhood obesity and inactivity is rising [3,4] and attention spans are falling [5,6] there are more fit and active ways to achieve this. Children get more than enough electronic entertainment at home so school policies should encourage children to leave their DS at home. Communication Many parents equip their children with mobile phones for safety and basic communication needs. These devices should be allowed in schools but should be kept off during class time. Texting and talking on mobile phones is obviously disruptive in the classroom [7] amongst other perils. The most obvious problems are poor grammar and decreased information retention [8]. Computing Personal computers are one form of electronic device that should not only be allowed but required in schools. In the information age, computer literacy is a requisite for most jobs above the grade of fry cook and should be taught as part of all school curriculums [9]. Back in the day schools taught cursive writing and long division. Today's schools need lessons on proper search techniques and internet privacy. However, these lesson should be taught on school computers. Having children bring their own computers causes a host of problems including: - Theft, loss damage. Problems that will be familiar to anybody who remembers how they treated their textbooks. - Disadvantages to underprivileged students due to the expense of the electronics and the software. - Classes become difficult to impossible to teach when different students all have different computers, operating systems and software. - Teachers have to police a variety of non-class computer issues from minor distractions through cyber-bullying, pornography, phishing scams and sexual predators [10]. As such, computer literacy should be taught at school using school computers. While there are exceptions for students with disabilities who need computers [11], in all other cases student computers become redundant for educational purposes. Student computers should be left at home to prevent damage, distraction and a host of other problems. Conclusions There are few reasons to allow students to bring electronic devices to school and, with a few special exceptions that prove the rule, no good reason to allow their use in school. Sources [1] http://www.merriam-webster.com... [2] http://www.merriam-webster.com... [3] http://www.cdc.gov... [4] http://www.cdc.gov... [5] http://www.parentingscience.com... [6] https://www.apa.org... [7] http://www.education.com... [8] http://everydaylife.globalpost.com... [9] http://www.commerce.gov... [10] http://www.digitalbookworld.com... [11] http://ldatschool.ca...