This year Westborough High School has implemented a new phone policy where every student has to put their phone in a phone holder pocket at the beginning of every class and can  not retrieve it until class is over. In past years, many teachers have tried using this policy to avoid students getting distracted by using their phones during class. Although this has not been overly effective  in past years, all teachers are really cracking down on when students can use their phones during school. 

When guidance counselor, Kayla Tonucci was asked how she thinks the new phone policy is going to affect students, she answered, “I think students will be more focused and engaged in the class rather than being focused on their outside life that they access through their cell phone.” I also asked what her personal opinions are on the policy, and she said, “It’s definitely going to take some getting used to for students, and I think they are going to have to get used to being in class and not having their phones because outside of school we have them 24/7 and I think it is going to benefit learning.” Prioritizing the learning and focus of students in the classroom is the main intention of this new rule, and it is designed to enhance the learning of all students in school. 

Lastly, I asked Ms. Tonucci why they finally decided to apply these strict rules after many years and she said, “I think it was problematic for students to have their phones in school,  so i think the whole US is moving towards less access to cellphones and here specifically students were more engaged in their phones rather than class and there is definitely going to be a positive effect on students and their learning in school.”

A lot of students dislike this rule and have different opinions on it but in the end the intentions of it are for the best of the students and in enhancing their knowledge without the distraction of their phones.