A few weeks before school started, an email was sent out, informing students about the dreaded fate that awaited their cell phones. Although, it seemed as if the same news prompted sighs of reliefs from teachers all over Ridge. As soon as school began, students reluctantly turned over their phones at the beginning of class by placing them in “photels” or phone holders,. Brandon Lee ‘21 states, “It appears as if the new policy did not solve as many problems as it created in Ridge High School.”  

In fact, the paramount problem, the deafening sound created by cell phones is still very prominent in classrooms. Regardless of their place in the photels or students’ backpacks, the serenity of classrooms is still disturbed by the occasional BRRRRRING and TING! It serves as even more of a distraction when a student has to walk across the class to the photel to turn their ringer off instead of just reaching into their bag.

Moreover, it inconveniences students even more constantly leaving their phones in other classrooms or grabbing the wrong phone. Sameera Mathias ‘20 affirms this, confessing,“ it irks teachers even more when [they] have to go back to that classroom to get [their] phones because [they] are interrupting their class time again.” Although, initially unified in support of this new policy, it appears as if teachers are divided as well, as it serves only to inconvenience students in an already stressful and work-filled day.

Meanwhile, other teachers argue that it is a policy to ensure that students are not cheating or using their phones when not permitted to do so. This way even if a sound does make noise in the classroom, a student won’t suffer consequences for actions that they did not commit. Teachers believe that it fosters increased concentration in the classroom, without students constantly worrying about where their phones or notifications from apps they are more focused on the content being taught. The division among the Ridge High School population doesn’t appear to be disappearing anytime soon. Whether or not the policy stays, students and teachers alike anticipate further reformation.