Last Name 1<\/p>\n
Student’s Name <\/p>\n
Tutor’s Name <\/p>\n
Course #<\/p>\n
dd mm yyyy<\/p>\n
Critical Essay: Having Cell Phones in Elementary School<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s new generation is referred to as the iGeneration because of such<\/p>\n
technologies as the iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and so forth (Rosen 8). As recently as the past <\/p>\n
decade, schools have had to determine their stance on students with personal electronics <\/p>\n
in the school, from the use of storage devices such as the flash drive, to the use of iPods <\/p>\n
for listening to music and podcasts, to the use of cell phones. Many schools quickly <\/p>\n
developed policies against the use of any personal electronic devices. The policies were <\/p>\n
aimed mostly at the high school level but trickled down to the lower grades. Very <\/p>\n
recently, though, educators have come to realize that student use of personal electronics <\/p>\n
may alleviate the stress of not having available enough computers, tablets, and other <\/p>\n
electrons in a timely, readily accessible manner for individual student use. They also have <\/p>\n
come to realize that banning cell phones in school may be too difficult to enforce. Parents <\/p>\n
want immediate access to their children, for example. However, addressing cell phones in <\/p>\n
high school, or even junior high school, is somewhat different than addressing it for <\/p>\n
elementary-aged students.<\/p>\n
A major concern for children\u2019s use of cell phones centers on the issue of<\/p>\n
electronic bullying. Students on all grade levels encounter bullying, whether they are<\/p>\n
witnesses to it, are victims of it, or are perpetuators of it. What makes electronic bullying <\/p>\n
even more of a concern is that children do not always know the identity of the<\/p>\n
Last Name 1<\/p>\n
perpetrator, whether it is a single person or a group of people, and if the child knows the <\/p>\n
person (Kowalski & Limber 22). Because electronic bullying can be easily transmitted to <\/p>\n
others, the potential audience for electronic bullying is limitless. Schools are left to <\/p>\n
develop policies and procedures for dealing with electronic bullying, which includes <\/p>\n
educating their students, teachers, and parents regarding electronic bullying. Part of the <\/p>\n
debate on whether to allow student-owned cell phones into the elementary school, then, is <\/p>\n
the issue of student protection against electronic bullying and also issues of whether <\/p>\n
students will abuse the access to their cell phones with inappropriate text-messaging and <\/p>\n
gaming, for example.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the coin, however, is looking at how often children use cell <\/p>\n
phones and for what purpose. Rosen found in his study that parents report that their <\/p>\n
elementary school-aged children are utilizing technology at a much younger age than <\/p>\n
their older brothers and sisters did (10). They are growing up in an environment where <\/p>\n
technology is ubiquitous in all areas of their lives. They have information and the means <\/p>\n
to learn at their fingertips. Five to eight year olds communicate electronically half an <\/p>\n
hour daily. Nine to twelve year olds communicate electronically 2.5 hours a day. Half of <\/p>\n
pre-teens have personal cell phones and iPads (Rosen 10). Rosen argues that educators <\/p>\n
might consider using various electronic devices for a means of delivering virtual content, <\/p>\n
having online class discussions, and having students to complete and submit assignments <\/p>\n
online.<\/p>\n
Rosen\u2019s idea that educators utilize students\u2019 personally owned technology in the <\/p>\n
classroom brings one to the consideration of what today\u2019s students should be learning in<\/p>\n
Last Name 1<\/p>\n
preparation for their future. Too often, our students are leaving school unprepared for the <\/p>\n
existing job market. They lack skills in critical thinking, communication, and <\/p>\n
collaboration. Skills needed for 21<\/p>\n
s<\/p>\n
t<\/p>\n
century living are different than what was needed for <\/p>\n
20<\/p>\n
t<\/p>\n
h<\/p>\n
century living. Our schools must shift from the mind-set of preparing students for the <\/p>\n
Industrial Age to preparing them for the 21<\/p>\n
s<\/p>\n
t<\/p>\n
century. Heavy emphasis is on collaboration <\/p>\n
and communication skills. Among tools needed to support students in developing skills <\/p>\n
for 21<\/p>\n
s<\/p>\n
t<\/p>\n
century learning and living include access to the Internet, educational games, and <\/p>\n
cell phones (Trilling 8).<\/p>\n
Trilling argues that since technology has become an important part of children\u2019s <\/p>\n
lives, they should bring their technology from home rather than compete for limited <\/p>\n
technology at school (8). Indeed, that is exactly what is happening in many schools. They <\/p>\n
are slowly beginning to realize that students have the availability to direct their own <\/p>\n
learning through the use of electronic devices. Students use electronic devices for <\/p>\n
accessing factual information, delving deeper into areas of interest, playing games to <\/p>\n
develop skills and concepts, for communication, and for collaborative learning. Cell <\/p>\n
phones, especially smart phones, provide students with immediate access to tools and <\/p>\n
information that help them in their academic endeavors. Concerns like electronic bullying <\/p>\n
are valid, as are concerns for any kind of bullying. Students must be taught ethical <\/p>\n
practices in anything they do and use, but they must also be allowed to use tools at their <\/p>\n
disposal to help them to achieve or to attain goals, such as in learning.<\/p>\n
Last Name 1 Student’s Name Tutor’s Name Course # dd mm yyyy Critical Essay: Having Cell Phones in Elementary School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n