Would Prohibiting Cellphones Work?

Although BR enforces the "No cellphones except in the piazza or in the cafeteria on your lunch time" I don't believe it is possible to prohibit cellphone use at school. Approximately 99% of students have a cellphone, or electronic device carried on them almost at all times. To completely ban cellphones in the age of electronics even sounds absolutely Ludacris. The rule is put in place to set a guideline to follow instead of a rule, since everyone already disregards it. There would be outrage and chaos if the school were to put in metal detectors and other security screening in order to prevent them being brought into the school, from not just students, but parents as well.

However, in the classroom, I believe it should be the teachers discretion whether or not they want to allow cellphones. Essentially, students are supposed to be in school to learn, and by allowing them to have their phone you are providing a distraction to the lesson. If students absolutely need to make a call arrangements can be made to make a call in the office so cellphones are unnecessary. Cellphones also provide the opportunity for cheating, theft, or even cyber bullying at school.

On the other hand, with cellphones in class students have the internet as a resource, cutting down homework time. Even if a student wants to waste the time on their cellphone during class time it is there responsibility to complete the homework/assignment at home. It is their fault if they fall behind and start failing the course.

Is 1000 Words Always Enough?

 
 
In today's society, news is plastered all over social media, usually just a summary of the incident followed by a picture. From just a picture and a few simple words, creates reactions and feedback from everyone. But is that enough to describe what the picture, and the incident itself? No matter how many words we are presented with, we must consider the source we are receiving it from. We are usually being indoctrinated by the biases of the network/source, meaning we are only being presented with the way they want us to perceive the situation, also known as the dominant reading. We need to remember this, gather all the facts and opinions and then form an educated negotiated reading. For example, in the situation dating back to a few months ago where a female cop is being beaten by 2 Brampton girls was plastered all of every social media outlet. The video just featured the scene of the officer getting smacked in the face multiple times by two high school girls. In this incident, many were blaming the officer for not handling the situation correctly because she took the beating, however we weren't informed what happened before the incident or why. First off the whole ordeal was conveniently recorded by someone from a distance. Perhaps the female police officer saw that someone was recording this situation and did not want to act against them because of fear of losing her job, or facing charges and/or commotion against cops contributing to racism, which has been a growing issue in today's society. There are many possibilities that could explain the situation so we cannot believe the first view we hear, or else if we continue to do so, we will be a generation of ignorant robots.