East Paulding High School student Brandon Johnson asks students and teachers about their views on cellphone bans in Georgia public schools.

Georgia public schools for kindergarten through eighth grade face a statewide ban on cell phones, prompting a wide range of responses.

Amid rumors that the ban might extend to high schools, East Paulding High School sophomore Brandon Johnson interviewed four teachers and four students from diverse backgrounds, using the same set of questions to gain an overarching view of the ban from those in the education field.

Most of the teachers supported the ban in grades K-8. Many argued that the infiltration of technology, specifically cell phones, into classrooms had strayed from the original intent behind their implementation.

East Paulding High School biology teacher Shimyra Knowles explained: “When we looked at that, it was a great advantage and benefit. However, what we started to realize was that the students were not utilizing their devices in the way that we thought they would.” 

Her sentiment was shared by most of the staff interviewed.

When asked if they thought the ban should be implemented at the high school level, the answers began to differ.

History teacher Justin Summey said, “I don’t think it’s possible to implement it at the high school level,” while English teacher Dr. Tommy Jolly said, “I don’t know what else schools can do.”

The teachers could reach a consensus on this divisive issue. Some did not think it was necessary or even possible, while others saw it as the only viable solution to the dilemma.

The students’ answers were more unanimous, with most giving a resounding no to the ban. Their main concern was safety.

It was clear that in recent years, schools had become vulnerable to violent and terroristic attacks, leading students to feel unsafe unless they had access to a device.

They feared becoming victims of an attack with no way to say farewell to their loved ones.

Layla Burton, senior, responded to the question of whether the cell phone ban was necessary by saying, “It’s also with our environment and with, like, you know, schools not being safe now, it’s no longer safe for students to not have phones in school.”

This alone should have served as a wake-up call for those in power to address the state of the youth.

Many students also felt the ban was unnecessary because they had enough self-control to simply put their phones away, which further supported the argument for stricter regulations rather than a full ban.

Despite numerous attempts to reduce the use and distraction of cell phones, many teachers felt they were getting nowhere and preferred a solid ban. However, Summey urged a deeper look, arguing that the uncontrollable nature of phones stemmed from the lack of clear rules or regulations regarding their use.

He said, “There were no real rules on the phones, we just kind of created this culture around them.”

Although the future of the bans and the education system remained unclear, one thing was certain: something is wrong.

Teachers were tired of going above and beyond for the well-being and education of students. Students were tired of witnessing horrific attacks on nearby schools, knowing they could become victims themselves one day.

Were cell phones really the biggest issue at hand? Or were they an issue at all? That was left for others to decide.