By: Clara Weber
In an interview with our new principal, Dr. Weber, it was asked why he thought the assembly was necessary and what his goals were. “We did not want students to think it was meant to be a day of negativity. Instead, we wanted to bring in real people that did this for a living, that have positive encounters, and foster those kinds of ideas.” Anytime an assembly such as this one occurs, the administration aims to make students aware of the issue and have them listen to the information being presented. “It was meant to be the idea of how we can use our technology,” said Weber. The speakers were meant to express that technology is an extension of yourself, so one needs to be extending themselves the right way.
“But did that message come across?” Weber states that, “...it became difficult was where we had to have a rotation of kids going into it.” Ideally, having a smaller setting for them to talk to students would have been better, but we couldn’t figure that out with the time frame.” After the presentation, students were sent a survey to fill out about their experience. Based on that, about half of the students walked away with what they were supposed to be getting, while the other half did not understand the point. Furthermore, the plan was to also have students help in writing the new cell phone policy. When Dr. Weber was asked about the current policy, he had a lot to say. A policy, simply put, is something that the school board makes that the school can not deviate from. For example, if a policy said that cell phones were not allowed at school, the school could not go against that because it is policy. Our current cell phone policy says that teachers have the ability to enforce the policy how they want. There are both positives and negatives to this, the biggest negative being that the policy is not consistent amongst all teachers. This leads to frustration because students have inconsistent expectations. The goal is to make the situation easier for everyone. Students, adults, and everybody struggle with change. As well as this, many become protective when they are told they are doing something wrong. “It isn’t that our students are doing something wrong. We are looking at the policy and pulling out things that are pointless.” A good example of this is that some of Wilson’s policies say phrases like, “if your pager goes off,” but nobody uses a pager anymore. Things like this need to be updated. Dr. Weber also believes that it is also important to think about what is reasonable when it comes to when students can have their cell phones out. “We are not France,” he said. France has banned cell phones in schools. Because it is a fact that we will have phones for the rest of our lives, it is more important to know how to control yourself and have the correct response when your phone goes off. One important part of the student survey asked if the students wished to get involved in the student committee about cell phones. This group would look at survey responses, share their ideas with students and faculty, and come up with ways for students to positively use their phones through activities. Led by teacher Allison Irwin, the students would also be helping to create the new cell phone policy. “Risks are going to be taken and mistakes will be made,” said Weber. However, administration is okay with this if it eventually gets them to a better place. In the future, the staff hopes to continue doing presentations like this one to not only reinforce the cell phone issue but to also bring up other topics. The survey results will play a crucial role in deciding some of the future topics that will be discussed. “The use of technology is always beneficial to come back to.” However, if they were to try something like this again, they would try to have more activities and opportunities for kids to learn more about other things technology can do. The next step is to build on what has already been done and said. “We are trying to take a break from traditional and build in mental breaks for everybody.” Ultimately, what is going on with Wilson’s cell phone policy? “We as adults have to hold things accountable, but also want students to understand the purpose behind it. Having rules just for the sake of having rules is pointless. The idea behind reevaluating the policy is to make sure it makes sense.”
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Co-Editor - Adith GopalHello, readers! My name is Adith, and I am a senior and current Co-Editor of the Wilson Paw Print. I hope you can enjoy getting informed on some current news here at Wilson and abroad! If you have any questions about myself or the newspaper as a whole, email me at [email protected]! Co-Editor- Alexa MonosMy name is Alexa Monos and I am a co-editor of the Wilson Paw Print. If you have any questions or ideas about the newspaper or wish to get involved email me at
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