Junior Christine Cheon witnessed her classmate almost get written up for trying to answer an urgent text from a parent last year.
“The teacher was very insistent and threatened to take it away and write [the student] up if they didn’t turn in their phone,” Cheon said.
Confusion has emerged regarding whether teachers are stillpermitted to collect students’ phones after a fire at Glenbrook South on May 4. Some students evacuated without their phones because teachers collected them in class.
The policy about student use of electronic devices is to keep phones out of sight in classrooms.
“From this point and time, it’s my understanding that teachers do have the ability to take the phones and put them in the phone motels,” said William Eike, assistant principal dean of students.
“Moving forward, there could be some changes to the policy that might say we’re not going to necessarily take the phone from the student, but the student is going to have to put it away,” Eike said.
The fire at GBS could affect the policy if or when it gets rewritten, Eike said.
According to social studies teacher Robert Gallivan, there is a lack of clarity about the policy and whether teachers are able to collect phones.
“In our back-to-school meeting, our department chair said that the policy was not necessarily solid quite yet, but it looked like it was moving in that direction [of the policy being changed],” said Gallivan. “So instead of having to start the year and change later, many of us just decided not to use the phone pockets.”
The phone holders are useful for class, Gallivan said.
More information regarding the current policy can be found on the Glenbrook North website in the Parent and Student Handbook 2023-2024.
Students should be trusted with their phones, Cheon said.
“I think [teachers not taking students’ phones] is smart because if there is an emergency, if there’s something where you need to have your phone, I think it’s stupid, and it’s reckless for you to have to run all the way over to the door to grab your phone before you can leave,” Cheon said.