Apple Watches should be allowed

Imagine sitting down in first period excited for the basketball game later. Then, all of a sudden, an announcement comes on that the game has been canceled and moved to another day.  Having already made arrangements for a ride after school, I would now need to contact my mom about being picked up since I would not be going to the game.

With the policy to allow the use of my Apple Watch, I could easily texted my mom that it got canceled. Then, she could pick me up later that day, and it wouldn’t be an issue. Also,  I wouldn’t need to find other means of contacting her.

If people are caught using an Apple Watch, it is considered violating the Audio Visual Devices section of the code of conduct. It will be confiscated and disciplinary action will be taken for the first offense. After the first offense, the punishment is progressive.

The first time people are caught using an Apple Watch they get a Saturday detention. The next time they get a single day of behavior modification. After that, it goes to three days of behavior modification, then five days.

This is unreasonable since the watches don’t cause any major disruptions to the classroom. They can be used to text, but they are unable to play audio. They require headphones connected to play sounds; therefore, they couldn’t make distracting noises in the classroom. The watches can also silence notification sounds through the watch. This could be a compromise to ease the restrictions.

The punishments for wearing the watch are more harmful than the watch itself. Detentions don’t stop student violations, they only are an inconvenience. Behavior modification also isn’t a viable punishment since kids will miss school work and time in class. Watches should only be confiscated if they are seen being used harmfully in class or become a distraction to the learning environment.

If the restrictions were eased, most students would use the watch simply to listen to music or notify people if something changed since they could use it to text.

“I wouldn’t use my watch to cause problems in class. I would just use it to text my parents if something changed throughout the day if the rules were changed,” said high school student Lauryn Ryan.

Apple Watches also can provide benefits for the students. The watches are capable of monitoring health, such as your heart rate. This could be important since some kids with health issues such as high blood sugar could see their heart rate spiking and get to the nurse for proper care.

They can also be used in an emergency situation. If something happens, a student can text their parents so they can safely be taken home or alert the proper authorities in a serious event.

Parents and teachers’ opinions should also be taken into consideration with the rules.

Teacher at Spring Cove School District and parent Ann Noce said, “Although technology can become a distraction, I do like knowing that my daughter has an Apple Watch during the school hours. It allows me to quickly remind her of schedule changes, etc. As a teacher, it can be difficult to manage, however showing students that you understand the importance of when they can and cannot use them is very helpful and avoids misbehavior.”

Overall, Apple Watches provide many more benefits than issues in a classroom situation.