You are a high schooler living in a surreal world where phones are prohibited. Instead of finding a more efficient and safe way to eliminate phone usage, the district has gone overboard.With all of the stuff going on in this world, I feel like we have the right to at least keep our phones on us, or in a place where we can grab them. If you need it to text your parents, take photos of the notes you missed, or more, it’s good to have them. But the district has forced us to keep our phones in these pouches while at school.

The Yondr pouches are an ineffective way to deal with phone usage. I feel like the district could have dealt with it a lot better than they did. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on phone pouches that people either don’t use or just break makes me think they are useless,  and I am not the only one. When I asked Math Teacher Jennifer Wilson if she felt like the district could have spent their money more efficiently, she said, “Yes, but that’s not my decision to make.” So even some of the teachers in D-11 agree that we could have spent our money more efficiently. 

We are all aware that our phones have become a problem, but Yondr pouches were not the way to fix it. The money used to buy those pouches could have been used for a lot better things, like sports, air conditioning for the small gym so it’s not hot all the time, and safety, to try and prevent school shootings. Not phone pouches. As a whole district of D-11, the phone pouches are a big issue. It gets in the way of our learning if we need our phones for something, which has  happened to me quite a few times. Last year, when I was struggling with Algebra, I took photos of the warm-up problems and I would look back on them for homework.  This year I wasn’t able to do that and it was a big struggle. I did not know how to do Geometry in the slightest. In History, when I missed notes on what we were reading in the book and it was not in Schoology, since it was a book, I should have taken photos of the notes I missed, so I could catch up. You cannot do it on your Chromebook. The quality is horrible and the camera on the computer is small. I was not able to do that, whereas last year I would have no problem doing that since our phones didn’t have to be in those evil pouches. That is why we need our phones for our learning. 

If we had phone jail, or a policy to just keep phone in our bags and ask to take them out or it gets sent to security if you’re a repeat violator, it would solve the problem. If something were to happen, let’s say at least you would be able to have your phone and communicate with your parents. It would be easy for you to learn. 

Angelica Santos thinks that we can fix the problem. She said, “[We should] just get a warning within reason, then [they should] take it.” I agree with her fully because we should be able to keep the phone that either we or our parents pay for in our bag. Sometimes it gets so loud you cannot hear the bells, so it’s good to check the time too. Last year we would have had no problem doing that, but this year they are making a big fuss about what. 

Angelica Santos also said that she usually uses her phone to check the time since the bells are not loud enough. “It would be less of a hassle if we did not have the Yondr pouches.” Angelica Santos said. This is why we should at least have our phones in our bags. 

In this photo written by an anonymous person, the issue of mental health is explored. . It says, “They order us around like dogs while they ignore our cries for help.” That is what the graffiti says and it shows those pouches are making students feel more and more trapped.

 Now, let’s go to another reason we need our phones. People with anxiety, depression, ADHD, or more like need to have there phones on them. There are those apps to help you focus on your work and stuff, and if you have those issues, without your phone it can be a trouble to be okay in school from everyday life. Someone who would like to keep their name anonymous said,  “They’re bad for people who have bad mental health. People with anxiety or ADHD already struggle to focus and phones help people schedule things.” Not only are the dystopian evil phone pouches bad for people with mental health, the pouches are also bad for people who are in a club or sport at this school. All the clubs and sports use apps like band or other stuff I don’t know what all the other sports use, but the point is if you are in a sport or band or something, they use apps. Apps are on phones. If you cannot communicate with your coach or people on your team for questions throughout the day, you will show up being super confused. 

Upperclassmen are especially struggling with having to use these pouches. Some of the students have jobs or responsibilities outside of school and they need their phones for that. I mean, life goes on outside of school and especially those who have commitments or responsibilities, these pouches are just bad news. 

If something were to happen, we would not have our phones on us and that’s honestly so scary. If there was a shooting or something, it would happen all over, what if it were us? We would not have our phones? Keira Gallagher said, “Okay, so I think they are dumb because imagine there is a school shooting, and you’re about to die. You won’t be able to say your last words to their parents because of these bags. Especially after the Georgia shooting, they still did not change it.”  

I agree with this student fully because even after the Georgia shooting they still did not change it. How many times do we have to go through a loop before we realize these phone pouches are not it? Just think about how many lives were lost not being able to tell their parents they love them because of these. We have seen it happen in Georgia, yet the district is not changing anything. If we found a better solution like the ones I have listed before, it would be very beneficial to everyone. I have said it before and I will say it again, these Yondr pouches are a safety hazard. 

You know what? I feel like it is time to boot these Yondr pouches out of D-11. I have already listed most of the stuff I need to say, and that other people need to say about these pouches. It is unsafe, and such a hassle to deal with. I say, NO LONGER TO YONDR!!!! Let us get rid of these pouches from the district once and for all. I have a petition that at least three hundred people have already signed trying to get rid of these pouches. It’s supposed to go district wide for it to have  a chance of actually removing them, so please send this to your parents and friends across the district. Even have your family members sign it if you want. It’s up to you guys if we actually get them removed or not. 

https://chng.it/JJv5vxpNbx