Phone pockets are in most, if not all, Arroyo Grande High School classrooms. But how do students and faculty feel about them?
Spanish I and French II teacher Ross Richards strongly supports the idea of phone pockets in his classes.
“It’s like night and day,” Richards said. “I can see that it has a dramatic effect on my class. Everyone is a lot more able to focus in class. It’s been a total game-changer. If you’re on your phone, your mind isn’t in class. It’s on your phone.”
While most teachers believe in the benefits of using phone pockets, some students beg to differ.
“I don’t like [phone pockets],” Marley Smith (‘26) said. “I focus [when] listening to music; without my phone, I can’t listen to music.”
Marley is one of many students who say that having their phone increases their focus.
“I feel more at peace [with my phone on me] instead of worrying who is texting me,” Selmah Palomar (‘26) said.
Although most students would rather have their phones on them during class, not all believe that it aids their focus.
“I feel like I’m not as worried about what’s going on with my phone,” Sophia Sowell (‘26) said, “If there’s an emergency going on or I’m waiting to hear back from my mom then I’m not as worried about that and I can focus on my work.”
The use of phone pockets in classrooms has both positive and negative aspects. Every student is unique in how they learn and focus best, so opinions surrounding the use of phone pockets are likely to remain unique in the future as well.
