Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Marlborough High School is taking a different approach to the phone problem that many schools are addressing across the state.
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WBZ NewsRadio spoke to Marlborough High principal Dan Riley, who said that they are trying out a new policy after receiving student input on the issue.
“What they requested is that we afford them that trust,” Riley said.
The new policy will entail having students put their phones at the front of the room when class is in session, then get them back after the lesson is over.
“If we don’t have the attention of the students, we’ve got nothing,” Riley added.
Riley believes that just locking the phones away would have solved a lot of problems, but the larger objective is to get the students to learn the right context for phone use.
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“I’m not getting too much negative feedback [on the program],” Riley also added.
Since the kids had a large say in crafting this new policy, Riley believes that this is part of the problem.
“They do need to learn how to live in the world and use their phone when it is appropriate,” Riley also said.
Finding the balance between keeping the students' attention, while giving them some leeway is the goal of the program.
The students that WBZ NewsRadio spoke to said that since the alternative would be having their phones locked all day, that this policy is a fair compromise.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports
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