An anonymous response from a poll sent out to the entire Upper School confided,  “I do not like it, but I think it’s good” This year the Agnes Irwin School implemented a new phone policy for all students. Some students have voiced objections. Students are required to slide their phones into their assigned phone cubby (often known as “phone jail”) before they come to class first period. 

As a student at AIS,  I feel that angry complaints are unnecessary as the most inconvenient part of the policy is the location of the phone cubbies because it is far from the Student Parking Lot and the Science and Arts Wing, students would be on time more often if each grade had a phone cubby in its lounge.
A lounge area cubby would also make students more likely to store their phones because it would impose less of a burden on them. In an anonymous survey, 78.5% of respondents said that the location of the phone cubbies makes them less likely to put their phones away. Another poll reported that 75.4% of respondents said: “I cannot communicate with my friends or parents easily.”  Admittedly, students with an Apple computer can communicate with people inside and outside if necessary.  One big positive to the phone policy is having a fully charged phone at the end of the day, and other students agree, seeing as 58.5% of respondents selected it as a positive.

Classics Department Chair and Class of 2027 Dean Dr. Beasom and Class of 2026 Dean Mrs. Hurst discussed how the phone policy has affected the community. Both faculty members agreed that the main goal of the phone policy was to encourage student engagement in community spaces with their peers. Mrs. Hurst was so happy with the impact of the phone policy here at AIS. Her only critiques were the difficulty of taking photos in class and the location of the phone cubbies. Dr. Beasom agreed with everything Mrs. Hurst had to say but added that the present location of the phone cubbies is the best place for them. 

 As much as I can understand the frustration of having such a drastic change to the environment and rules here at school, I believe that overall, the policy has had many positive impacts on the culture here. I have had so much more time to talk with friends. Over the last few years, phones have become an escape from being present, and now that we have the phone policy, people are forced to fill up the quiet at school. Not having my phone really forces me to have conversations with people outside my normal sphere. Overall, I think we have gotten so much closer as a community, which is something that makes Agnes Irwin such a special place.