Giving Up the Screen for Salvation by Damir

Giving Up the Screen for Salvation by Damir - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

Glancing from student to student across the classroom has taught me about the present state of our schools in regards to technology and the interesting lesson that the things we own end up owning us. The truth cannot be conveyed by a traditional lesson nor taught through any particular subject in school, but as it happens countless times, the distraction of phones and other electronics available to students causes grades to suffer and genuine communication amongst the classroom to become non-existent. Instead of following the curriculum, teachers are preoccupied with constantly reminding students to put away the devices in vain. Furthermore, students completely ignore the task at hand in the classroom when the obsession becomes a habit. However, the importance of this lesson lies in all lessons that try to promote change; the problem must be realized before any change can occur. All students deserve to succeed and technology seems to hinder them as much as it has the potential to help them. In my personal experience, I have become a victim of the compulsive texting and felt as though the phone dictates my life more than I do. Upon making an effort to change, I saw how relevant this issue is and its negative effects around the entire classroom and decided to become the maverick when it comes to technology. The lesson I learned became a reality that I changed for the sake of my academic success and I have even pushed the issue to my administration to implicate stricter policies over electronics and the consequences for them disrupting the learning environment. In terms of propriety, having electronics own us as instructions and assignments are being given is frankly showing a disrespect for the instructor as well as making our time less productive because, after all, we are in school.  High school students are bound to reject that which does not play in their favor one-hundred percent of the time but if a few hours without sending a text is an impossible adjustment, than that which owns us is simply going to make us their slaves even beyond the walls of the classroom.