Recently, administration implemented a new phone and headphone policy. The policy states that students and staff are not allowed to use their phones or headphones during class periods, bell to bell.

I will admit, the phones in class were definitely a problem in our school, but in my opinion, there was never a problem with AirPods because AirPods don’t distract you like phones do. Phones take your eyes away from what you are doing, but AirPods can give you a background track to help focus and flush out noisy distractions.

A lot of students, especially the ones with ADHD, prefer listening to music while they work to help them focus. Everyone’s brain works differently, and studies have shown that some students benefit from being able to listen to music while they work.

A study done by Elana Goodwin states that listening to music while studying or performing a task can be beneficial as it improves attention, memory, and even the ability to do mental math. She also found it helps lessen depression and anxiety.

“The AirPod policy is dumb. Taking away phones is one thing; the reason they took away phones was that social media was rotting our brains. But how does that have anything to do with AirPods?” asked senior Wilson Clevenger.

In my opinion, when the teacher is lecturing the whole class, we should put away our AirPods and Phones. However, when the teacher gives us time to do our personal schoolwork, we should be able to listen to music on personal headphones or ear pods since it helps with focus. What is wrong with that?