This letter is in response to Sydney Ray’s Nov. 3 column, Cell phone rules instigate controversy.

The title of my post may seem to contradict what I am about to say, but bear with me, please.

Let me start by saying that cell phones are great; I use mine all the time. I call, I text, I take pictures, etc. I do none of the above during class. I most definitely have my phone with me in the building between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and it is on silent. Simply possessing a phone during school hours is not against the rules, as long as it is off. It is the using of said cell phone during school hours that causes problems.

I don?t take students? phones because I want to be mean or single them out or embarrass them. I take students? phone because, unless I am told otherwise, the message the student is sending me (with their behavior, not their cell phone) is (1) I am chatting with my friends via text message just because I want to or (2) I am sharing information that should not be shared (like test answers) with my friends.

I feel that one of Fresno Christian?s goals as a school is to provide and preserve a learning environment of integrity. One of the ways this provision and preservation is acted out is through disallowing the use of cell phones in the building during school hours for various reasons, including those mentioned above.

Now to address the comment that cell phone use is not allowed during family emergencies. I cannot imagine that a teacher, who is aware of the situation, would refuse to allow the student to use their phone. Unfortunately, I know from experience that important family emergency phone calls can be missed because a cell phone was confiscated? by me. I felt very badly about it and, had I known, I would have had no problem with the student taking the call. But I did not know, so instead of allowing her to take the call, I took her phone.

The key element is the teacher being aware of the situation; this is where my title comes in: communication is key, communication not on your cell phone, but with your teacher.