‘What is the world coming to,’ yelled an angry friend when this topic came up. In her defence, considering the fact that she grew up without a cell phone in school and managed just fine, so will other kids.Correct maybe, but then again, whose fault is it that cell phones in the 90’s were as scant as a nun with an STD? Even though we survived without cell phones, it doesn’t mean we have to impose the same rules on every other generation. If a school says their kids can have cell phones, then there is a good reason for that and if you don’t like it, feel free to take your child to a military school!If they are monitored well by the school then it’s okay. Some will say the performance will drop because kids are too busy with their phones. I say that if teachers and school administrators set rules, then there won’t be a problem.In my high school, kids pretty much carried their phones to school. Yes, some of these things were complete distractions and totally unnecessary  but that didn’t stop the students from performing well. The point is phones are the biggest saviours when it comes to an emergency. Children can stay in touch with their parents and I think that is healthy as opposed to locking them away until visitation. Sure, some will use the chance to chitchat with friends but if it’s done during their leisure time then where’s the harm in that? Phones can be silenced during class or study periods, and active only in appropriate places.Cell phones create a convenience that was previously unavailable. With cell phones, a parent can easily reach their kids for any reason: to ask them questions, change plans, or simply say hello. Many children report that their school office personnel are not approachable or do not allow use of the office phone. In these cases, cell phones are very helpful.You see, I like to look on the bright side. You may not be convinced with all this ‘baloney’ I just laid out but agree or not, most schools encourage internet use for purposes of researching school projects. Cell phones that have these applications can be used for research. Thus, it is the low-cost option to use cell phones with internet at school than for schools to set up and pay for internet facilities (that being the bright side). On a lighter note, if schools could take a chill pill and learn to loosen up a little, maybe kids won’t hate it so much. Let them have a few things on them that make them believe they are not prisoners. School authorities should come up with ways to keep these phones on a leash – only used during free time and emergencies.