Question

You are wading through the halls during school, trying to get a hold of your parents about the time change for your school soccer game. Two situations: You reach for your cell phone and easily make a phone call to your mom and notify her about the schedule change. Or, you make your way to the office to call your mom on the school's phone but risk being late to class or not reaching your mom.

Although not everyone has gone through that exact situation, every student has needed to contact someone immediately to share important news. Despite student's needs to use cell phones in schools, it has become a debate on whether or not they belong in schools. There are many advantages for cell phones in schools. However, these uses of cell phones have also been misused for wrong reasons. The question is: Should cell phones be allowed in schools?

One of the largest concerns with parents is that they need to get a hold of their children for emergency purposes. What if a parent cannot get to school in time for pickup and needed to go to the afterschool program instead of waiting outside? How many school group projects are unseen by parents because another student takes it home? Students can text a picture of the project to their parents. It provides a means of communication between parent and child, and if done appropriately, can only benefit the student.




The concerns of school administrators ring loud and clear. "Cell phones are disruptive to the school environment and create opportunities for cheating," Robert Mackey (School Principal). This thought is quite common amongst school teachers. Nonetheless, students can be responsible with their phones and place them on vibrate in their backpacks to prevent interruption in the classroom. If this privilege is misused, then they can also be confiscated. On the other issue of cheating, teachers can set a rule in their classroom of no cell phone use without teacher permission. That way if a student is caught with a cell phone in hand, they can reap the consequences of disobeying a classroom rule.

To those who want to banish cell phones in school, remember that there a many good reasons why a student would need a phone on hand. Not all students would use them to do bad things. In conclusion, with cell phones comes responsibility. Isn't that what students are learning in school? Responsibility?

Multiple Choice Question
Read the following quote from paragraph 3.


What if a parent cannot get to school in time for pickup and needed to go to the afterschool program instead of waiting outside? How many school group projects are unseen by parents because another student takes it home?


How does the inclusion of these rhetorical questions help to support the author's central idea?


A.
The rhetorical questions help the reader to imagine the difficulty that teachers may face while trying to control and regulate cell phone use in the classroom.

B.
The rhetorical questions help the reader to imagine what it is like to be parents who are unable to communicate with their children during important events.

C.
The rhetorical questions help the reader to imagine how frustrating it is for students to try to coordinate a group project without access to cell phones.

D.
The rhetorical questions help the reader visualize how unfair it is for teachers and administrators to have access to cell phones while students do not.

Answer 1

B. The rhetorical questions help the reader to imagine what it is like to be parents who are unable to communicate with their children during important events.