It's school -- leave the phone at home

How will they survive?

A judge ruled this week that New York City schools' ban on cell phones is both legal and rational. Teenagers don't have a constitutional right to have a cell phone at school, he ruled. This is no doubt news to the district's 1.1 million students who surely see cell phones as a birth right.

The schools' case against the phones is that they're disruptive, annoying and handy tools for cheating and taking embarrassing photos in the restroom. The biggest case for them is parents' contention that kids need them for emergencies.

It would be great to think there's room for compromise. Boston schools, for example, officially allow students to have cell phones but only if they're turned off and stored during the school day. My guess is that that works in, oh, about 35 percent of all cases.

I think schools should have the right to ban cell phones. Teachers face enough obstacles to getting students to learn; they don't need a Black-Eyed Peas ring tone disrupting a lesson.

Feel free to chime in.