Do kids need immediate access to cell phones during school hours?

Here's an article in today's local paper:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/15/MNDD1GAM41.DTL

Gist of it is that some kids and parents feel that it is wrong to take away a kid's cell/smartphone because they used it during class time because they need to communicate during class time.

To a parent of younger kids (11 and 9), I think that protesting against such a policy is ridiculous. The kids are there to learn and that means the teacher gets the kids' full attention. If you don't want your kid to pay attention, then pay for them to go to a school where its okay.

 

This is why kids are unsuccessful in education, because their parents are idiots.

 

Funny. No parents on the record.

 

NO!!!

 

No, and texting in classes is killing education. Teachers can not tell (with very few exceptions) when the kids are doing it (someone once said if the student is staring straight at you, she's texting). Every good school needs a good policy on this. Parents - besides controlling your own kids on this (make it clear that you can get a record of every text and their schedule in school), ask your administrator what their policy is. One good one is to hang a shoe holder in front of the classroom & saying that all students phones must be in there.

 

Texting in class is one of the biggest discipline problems I have. It is the modern equivalent of passing notes, but kids are so attention-span starved, they can't go 30 seconds without firing off texts in the middle of class. Not surprisingly, the worst offenders are usually the students with a) the lowest grades or b) the worst discipline records.

I have "CQ" next to several names on my attendance chart, meaning I've suspected (but haven't yet caught) a student of cell phone use. CQ ("cell queen," the vast majority of my serial texters are girls) means they get to sit right in front of me for the rest of the semester.

When you see a kid wearing a hooded sweatshirt on a 95-degree day (the pocket in the front is a great place to hide a phone) or looking like they're playing with their rocks in the middle of class, it's bad.

 

Texting is one problem, but it also raises the problems of cheating on tests.

These smart phones now can access the web, allowing a student to search for an answer instead of learning it.

 

Here's the thing: a kid does NOT need a cell phone with full capabilities until they are driving, and maybe after depending on the kid. I got a cell phone on my 17th birthday because I was involved in so many activities that my parents never knew where I was.

But for when they're younger because of all of the school shootings and lockdowns, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I know there's a cell out there where you can only program three numbers: emergency, Mom and Dad, and it has no texting capabilities. That's the kind of phone they should have.

 

School should install cell phone jammer that is programed to work during class periods. During breaks or class changes it turns off. And it should also be able to be turned off during an emergency.

 

The jammer is a good idea. Except now you're affecting the teachers' phones too

 

When the bell rings, they should be turned off.

When the school day is over, turn them on. You should be able to use them at lunch because that is their free time.

Phones on create more problems than they solve safety wise. Students have used phones to organize for fights and to video things they should not video in a school.