WaPo: Students can’t get off their phones. Schools have had enough.

[Anonymous]

MCPS has enough to do with teaching and shouldn't be forced into being the cell phone police to satisfy a few crazies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It says "MD" is included, but what are the proposing in MD? I don't see any proposal about phone usage in class.

They already have a phone policy in MCPS, but it's at the teacher's discretion, and some teachers just don't care enough to do anything about phone use in the class.

Some teachers "don't care" because they're not willing to risky their physical safety and wellbeing by confronting screen addicted teens over their phone use.

This exact scenario just played out in the news: https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/tennessee-teen-pepper-sprays-teacher-after-he-takes-her-phone/

Teachers should not be on the hook for enforcing MCPS's cell phone policy. It's not safe and it's not fair to them.

Then who is going to be on the hook? Policies are worthless without enforcement. Parents can encourage and support but can’t enforce school policies. That’s up to teachers and admin.

IMO it should be admin, but then you have the conundrum that admin aren't in the classrooms and admin don't wanna deal with the blowback from the parents who are adamant that their kids never have their phones taken away for "emergency reasons."

Great then remind parent to remind their kid not to take their phone out when not an emergency as we have a cell phone policy. If they can’t control that behavior, then we consequences to help. Parents are also welcome to come sit in class and control their own kids behaviors.

I'd gladly sit in the classroom if my kid was misbehaving. If you let me know it would be dealt with in our home. However, teachers except a rare few will not communicate with parents or allow them in the classroom.

We check everything. We go online daily or every few days to make sure assignments are done, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are giving kids smartphones in the first place? I think an old school flip phone would be sufficient enough.

Then, give your kids a flip phone. I like a smart phone for the texting and tracking.

So they are texting you during the day? Why? You are the problem.

How is it different from email or anything else?

What is anything else? They're not supposed to me emailing you either? What exactly is so important that you need to interrupt the class to discuss? You are teaching your kids zero manners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has enough to do with teaching and shouldn't be forced into being the cell phone police to satisfy a few crazies.

So you don't believe the studies that show you that cell phone use is hurting YOUR child's mental health and ability to concentrate? All because you want to appease your guilty conscience. Nice.

[Anonymous]

I teach high school juniors and seniors in MCPS. Cell phones are a huge issue.
Kids are constantly distracted by their phones and cheating is off the charts. Some kids are fine but most kids are unable to control their cell phone use. The problem is that teachers are told to manage cell phone use in their classrooms however they want. There is no consistency which is confusing to students as some teachers are lax while others are strict. Also, we have no support from administrators if we run into a hostile situation with a student regarding cell phone use. Our school is short on security staff so they are often not available to help either. No detentions are allowed for these types of incidents so there is not much the admin or security can do anyway. We can email parents but many are not responsive or they take the students side. I don’t worry about being hit or physically attacked by a student even though I teach at a low performing HS with a mixed population. However, I find it challenging to enforce strict cell phone rules because I am a relatively new teacher and there is no backup if the situation escalates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An effective intervention that costs only $16 per kid would be the cheapest thing yet. If you’re worried about waste in the education system, this ain’t it.

+1 I have been posting about the phone pouch for a year.

So glad nobody will listen to you!

yes, what teen or adult who is addicted to their phone wants to be told to put their phone away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has enough to do with teaching and shouldn't be forced into being the cell phone police to satisfy a few crazies.

So you don't believe the studies that show you that cell phone use is hurting YOUR child's mental health and ability to concentrate? All because you want to appease your guilty conscience. Nice.

And, yet, you are on here rather than spending time with your kids. You know what's really good for your child's mental health. Involved parents who spend time with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It says "MD" is included, but what are the proposing in MD? I don't see any proposal about phone usage in class.

They already have a phone policy in MCPS, but it's at the teacher's discretion, and some teachers just don't care enough to do anything about phone use in the class.

Some teachers "don't care" because they're not willing to risky their physical safety and wellbeing by confronting screen addicted teens over their phone use.

This exact scenario just played out in the news: https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/tennessee-teen-pepper-sprays-teacher-after-he-takes-her-phone/

Teachers should not be on the hook for enforcing MCPS's cell phone policy. It's not safe and it's not fair to them.

Then who is going to be on the hook? Policies are worthless without enforcement. Parents can encourage and support but can’t enforce school policies. That’s up to teachers and admin.

IMO it should be admin, but then you have the conundrum that admin aren't in the classrooms and admin don't wanna deal with the blowback from the parents who are adamant that their kids never have their phones taken away for "emergency reasons."

Great then remind parent to remind their kid not to take their phone out when not an emergency as we have a cell phone policy. If they can’t control that behavior, then we consequences to help. Parents are also welcome to come sit in class and control their own kids behaviors.

I'd gladly sit in the classroom if my kid was misbehaving. If you let me know it would be dealt with in our home. However, teachers except a rare few will not communicate with parents or allow them in the classroom.

We check everything. We go online daily or every few days to make sure assignments are done, etc.

take it up with admin - you have the right to observe you kid in class

[Anonymous]

We had to report two kids in my MCAP testing room today for sneaky cell phone use. A lot of students don’t know what to do with themselves if they can’t get access to a cell phone. It’s sad and frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/09/school-cellphone-ban-yondr/

Article begins:

When students returned to school during the pandemic, educators quickly saw a change in their cellphone habits. More than ever, they were glued to the devices during class — posting on social media, searching YouTube, texting friends.

Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter.
So this year, schools in Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California and others banned the devices in class to curb student obsession, learning disruption, disciplinary incidents and mental health worries.

“We basically said, ‘This has got to stop,’” said Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli. “We’ve got academic issues that are not going to be fixed … if our students continue to sit on their phones.”


... Article continues....


https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/09/school-cellphone-ban-yondr

My comment: Looks like a submarine advertisement for $16 pouches. More corporate junk to waste taxpayer money instead of making and enforcing rules.

Then the teachers should have showed up so that the kids would not have had to attend school virtually. Believe it or not, some kids did not have computers or laptops and were literally watching you "teach" using their cell phones. You teachers caused this problem and now come up with a creative way to permanently fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/09/school-cellphone-ban-yondr/

Article begins:

When students returned to school during the pandemic, educators quickly saw a change in their cellphone habits. More than ever, they were glued to the devices during class — posting on social media, searching YouTube, texting friends.

Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter.
So this year, schools in Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California and others banned the devices in class to curb student obsession, learning disruption, disciplinary incidents and mental health worries.

“We basically said, ‘This has got to stop,’” said Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli. “We’ve got academic issues that are not going to be fixed … if our students continue to sit on their phones.”


... Article continues....


https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/09/school-cellphone-ban-yondr

My comment: Looks like a submarine advertisement for $16 pouches. More corporate junk to waste taxpayer money instead of making and enforcing rules.

Then the teachers should have showed up so that the kids would not have had to attend school virtually. Believe it or not, some kids did not have computers or laptops and were literally watching you "teach" using their cell phones. You teachers caused this problem and now come up with a creative way to permanently fix it.

The teachers did show up. As a parent then participating is your problem. Parents are just as much a problem with their lack of parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a real problem. If you don't want your kid using a phone, don't buy them one. It's that simple. Really.

+1. Or be a parent and set strict rules about them using the phone at school. Our rule is it stays in their lockers during class. Done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a real problem. If you don't want your kid using a phone, don't buy them one. It's that simple. Really.

+1. Or be a parent and set strict rules about them using the phone at school. Our rule is it stays in their lockers during class. Done.

How do you verify? Or do you "trust"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a real problem. If you don't want your kid using a phone, don't buy them one. It's that simple. Really.

+1. Or be a parent and set strict rules about them using the phone at school. Our rule is it stays in their lockers during class. Done.

How do you know it's done?

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad MCPS will never pay attention to this nonsense.