Cell phone ban in schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can i just throw into the mix that my kid (diabetic) actually does NEED access to the phone all day?

i agree in principle, but then there will be exceptions and that will make enforcement even harder.

I’m all for taking enforcement out of the teachers hands so that they can teach in peace, but just wanted to mention that before you have any kids with phones suspended for the rest of their lives, there may be some exceptions necessary. I just mention it because it’s kind of actually critical for my kid to have the phone attached to his body and accessible. If there was a crackdown and his phone was taken, it actually creates a dangerous situation for him.

Then i worry that this one exception would open the door for all sorts of parent drama…. His phone is actually considered a medical device and i think trying to prevent access would bring up legal issues and ADA issues.

I think any policy would have to have accommodations built in by law, like anything else. In your case, it sounds as though he really needs it so they should give him something to show adults if he is questioned, like a special labeled bag. But I have heard other parents claim their kid “needs” it for anxiety, and schools have managed it by saying, if you need to talk to your parent to manage your anxiety, come to the main office or counselor’s office ANY time and you will be allowed to call. After all, if a child is suffering anxiety in school, isn’t it better for them to also have a trusted adult in the SCHOOL know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

Your kid being on their phone disrupts the educational experience for all kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Schools should have rules to help kids learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can i just throw into the mix that my kid (diabetic) actually does NEED access to the phone all day?

i agree in principle, but then there will be exceptions and that will make enforcement even harder.

I’m all for taking enforcement out of the teachers hands so that they can teach in peace, but just wanted to mention that before you have any kids with phones suspended for the rest of their lives, there may be some exceptions necessary. I just mention it because it’s kind of actually critical for my kid to have the phone attached to his body and accessible. If there was a crackdown and his phone was taken, it actually creates a dangerous situation for him.

Then i worry that this one exception would open the door for all sorts of parent drama…. His phone is actually considered a medical device and i think trying to prevent access would bring up legal issues and ADA issues.

Of course, there will be exceptions. Your child is the perfect example. Boy, some of you have low reasoning skills and cannot handle any level of complexity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

You can reach your child. You call the front office. You ask to have your child brought down to talk to them. Or, if you need to come pick your kid, you let the school know and they'll communicate that.

Your anxiety and/or entitlement are your problem. Adolescents having unlimited access to cellphones is an enormous societal problem - but it's one we can actually do something about.

Its not the secretary's job and there are 2600 students. That's not reasonable.

You are entitled and have anxiety. You also want others to parent your kids for you. You are on your phone complaining. Bizzare.

1. Yes, it literally is the secretary’s job.
2. It happens rarely, so can easily be handled over the course of a day.
3. The bolded is one of the clearest examples of projection I have ever seen, and that’s saying something.

No it’s not the secretary’s job. Maybe for elementary but not for high school.

My child’s schedule for band and theater regularly changes so they need to call several times per week or more and what happens if the pick up time changes and the office is closed after hours. And, with sports, one off campus that’s another massive coordination. If your kids are in no activities, maybe but we had pay phones growing up. They don’t now and they cannot text or call on school laptops.

So, uninvolved parent done of our kids do need phones to coordinate rides for themselves and your kids whom we drive because you will not.

Calm down. It’s amazing how little confidence you have in your own teenagers ability to survive without a phone during the school day. It’s almost as if you have failed to allow them to develop to be a competent human being unable to handle anything without their parent.

Let me guess you don’t have to drive your kids to school or I am driving them. If plans change I expect a text.

Are you always such a black and white thinker? The point is that cell phones should not be accessible during the school day. If something changes regarding an after school activity, your child can text you after school. If an activity is canceled, I’m sure the child can ask permission to text parent or can ask to use the teacher’s phone or send you an email. No one wants your child stranded at school without a ride.
There are common sense exceptions to every policy

It’s not appropriate to ask to use a teachers phone and they cannot email from mcps computers. Changes are pretty frequent. I have to get my kid from school so if they are late I don’t want to spend 30 plus minutes in line waiting. My child would be stranded a lot.

Convenience trumps education. Got it.
How many parents have a flexible schedule like you and can constantly rush over to the school to pick their child up with all these last minute changes that you are claiming. This is high school we are talking about. Kids can walk or take the school bus or take the metro bus or wait until their parent can pick them up or perhaps get a ride with another kid. Stop acting like your specific situation where you coddle your kid means there can be no cell phone ban for schools. Maybe you can get an anxiety exemption or something

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

You can reach your child. You call the front office. You ask to have your child brought down to talk to them. Or, if you need to come pick your kid, you let the school know and they'll communicate that.

Your anxiety and/or entitlement are your problem. Adolescents having unlimited access to cellphones is an enormous societal problem - but it's one we can actually do something about.

Its not the secretary's job and there are 2600 students. That's not reasonable.

You are entitled and have anxiety. You also want others to parent your kids for you. You are on your phone complaining. Bizzare.

1. Yes, it literally is the secretary’s job.
2. It happens rarely, so can easily be handled over the course of a day.
3. The bolded is one of the clearest examples of projection I have ever seen, and that’s saying something.

No it’s not the secretary’s job. Maybe for elementary but not for high school.

My child’s schedule for band and theater regularly changes so they need to call several times per week or more and what happens if the pick up time changes and the office is closed after hours. And, with sports, one off campus that’s another massive coordination. If your kids are in no activities, maybe but we had pay phones growing up. They don’t now and they cannot text or call on school laptops.

So, uninvolved parent done of our kids do need phones to coordinate rides for themselves and your kids whom we drive because you will not.

Calm down. It’s amazing how little confidence you have in your own teenagers ability to survive without a phone during the school day. It’s almost as if you have failed to allow them to develop to be a competent human being unable to handle anything without their parent.

Let me guess you don’t have to drive your kids to school or I am driving them. If plans change I expect a text.

Are you always such a black and white thinker? The point is that cell phones should not be accessible during the school day. If something changes regarding an after school activity, your child can text you after school. If an activity is canceled, I’m sure the child can ask permission to text parent or can ask to use the teacher’s phone or send you an email. No one wants your child stranded at school without a ride.
There are common sense exceptions to every policy

It’s not appropriate to ask to use a teachers phone and they cannot email from mcps computers. Changes are pretty frequent. I have to get my kid from school so if they are late I don’t want to spend 30 plus minutes in line waiting. My child would be stranded a lot.

Convenience trumps education. Got it.
How many parents have a flexible schedule like you and can constantly rush over to the school to pick their child up with all these last minute changes that you are claiming. This is high school we are talking about. Kids can walk or take the school bus or take the metro bus or wait until their parent can pick them up or perhaps get a ride with another kid. Stop acting like your specific situation where you coddle your kid means there can be no cell phone ban for schools. Maybe you can get an anxiety exemption or something

I'm so glad they can't ban cell phones. Sure would make the hard line right-wingers happy but it's just not a problem for anyone who parents their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

Your kid being on their phone disrupts the educational experience for all kids.

No not really. It just harms the education of kids using their phone who would find something else to distract them if phones weren't an option?.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Sure schools can collect phones for parental pickup. It's in the student code of conduct they all sign at the beginning of the year.

You can't force minors to agree to this. They are still entitled to a public education.

I know if they took my cellphone I'd press charges for theft. It's probably not a minor crime either since it cost over $1k.

Yes you can particularly since the code of conduct is agreed to by the student and their adult guardian. It’s no different than drugs being able to be confiscated or being suspended for fighting. Yes you are entitled to a public education but where and what that looks like is influenced by the individual and collective. If the collective bans phones, you either agree or can be educated somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

Your kid being on their phone disrupts the educational experience for all kids.

No not really. It just harms the education of kids using their phone who would find something else to distract them if phones weren't an option?.

It actually harms all kids because cell phone use frustrates the teacher and causes them to spend time on cell phone use rather than on more productive activities. Valuable class time is lost every single day because the teacher is wasting time trying to manage kids using their phones. Even if your kid has straight As, they are learning less than private school kids where there is a strict cell phone policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can i just throw into the mix that my kid (diabetic) actually does NEED access to the phone all day?

i agree in principle, but then there will be exceptions and that will make enforcement even harder.

I’m all for taking enforcement out of the teachers hands so that they can teach in peace, but just wanted to mention that before you have any kids with phones suspended for the rest of their lives, there may be some exceptions necessary. I just mention it because it’s kind of actually critical for my kid to have the phone attached to his body and accessible. If there was a crackdown and his phone was taken, it actually creates a dangerous situation for him.

Then i worry that this one exception would open the door for all sorts of parent drama…. His phone is actually considered a medical device and i think trying to prevent access would bring up legal issues and ADA issues.

I think any policy would have to have accommodations built in by law, like anything else. In your case, it sounds as though he really needs it so they should give him something to show adults if he is questioned, like a special labeled bag. But I have heard other parents claim their kid “needs” it for anxiety, and schools have managed it by saying, if you need to talk to your parent to manage your anxiety, come to the main office or counselor’s office ANY time and you will be allowed to call. After all, if a child is suffering anxiety in school, isn’t it better for them to also have a trusted adult in the SCHOOL know?

So glad this isn't a real policy just the wet dream of some hardline RWNJs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

Your kid being on their phone disrupts the educational experience for all kids.

No not really. It just harms the education of kids using their phone who would find something else to distract them if phones weren't an option?.

It actually harms all kids because cell phone use frustrates the teacher and causes them to spend time on cell phone use rather than on more productive activities. Valuable class time is lost every single day because the teacher is wasting time trying to manage kids using their phones. Even if your kid has straight As, they are learning less than private school kids where there is a strict cell phone policy

I have parental controls on my kids phone so all but making emergency calls is disabled during school hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

Your kid being on their phone disrupts the educational experience for all kids.

No not really. It just harms the education of kids using their phone who would find something else to distract them if phones weren't an option?.

It actually harms all kids because cell phone use frustrates the teacher and causes them to spend time on cell phone use rather than on more productive activities. Valuable class time is lost every single day because the teacher is wasting time trying to manage kids using their phones. Even if your kid has straight As, they are learning less than private school kids where there is a strict cell phone policy

I have parental controls on my kids phone so all but making emergency calls is disabled during school hours.

Agree this type of policy is unnecessary. Kids who don't value their education will find something else to distract them. I'm more concerned that teachers would have to spend half the class time trying to enforce this policy for 2-3 kids who can't stop watching tiktok instead of teaching the kids who are there to learn.

[Anonymous]

Our school- not MCPS - banned phones last. It was great.

[Anonymous]

Last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:God I hope so. It caused so many issues with my freshman last year.

Next year I am going to make it clear that if you have a cell phone/airpods in front of you it will reduce any extra benefits from me. No extended deadlines, no open note. tests, no extra time to finish up assignments the next day. A phone out during an exam will result in a zero. I am done dealing with kids playing games, messaging friends all class, watching videos etc. and then claiming they need more time after doing very crappy incomplete work that doesn’t get submitted.

I appreciate your trying to help students learn but there's a real addiction issue going on with cell phones and this is especially a thing with kids with special needs. Urge you to be more lenient with kids with known social issues as the phone can be self-regulating.