Parents want kids to have their cell phones in class WTAF

[Anonymous]

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/06/06/american-parents-want-their-children-to-have-phones-in-schools

Are we all that terrified of a school shooting? Not only that, a ringing phone could give away a hiding position, so even in that use case it’s a liability…

[Anonymous]

Strange - all the MS parents I know are thrilled our school has a no cell phone policy and locks them away.

[Anonymous]

There are some parents who have a ton of anxiety about their kids not being reachable during the school day. Not many but a significant and loud minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/06/06/american-parents-want-their-children-to-have-phones-in-schools

Are we all that terrified of a school shooting? Not only that, a ringing phone could give away a hiding position, so even in that use case it’s a liability…

Yes, I think that many parents I know are that terrified of a school shooting. It doesn't matter if it's rational or not.

[Anonymous]

A limited function cellular watch is a reasonable compromise.

[Anonymous]

Yes, because some of us have kids in after school and other activities and need to coordinate. Schools don't have pay phones like ours did growing up. Unfortunately its a necessity at times.

[Anonymous]

I guess I don’t get the point? When has there been a school shooting that 911 wasn’t called pretty much immediately?

Are parents thinking the cell phone will somehow save their child’s life? Some kids in Uvalde used their phones to call 911 but it didn’t help at all.

Are you just hoping your child will be distracted from lifesaving lockdown drill maneuvering so they can instead send you a potentially final text message?

Cell phones do not save the lives of kids in school shootings. Kids don’t need a cell phone when they are inside school attending classes. For the walk to and from, maybe sure.

Someday we will all look back on this experiment and wonder WTF we were thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because some of us have kids in after school and other activities and need to coordinate. Schools don't have pay phones like ours did growing up. Unfortunately its a necessity at times.

They don't need it during class time for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don’t get the point? When has there been a school shooting that 911 wasn’t called pretty much immediately?

Are parents thinking the cell phone will somehow save their child’s life? Some kids in Uvalde used their phones to call 911 but it didn’t help at all.

Are you just hoping your child will be distracted from lifesaving lockdown drill maneuvering so they can instead send you a potentially final text message?

Cell phones do not save the lives of kids in school shootings. Kids don’t need a cell phone when they are inside school attending classes. For the walk to and from, maybe sure.

Someday we will all look back on this experiment and wonder WTF we were thinking.

I think it's about notification then about dialing 911. Parents want to know immediately when there is an incident at school, not wait for the media to tell us. And if there is an emergency situation like that, a parent might want to be able to communicate with their child.

My kid was in a lockdown situation when they suspected someone in the school had a gun. DC was texting me about it. I wasn't panicking, but I was trying to soothe DC, though DC had friends who were comforting each other.

Having stated that, I would rather not have phones in class. I'm for the yondr pouches. I think having a phone in school does more harm than good.

School shootings are scary, but statistically still fairly low. Phones in school is an everyday occurrence, and and everyday distraction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/06/06/american-parents-want-their-children-to-have-phones-in-schools

Are we all that terrified of a school shooting? Not only that, a ringing phone could give away a hiding position, so even in that use case it’s a liability…

Yes, I think that many parents I know are that terrified of a school shooting. It doesn't matter if it's rational or not.

It does if we're going to make policy around it.

[Anonymous]

Besides the distraction from learning and the toxic effects of social media, doesn’t having cell phones on kids in school massively increase the likelihood of violence (so it can be posted on Tik Tok) and other disruptive behaviors? No camera in the pocket, no reason to act the fool - at least on school grounds.

[Anonymous]

I want phones out of school but I will say that when my kid's high school was on lockdown for an alleged shooter, I was glad she had it.

She was texting me from inside the classroom and sharing with me the info from her friends who were scattered throughout the school. I was sharing back what I was hearing and trying to comfort her.

The school is a huge building with many wings. If there is a shooter, kids inside could give each other and the cops an idea of where he is.

I realize that this is not a likely scenario, but playing devil's advocate for why phones could be beneficial.

[Anonymous]

Phones are more harm than good, but I was also glad my kid had it for the handful of times this year they've had to evacuate for bomb threats. If students would just respect teachers and rules enough to keep it in their backpack, this wouldn't have to be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phones are more harm than good, but I was also glad my kid had it for the handful of times this year they've had to evacuate for bomb threats. If students would just respect teachers and rules enough to keep it in their backpack, this wouldn't have to be an issue.

Yep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because some of us have kids in after school and other activities and need to coordinate. Schools don't have pay phones like ours did growing up. Unfortunately its a necessity at times.

Why can't you give your child a dumb phone for texting you? My middle schoolers have dumb phones.