Cell phone ban in schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

You sweet summer child… acting as if you know how the inner workings of schools are. Staff who stay after school either have a key to the office or the office isn’t necessarily locked in the back as it is the front. It depends on the school but there is ALWAYS a way for teachers in the building to have access to a telephone if they coach/lead extracurriculars. Stop posting because you have no idea what you’re talking about.

To add to this- now your argument is your kids NEED one solely bc of afterschool? Guess what? The ban doesn’t prevent them from bringing a phone on campus. It prevents them from having it during the day. The point was if you absolutely need to contact them during the day, call the office or email them through Parentvue. So simple. You just want to fight to prove your “point” but there are so many alternatives. You just refuse to listen.

Yeah- it’s a bummer. This one person can’t stand teachers, doesn’t know what high schools are like, and has this “hands off my parenting” attitude. I am not sure they’ll ever be on board. My hope is that all the data supporting a ban as a public health initiative will eventually lead to schools doing the right thing. Private schools are ahead of us on this issue. Once NY and Boston and northern VA schools start, MCPS will have to do something. We can only hope!

[Anonymous]

This whole thread is just the fantasy of a few luddites. There is no cell phone ban, nor do they have any plans for this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is just the fantasy of a few luddites. There is no cell phone ban, nor do they have any plans for this nonsense.

This whole thread is the fantasy one of person who thinks cellphones will save the world. The rest of the posters recognize how problematic cellphones are in an educational setting. It will happen.

[Anonymous]

Kids who choose phones over education should sit in the gym or cafeteria watchig their movies. We can call them the "tardo class" because they are choosing to make themselves be tarded. That way the tards dont interfere with the good students who respect learning. It makes sense to shame them for disrespecting the learning process. Plus i could see them not showing up on time foe that either, hence the "tardy tard" theme.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

Or they could just use their cell phone. No need for any of this crazy ban. If you don't want your kids using their phones in class, just set up parental controls. Problem solved and the school doesn't have to spend half their instructional time overseeing these silly bans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is just the fantasy of a few luddites. There is no cell phone ban, nor do they have any plans for this nonsense.

This whole thread is the fantasy one of person who thinks cellphones will save the world. The rest of the posters recognize how problematic cellphones are in an educational setting. It will happen.

On the contrary, there's one or two posters who want to impose their values on everyone else and a few who seem to understand that phones are integral part of modern life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

I agree with most of what you’re saying but I don’t see how most HS classes can ban laptops. My kid just graduated and her laptop was essential. Almost all her texts were on laptop (not paper). She needed it to write or do calculations for almost every class. She then carried an iPad as well to take notes so that she could have the texts in front of her as well as the iPads. She did really well in school. (She also had her phone and definitely used it during school but she is pretty academically obsessed so it wasn’t really a problem for her — understand that’s not the case for many kids). But my point is that you can’t ban laptops and most kids can do all the same distracting things on laptops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

Or they could just use their cell phone. No need for any of this crazy ban. If you don't want your kids using their phones in class, just set up parental controls. Problem solved and the school doesn't have to spend half their instructional time overseeing these silly bans.

Most parents won't do that but thanks for recognizing that cellphones take up instructional time! Trying to get students to put them away takes away the majority of instructional time. A district wide ban would absolutely prevent this. You played yourself here. Good work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is just the fantasy of a few luddites. There is no cell phone ban, nor do they have any plans for this nonsense.

This whole thread is the fantasy one of person who thinks cellphones will save the world. The rest of the posters recognize how problematic cellphones are in an educational setting. It will happen.

On the contrary, there's one or two posters who want to impose their values on everyone else and a few who seem to understand that phones are integral part of modern life.

They aren't an integral part of any classroom. They do not belong in classrooms. Your precious kid will find a way home. They aren't idiots. They don't need to text you what lunch is. Let your kid live their life. They are going to be crippled in the real world due to your inability to cut the cord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

Or they could just use their cell phone. No need for any of this crazy ban. If you don't want your kids using their phones in class, just set up parental controls. Problem solved and the school doesn't have to spend half their instructional time overseeing these silly bans.

Once again, even one person having access to their phones in class can cause a distraction. This needs to be a whole school ban policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

I agree with most of what you’re saying but I don’t see how most HS classes can ban laptops. My kid just graduated and her laptop was essential. Almost all her texts were on laptop (not paper). She needed it to write or do calculations for almost every class. She then carried an iPad as well to take notes so that she could have the texts in front of her as well as the iPads. She did really well in school. (She also had her phone and definitely used it during school but she is pretty academically obsessed so it wasn’t really a problem for her — understand that’s not the case for many kids). But my point is that you can’t ban laptops and most kids can do all the same distracting things on laptops.

A lot of the social media stuff the kids are one would not work on the laptops because 1. you can't download the app on the laptop and 2. those chromebooks ban certain urls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is just the fantasy of a few luddites. There is no cell phone ban, nor do they have any plans for this nonsense.

This whole thread is the fantasy one of person who thinks cellphones will save the world. The rest of the posters recognize how problematic cellphones are in an educational setting. It will happen.

On the contrary, there's one or two posters who want to impose their values on everyone else and a few who seem to understand that phones are integral part of modern life.

Saying cell phone use among adolescents is harmful is not my “value”, it’s a public health issue backed by science. I know cell phones are integral to life nowadays! But I also know that they are harmful both individually and collectively in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

Maybe offices should ban them too..distractions there too.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

Or they could just use their cell phone. No need for any of this crazy ban. If you don't want your kids using their phones in class, just set up parental controls. Problem solved and the school doesn't have to spend half their instructional time overseeing these silly bans.

Once again, even one person having access to their phones in class can cause a distraction. This needs to be a whole school ban policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones should be totally banned. The only option, based on what I see each day, is pouches.

I teach high school. If any parent is on the fence of thinks phone can be handled by students, spend one day inside a high school and then tell me it’s not a problem. The kids that aren’t on phones are also negatively impacted by the kids who are - it is terribly distracting.

Also, laptops are almost as much as a problem as phones. Kids are staring at screens in every class these days and we should try to curb that as well. Yes, we live in a world of screens now. But it’s not the best for kids who are not yet in that world - they have a lot of learning of to do, both on and off a screen.

Also, parents can text kids on their laptops. My school bans phones but that doesn’t stop mom from texting my students all day long. Phones are certainly not needed for parent contact.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You cannot text outside MCPS on the MCPS chromebooks. Nor can you email.

Use Parentvue to send your kid a message. Problem solved. So no. They do NOT need phones to communicate with you.

It does not work. Yes, they need a phone especially after school hours when the office is closed.

Yes it does. I’ve done it numerous times. It just doesn’t fit your narrative. If your kid is at school late enough for the office to be “closed”, that means they are still with an adult. Who can take them into the office. To use the phone. Just stop.

How does being with an adult help with communication with parents? You think a teacher is going to hand over their cell phone to a child to text a parent to come get them? How does that work when there are 30-60+ students and one teacher? No pay phones, no office phone. The offices are closed and locked after school. Have you ever been to a high school come 4 PM and the office is open, or anywhere from 4-10-11/PM?

Activities have (or shoiuld have) ending times. Rehearsal ends at 4. You pick up at 4. If it runs over you wait for 15 minutes. If it ended early kid hangs out with friends waiting for pick up. If your child becomes ill or you do not show up as expected, teacher can make a call or lend phone.

Or they could just use their cell phone. No need for any of this crazy ban. If you don't want your kids using their phones in class, just set up parental controls. Problem solved and the school doesn't have to spend half their instructional time overseeing these silly bans.

Most parents won't do that but thanks for recognizing that cellphones take up instructional time! Trying to get students to put them away takes away the majority of instructional time. A district wide ban would absolutely prevent this. You played yourself here. Good work!

Exactly! Forcing schools to make more silly rules that they won't be able to enforce like this wacky cell phone ban that nobody is really considering will further detract from the quality of education.