What does “bell to bell phone free school” actually MEAN?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, there are no lockers at Langley.
Second of all, we are the most restrictive parents I know as far as technology goes! My daughter was the very last of her friends to get a phone at 13. She has zero social media and a one hour YouTube limit per day. My 11-year-old has no device. Please don’t start lecturing me about my parenting! My daughter thinks I’m a complete Nazi when it comes to regulating her phone use. She has to plug it in at 8pm every night well all her friends are up until midnight texting each other, she’s never allowed to use two sources of media at the same time (cannot watch TV while having her phone next to her). We have a lot more policies to control screen time that I will not continue to list, but trust me the parenting is not the problem. I would like schools to actually do their part since half of her day is away from me. I can tell her to put it away and don’t use it all I want, but when EVERY kid in the entire school is using their devices various times throughout the day and many teachers allow them to use them in class, it no longer seems like a “parenting issue” now does it?
—OP

If it's not parenting, then your child has undiagnosed ADHD which is why she has zero self control. You have failed her.

[Anonymous]

Stop blaming the school for the fact that your child is the product of poor parenting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, there are no lockers at Langley.
Second of all, we are the most restrictive parents I know as far as technology goes! My daughter was the very last of her friends to get a phone at 13. She has zero social media and a one hour YouTube limit per day. My 11-year-old has no device. Please don’t start lecturing me about my parenting! My daughter thinks I’m a complete Nazi when it comes to regulating her phone use. She has to plug it in at 8pm every night well all her friends are up until midnight texting each other, she’s never allowed to use two sources of media at the same time (cannot watch TV while having her phone next to her). We have a lot more policies to control screen time that I will not continue to list, but trust me the parenting is not the problem. I would like schools to actually do their part since half of her day is away from me. I can tell her to put it away and don’t use it all I want, but when EVERY kid in the entire school is using their devices various times throughout the day and many teachers allow them to use them in class, it no longer seems like a “parenting issue” now does it?
—OP

You just revealed your poor parenting here. No wonder she’s sneaky phone usage.

[Anonymous]

OP Tell your daughter that you will take her phone if she is using it at school. Start with a day and add a day for each additional violation.

[Anonymous]

No phones during class makes sense. Take them away and have the parents pick them up. That will stop it.

But why not between classes? My kid has an after school job. It's convenient for me to set up rides etc for work, sports, and appointments during the day. I'm not a fan of the new policy at all. (Although we get around it pretty well.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No phones during class makes sense. Take them away and have the parents pick them up. That will stop it.

But why not between classes? My kid has an after school job. It's convenient for me to set up rides etc for work, sports, and appointments during the day. I'm not a fan of the new policy at all. (Although we get around it pretty well.)

My kid is a little bit younger, so maybe I'll agree with you when she's old enough to work. But I think you're missing about half the point of phone free.

Half is indeed the academics. But the other half is the social and mental health aspects. Phones away means kids are more likely to interact and talk face to face. How many times have we heard that teens desperately need that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No phones during class makes sense. Take them away and have the parents pick them up. That will stop it.

But why not between classes? My kid has an after school job. It's convenient for me to set up rides etc for work, sports, and appointments during the day. I'm not a fan of the new policy at all. (Although we get around it pretty well.)

Because they want kids to talk to each other and learn to interact without phones. Many of us managed communication with our parents long before email was a thing, you can do it today. You discuss the schedule for the next day the night before. If there is a sudden change, you can text your kid and they will get the text at the end of the day. Or your kid can text you at the end of the day. It isn't hard.

It is convenient for society as a whole to have kids who can hold conversations and know how to interact with people while not using a screen.

[Anonymous]

The number of kids taking photos in the bathroom, crashing into each other because their heads are down texting, or arranging to meet up in the hallways during class has dropped significantly due to no phones in hallways this year.

--HS teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The number of kids taking photos in the bathroom, crashing into each other because their heads are down texting, or arranging to meet up in the hallways during class has dropped significantly due to no phones in hallways this year.

--HS teacher

As a high school teacher, do you think the kids should have access to them during lunch?
It seems to me a lot of damage could be done in that 30 minutes. Social skills and mental health would improve if they did not have access to them for the full seven hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of kids taking photos in the bathroom, crashing into each other because their heads are down texting, or arranging to meet up in the hallways during class has dropped significantly due to no phones in hallways this year.

--HS teacher

As a high school teacher, do you think the kids should have access to them during lunch?
It seems to me a lot of damage could be done in that 30 minutes. Social skills and mental health would improve if they did not have access to them for the full seven hours.

I avoid the cafeteria at all costs for my own mental health. I don't know how cell phones play into cafeteria behaviors.

I do know that the cafeteria is a major pain point for kids struggling with social issues, whether because they are new to a massive school or they have social deficits. I definitely don't think it's the place to take away all crutches kids have to get through that half hour. In my day we'd find an empty corner of the school and read instead of go to the cafeteria, but kids are currently not allowed to hang out outside of the cafeteria.

[Anonymous]

I told you this summer nothing would change and that these rules are made by people who don’t work in schools or with teens. Or admin who don’t work regularly with the students.

Some of you got angry and posted nasty things at me. Come sub or teach and show us how to do it better. -HS teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

Yoh take your own kid’s phone away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD says the teachers don’t even have the same rules (some allow the phones, some don’t). All students are allowed to use them during lunch.
Should I go to administration and ask why they are not enforcing executive order 33?
-OP

No yoh should take your own kid’s phone away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

I'm a teacher in a HS and I rarely see a phone. If the kids are texting during the day then they must be hiding it pretty well, and they definitely aren't doing it from class. Why are you trying to cause a problem? This is working very well for us right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of kids taking photos in the bathroom, crashing into each other because their heads are down texting, or arranging to meet up in the hallways during class has dropped significantly due to no phones in hallways this year.

--HS teacher

As a high school teacher, do you think the kids should have access to them during lunch?
It seems to me a lot of damage could be done in that 30 minutes. Social skills and mental health would improve if they did not have access to them for the full seven hours.

Worry about your own kid. I'm a teacher and I see two kinds of kids at the school - those sitting with friends and having a great time, even with phones, and those sitting by themselves, who are grateful just to have someone to do besides feel awkward and alone. And no, not having a phone wouldn't help. Ask anyone from the 80s.