High school - phone policies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps parents shouldn't buy phones for their kids? If you/we didn't have them growing up and our parents found us just fine, perhaps parents nowadays should take the lead and not purchase smartphones for their children. Why have the schools do your parenting for you?

Kids actually need phones (or at least, what they use them for would be much more difficult with just a laptop, or they’d have to rely on friends’ phones) at SSSAS US. They record experiments in physics labs, record their voices for rep checks in choir, have to scan math assignments, are required to photograph artworks to turn them in for grading in visual arts, are required to use an app to track and certify service hours. They can’t use their phones in the classroom unless instructed to by the teacher (in fact they have to leave them in phone holders at the back of the classroom), but when they need them, they need them. All of that is probably doable through a laptop or just borrowing a phone but would be way clunkier.

This sounds terrible. Why would the school do this? Does the school not read the research and see how it is harming its own students? Every other school is moving in the other direction.

Why would they have the kids take advantage of useful tools to enhance the in-class experience? You think it’s terrible to be able to record a ball rolling down a ramp to collect data in physics, or use an app that makes tracking service hours easy? The total teacher-requested in-school use of phones is measured in minutes per month. They aren’t being told to sit and browse social media in class. I think it’s good for schools to introduce the responsible use of technology in education. It’s part of the real world. High school is a good time to start learning about before they are in totally unmonitored college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. If parents want to control cell phones, don't buy them for your kids. End of discussion. Do you need to track their every movement? Did your parents track your every movement? You want your kids to have social advantages and connections with cell phones, but you don't teach them how to use them, then blame schools for your failure of parenting. You can't have it all. Give your kids a tool of addiction and expect schools to cure them? Please.

I agree here, but ... my DC in MS is the only one in their class who does not have a phone. While phones are not allowed in class (they do still make appearances), at every social gathering, the phones are out and DC comes home saying that the outing was pretty fun except that kids were on their phones basically at all times. We have witnessed it ourselves and determined it's not an exaggeration. This lovely k-8 school and parents have just given up. I think it depends on the class, but for these kids it's game over. We feel like such outliers with not giving the phone, and that is also a bit hard on DC along with lost social time with peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. If parents want to control cell phones, don't buy them for your kids. End of discussion. Do you need to track their every movement? Did your parents track your every movement? You want your kids to have social advantages and connections with cell phones, but you don't teach them how to use them, then blame schools for your failure of parenting. You can't have it all. Give your kids a tool of addiction and expect schools to cure them? Please.

I agree here, but ... my DC in MS is the only one in their class who does not have a phone. While phones are not allowed in class (they do still make appearances), at every social gathering, the phones are out and DC comes home saying that the outing was pretty fun except that kids were on their phones basically at all times. We have witnessed it ourselves and determined it's not an exaggeration. This lovely k-8 school and parents have just given up. I think it depends on the class, but for these kids it's game over. We feel like such outliers with not giving the phone, and that is also a bit hard on DC along with lost social time with peers.

My kid is in HS now but when in MS, the school had a strict no-phone policy (they had to be in the locker all day and couldn’t be used on school grounds even after school while waiting for pickup; violations got the phone taken away and parents called). We found that the summer between 7th and 8th was a good time for DC to get a phone. By then most kids had one (I think during 8th only one or two kids out of the 25 didn’t have one), and DC could be part of the text chats after school that were part of the social aspect of the class, learn to own, care for, and responsibly use an expensive piece of tech with the understanding that we were carefully monitoring. We had specific rules at home—phone charged in the kitchen at night, we had the passcode and kid knew we could and would periodically check the phone, etc. Laying the groundwork for having more independence in HS, which lays the groundwork for even more freedom in college and as an adult. Kids don’t come with built-in savvy in tech use. You have to teach them, and just not allowing it and ignoring it until they are 18 doesn’t help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. If parents want to control cell phones, don't buy them for your kids. End of discussion. Do you need to track their every movement? Did your parents track your every movement? You want your kids to have social advantages and connections with cell phones, but you don't teach them how to use them, then blame schools for your failure of parenting. You can't have it all. Give your kids a tool of addiction and expect schools to cure them? Please.

I agree here, but ... my DC in MS is the only one in their class who does not have a phone. While phones are not allowed in class (they do still make appearances), at every social gathering, the phones are out and DC comes home saying that the outing was pretty fun except that kids were on their phones basically at all times. We have witnessed it ourselves and determined it's not an exaggeration. This lovely k-8 school and parents have just given up. I think it depends on the class, but for these kids it's game over. We feel like such outliers with not giving the phone, and that is also a bit hard on DC along with lost social time with peers.

My kid is in HS now but when in MS, the school had a strict no-phone policy (they had to be in the locker all day and couldn’t be used on school grounds even after school while waiting for pickup; violations got the phone taken away and parents called). We found that the summer between 7th and 8th was a good time for DC to get a phone. By then most kids had one (I think during 8th only one or two kids out of the 25 didn’t have one), and DC could be part of the text chats after school that were part of the social aspect of the class, learn to own, care for, and responsibly use an expensive piece of tech with the understanding that we were carefully monitoring. We had specific rules at home—phone charged in the kitchen at night, we had the passcode and kid knew we could and would periodically check the phone, etc. Laying the groundwork for having more independence in HS, which lays the groundwork for even more freedom in college and as an adult. Kids don’t come with built-in savvy in tech use. You have to teach them, and just not allowing it and ignoring it until they are 18 doesn’t help.

I was the PP - agree, DC has a non-cellular enabled phone at home for texting, etc, staying in touch with peers important as is laying the ground work for future use. Glad to hear of healthy use/boundaries/training wheels approach!

[Anonymous]

The point remains: if you're concerned about your child's cell phone habits, that's your responsibility, not the school's. Schools might be able to limit use during the school day, but everything else is on the parents.

[Anonymous]

Stop saying it's all the parents' responsibility. It's actually a classic collective action problem that requires school enforcement (within school hours) and guidance (outside of school hours).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point remains: if you're concerned about your child's cell phone habits, that's your responsibility, not the school's. Schools might be able to limit use during the school day, but everything else is on the parents.

I'm actually concerned about the entire generation, and not just my own kids.

And so I am strict about phone use and support that schools are strict about it too (especially in grades 9-12).

Other countries have strict phone policies. Let's not have our American kids become zombies on the phone. See today's Wall Street Journal opinion piece

See Jonathan Haidt’s new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic of Mental Illness.” The author is a social psychologist who teaches at New York University’s Stern School of Business, has spent his career studying emotion, culture and morality, turning along the way to child development and adolescent mental health.
https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/0593655036/ref=sr_1_1?crid=397FVHF2RH4EO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pLA6Rb-vSM6-wdPqDulw2F1mmrT8kyDGTrWLBo2P3ETDPI-733XfjAgiL4M2nE-pISL89kWiw1tIyX6JrWnjhYcg-kkpTPiNxFuod9oqBGXLIBrVUIiYjRcUujBdTKiMUcBU7UO0UEl9P4J4kHDAjH_Diray_ZmYva7GJvygbjIzkGnduumKfusSCSYGXdFRDzeYRowfJevZRJ2ze62nv3FfuDR8cwhg1X__doOieV0.OnyyK7nHDdsto20ihjclI7I4xYk1mG5YAKTmdtz968Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=jonathan+haidt+the+anxious+generation&qid=1712872424&sprefix=jonathan+%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have experience with a high school that actually monitors phone use in school time? Where kids aren't on their phones during lunch, on the bus, outings, etc and are actually interacting with one another? DC is in private k-8 MS now and kids are GLUED to their phones. Not as much during class because they are not allowed, but it's youtube and the likes on their chromebooks in some classes.

Can’t believe any school allows surfing the web during class and instruction.

Thats zero learning then. What a waste.

Chromebook’s have to go.

Chromebooks with appropriate monitoring software are great - my daughter has done such interesting projects thanks to them. But her teachers have software so they can see exactly what each kid is doing at all times, and they can remotely close tabs/shut down applications that are off topic without a word. The teachers love it and say it has made a huge difference.

My nieces’ school does school-issued iPads, and they have no monitoring software on them at all, and parents aren’t allowed to put anything on them. It’s kind of a disaster in terms of distraction and misuse from what I’ve heard.

I understand how/why schools do this, but the privacy implications bug me. Our public started doing it this year, and my kid now thinks she can't use her school computer to write a short story for fun at home after school. Yes, it's nice when the teacher can close a browser where a kid is looking at pictures of rear ends and have a conversation with the class about why that's not OK (story my kid came home with), but it's also leaves the teacher able to snoop through anything a kid is doing.

https://www.ednewsdaily.com/is-your-monitoring-software-putting-your-students-privacy-at-risk/

It’s school property so there’s no privacy, just like with an employer-issued device. Good life lesson. Assume your school/workplace can and will track anything you do on their equipment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have experience with a high school that actually monitors phone use in school time? Where kids aren't on their phones during lunch, on the bus, outings, etc and are actually interacting with one another? DC is in private k-8 MS now and kids are GLUED to their phones. Not as much during class because they are not allowed, but it's youtube and the likes on their chromebooks in some classes.

Can’t believe any school allows surfing the web during class and instruction.

Thats zero learning then. What a waste.

Chromebook’s have to go.

Chromebooks with appropriate monitoring software are great - my daughter has done such interesting projects thanks to them. But her teachers have software so they can see exactly what each kid is doing at all times, and they can remotely close tabs/shut down applications that are off topic without a word. The teachers love it and say it has made a huge difference.

My nieces’ school does school-issued iPads, and they have no monitoring software on them at all, and parents aren’t allowed to put anything on them. It’s kind of a disaster in terms of distraction and misuse from what I’ve heard.

I understand how/why schools do this, but the privacy implications bug me. Our public started doing it this year, and my kid now thinks she can't use her school computer to write a short story for fun at home after school. Yes, it's nice when the teacher can close a browser where a kid is looking at pictures of rear ends and have a conversation with the class about why that's not OK (story my kid came home with), but it's also leaves the teacher able to snoop through anything a kid is doing.

https://www.ednewsdaily.com/is-your-monitoring-software-putting-your-students-privacy-at-risk/

It seems better to allow the schools to monitor, even if it means that some kids cannot use their school-issued computer to "write a short story for fun at home after school." If your child would like to write a store at home, then can the child perhaps use a computer owned by your family, or perhaps just hand-write the story? Let's think about the overall good for the kids at school, rather than the particular needs of your kid.

Let's help this generation of kids, by monitoring their screen use on school laptops. Otherwise, they will just be more glued/addicted to screens than they already are.

Sure, my kid's situation isn't terribly compelling, but did you click through the link and see the more complex privacy arguments? Would you like someone able to look at your screen at work at any time?

My work CAN look at my screen at any time. I use my personal device for personal use. Anything that I do on my work device, email, or drive is fair game for review by my superiors. Why should school be any different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have experience with a high school that actually monitors phone use in school time? Where kids aren't on their phones during lunch, on the bus, outings, etc and are actually interacting with one another? DC is in private k-8 MS now and kids are GLUED to their phones. Not as much during class because they are not allowed, but it's youtube and the likes on their chromebooks in some classes.

Can’t believe any school allows surfing the web during class and instruction.

Thats zero learning then. What a waste.

Chromebook’s have to go.

Chromebooks with appropriate monitoring software are great - my daughter has done such interesting projects thanks to them. But her teachers have software so they can see exactly what each kid is doing at all times, and they can remotely close tabs/shut down applications that are off topic without a word. The teachers love it and say it has made a huge difference.

My nieces’ school does school-issued iPads, and they have no monitoring software on them at all, and parents aren’t allowed to put anything on them. It’s kind of a disaster in terms of distraction and misuse from what I’ve heard.

I understand how/why schools do this, but the privacy implications bug me. Our public started doing it this year, and my kid now thinks she can't use her school computer to write a short story for fun at home after school. Yes, it's nice when the teacher can close a browser where a kid is looking at pictures of rear ends and have a conversation with the class about why that's not OK (story my kid came home with), but it's also leaves the teacher able to snoop through anything a kid is doing.

https://www.ednewsdaily.com/is-your-monitoring-software-putting-your-students-privacy-at-risk/

It seems better to allow the schools to monitor, even if it means that some kids cannot use their school-issued computer to "write a short story for fun at home after school." If your child would like to write a store at home, then can the child perhaps use a computer owned by your family, or perhaps just hand-write the story? Let's think about the overall good for the kids at school, rather than the particular needs of your kid.

Let's help this generation of kids, by monitoring their screen use on school laptops. Otherwise, they will just be more glued/addicted to screens than they already are.

Sure, my kid's situation isn't terribly compelling, but did you click through the link and see the more complex privacy arguments? Would you like someone able to look at your screen at work at any time?

My work CAN look at my screen at any time. I use my personal device for personal use. Anything that I do on my work device, email, or drive is fair game for review by my superiors. Why should school be any different?

+1. I work at a Fortune 100 corporation, and it's a standard policy that people know not to look at anything inappropriate (or even just unrelated to work) on the work-issued laptop. It's common sense. You can use your personal device to do personal stuff.

[Anonymous]

Reviving this thread because it’s application season and I’m interested in finding out about a bunch of schools we are looking at. We have two kids applying to two different lists with only one school overlapping. Hoping we can focus this thread back to OP’s post.

School name:
HS policy re phones: