Parents want kids to have their cell phones in class WTAF

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I felt this way too until our kid's school went on lockdown.

You want your child to go to a school with a sub-par education and behavioral difficulties because of the teensy chance that your child will be a victim of a school shooting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This sounds like a good option - the old flip phone which just texts. You retain the ability to contact your child but they won't be distracted with internet usage during the day. For proponents of students having phones with them at school for emergencies/scheduling, would this meet your needs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This sounds like a good option - the old flip phone which just texts. You retain the ability to contact your child but they won't be distracted with internet usage during the day. For proponents of students having phones with them at school for emergencies/scheduling, would this meet your needs?

The problem with this is that this puts teachers and admin in the position of policing what kind of phone a student has. Plus, they still have text messaging capabilities, cameras, and, of course, the phone function (shockingly, students still try to have actual phone calls in class).

But it would be better than nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This sounds like a good option - the old flip phone which just texts. You retain the ability to contact your child but they won't be distracted with internet usage during the day. For proponents of students having phones with them at school for emergencies/scheduling, would this meet your needs?

The problem with this is that this puts teachers and admin in the position of policing what kind of phone a student has. Plus, they still have text messaging capabilities, cameras, and, of course, the phone function (shockingly, students still try to have actual phone calls in class).

But it would be better than nothing.

Good points. Curious what the likely percentages of school phone use are -- internet, texting friends, phoning friends, other.

[Anonymous]

Good points. Curious what the likely percentages of school phone use are -- internet, texting friends, phoning friends, other.


HS teacher here. The kids are watching Netflix, Youtube Videos or Instagram/Tik Tok reels and texting.

[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.

But do you do that during the school day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your work make you leave cell phones home

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Good points. Curious what the likely percentages of school phone use are -- internet, texting friends, phoning friends, other.


HS teacher here. The kids are watching Netflix, Youtube Videos or Instagram/Tik Tok reels and texting.

My daughter brings home photos of people in class, in pe, in the hallways - and kids are taking these photos and putting them on TikTok and other Apps with comments like, "this girl is (goodlooking, fat, has no butt, has a lot of butt, has ugly feet ...)"
One girl she sat next to watched anime porn in her study hall (QST) class all year on her iPad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like being able to communicate with my kid during the day. Make your own decision but don't then go to the school and force your decision on me.

I think this is a massive distraction. My son should be focusing on school not contacting me. Also your kid taking lit their phone is distracting my kid. So yes, if effects us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This sounds like a good option - the old flip phone which just texts. You retain the ability to contact your child but they won't be distracted with internet usage during the day. For proponents of students having phones with them at school for emergencies/scheduling, would this meet your needs?

In a true emergency, phones are a distraction. Your child will survive a shooting much better if they are not trying to get to their phone, make a call, or receive a call. In an emergency, they should be focused on the adults physically around them and the instructions they are receiving.

What good is it going to do if she can call you at home, 15 minutes away, when the shooter is in the building? What are you going to do that the police aren't already doing?

[Anonymous]

My friend who is a middle school teachers says that parents will call their kids in the middle of class. She answers the phones and tells them not to call during school.

[Anonymous]

From a learning perspective phones in classrooms is absolutely a no. They are too distracting and not just for the kids using them -- every kid in the room is impacted by even one kid texting or scrolling during class. As a parent I want ZERO phone use in the classroom and I think phones should either be put in a bin at the beginning of class or required to be kept in those special pouches during class. I support teachers and schools in whatever they think they need to do to keep kids from accessing phones during class time

Some parents want their kids to have phones during the day and want to be able to text or call between classes. Personally this is not important to me because I trust our school to contact me if something is going on and also I WFH just a few blocks from the school so I don't feel the need to "check in" throughout the day. However if the parents who want this want to negotiate with schools about phone use between classes or during lunch or study periods that's fine. I won't even be giving my kid a phone until at least 14 so this is not really an issue for me at the elementary or middle school level.

But parents who want their kids to have access to phones outside of the classroom (but still in school) don't get to tell everyone else that this means their kids have to have access to phones IN the classroom. No. No phones in the classroom. If there was a lockdown or shooter situation kids could take the phones out of their pouches or out of the bin where teachers put them at the beginning of class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is an excuse for lazy planning.

Not really. 80% of the time I can be where I say I am going to be at the time I say I can. 20% of the time I have a meeting that runs long or something at work that requires me to pivot time/place of pickup or ask my kid to walk home or find another way. Imagine that not everyone has the same work or life circumstances!

How were such scenarios handled in the days before kids had cellphones? A trusted friend's parent picks the kid up and let's them know the change in plans. Or a phone call is made to the school office and they pass the message along to the kid.

Furthermore, your argument is not one for kids to have their cell phone IN CLASS, but rather that they can access it at the end of they day, or perhaps during lunch, etc. to be able to spend 30 seconds checking a message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a learning perspective phones in classrooms is absolutely a no. They are too distracting and not just for the kids using them -- every kid in the room is impacted by even one kid texting or scrolling during class. As a parent I want ZERO phone use in the classroom and I think phones should either be put in a bin at the beginning of class or required to be kept in those special pouches during class. I support teachers and schools in whatever they think they need to do to keep kids from accessing phones during class time

Some parents want their kids to have phones during the day and want to be able to text or call between classes. Personally this is not important to me because I trust our school to contact me if something is going on and also I WFH just a few blocks from the school so I don't feel the need to "check in" throughout the day. However if the parents who want this want to negotiate with schools about phone use between classes or during lunch or study periods that's fine. I won't even be giving my kid a phone until at least 14 so this is not really an issue for me at the elementary or middle school level.

But parents who want their kids to have access to phones outside of the classroom (but still in school) don't get to tell everyone else that this means their kids have to have access to phones IN the classroom. No. No phones in the classroom. If there was a lockdown or shooter situation kids could take the phones out of their pouches or out of the bin where teachers put them at the beginning of class.

Teachers keep telling us they don't want to do pouches or bins themselves. Admin puts too much liability on them when they tell teachers to do that.

As parents we should listen. There needs to be a solution that doesn't leave teachers liable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What kind of school do your kids go? I know 15 seconds after the first lighting strike that buses are being held since the kids can't board them.