Yondr pouch pilot program at some MS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fully support a no phone policy and ask that schools enforce it. Up to them how to do it but there is no place for them during the school day, at all. I don’t want to hear the whining from admins. If the pouch makes them stop whining, fine.

Aren’t the admins now going to be tasked as the messengers going between kids and parents that can’t communicate directly? Strikes me as a lot more work for admins than before.

Most messages do not really need communicated mid day. Plan ahead.

Interesting how the talking points evolve. First, it was don’t worry about communicating with your kid because you can just communicate through the front office. So, now it is, actually what you have to say to your kid or your kid has to say to you is not all that important in our view so no need to communicate at all.

No, I think the point was important messages can be communicated through the front office but there are only so many important messages. How often are you contacting your kid during the school day??

DS is in HS with the phone pockets in each class but when he was in MS, there was an "away for the day" rule. I never had to communicate anything to him the entire two years. One time he asked a teacher if he could use his phone to text me -- he was excited to have received the highest grade in the class on a test. The teacher said it was fine (and also messaged me through Talking Points to tell me a) he allowed the phone usage and b) to tell me how impressed he was with my kid's performance in his class.

DD is at a Yondr school and she thinks this is no big deal.

Your example is exactly why "away for the day" is better than Yondr. The teacher recognized that an exception was warranted; a pouch can't do that. I agree that most during-the-school-day communication is not urgent, but why is that the standard? We are we throwing supportive parent-child communication in with the basket of evils. It is a good thing to have a line of communication with your kid because there are non-urgent things (like sharing excitement over a test) that are important. Yes, they can wait, but no one has explained why they should. If the evils we're combatting are distraction and phone addiction, stopping normal, healthy communication doesn't advance the ball. It is just a side effect. Why tolerate negative side effects when there is a cheaper alternative without them? If we now have to prove there is an emergency to be allowed to talk to our kids, there should be a good reason, and there isn't.

Good lord, land that helicopter.

You are confused. A helicopter parent is one who is heavily engaged in engineering a child's life. Keeping in touch with a kid is normal, healthy parenting.

When it happens before/after school. It does not need to happen during. Let your kid have some space.

I communicate with my husband, my sister, my parents, my friends, and even my in-laws throughout the day when we're all working. The discussions hardly ever concern emergencies. I don't need to have all these conversations but they enrich all our lives. Why would my relationship with my kid be any different? Relationships are ongoing conversations. I'm confused as to why we are casting family communication as a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So grateful our HS is not a pilot HS. Business as usual and my kids are doing just fine.

+1 I hope the few anecdotes we have so far won’t influence them to all get pouches next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fully support a no phone policy and ask that schools enforce it. Up to them how to do it but there is no place for them during the school day, at all. I don’t want to hear the whining from admins. If the pouch makes them stop whining, fine.

Aren’t the admins now going to be tasked as the messengers going between kids and parents that can’t communicate directly? Strikes me as a lot more work for admins than before.

Most messages do not really need communicated mid day. Plan ahead.

Interesting how the talking points evolve. First, it was don’t worry about communicating with your kid because you can just communicate through the front office. So, now it is, actually what you have to say to your kid or your kid has to say to you is not all that important in our view so no need to communicate at all.

No, I think the point was important messages can be communicated through the front office but there are only so many important messages. How often are you contacting your kid during the school day??

DS is in HS with the phone pockets in each class but when he was in MS, there was an "away for the day" rule. I never had to communicate anything to him the entire two years. One time he asked a teacher if he could use his phone to text me -- he was excited to have received the highest grade in the class on a test. The teacher said it was fine (and also messaged me through Talking Points to tell me a) he allowed the phone usage and b) to tell me how impressed he was with my kid's performance in his class.

DD is at a Yondr school and she thinks this is no big deal.

Your example is exactly why "away for the day" is better than Yondr. The teacher recognized that an exception was warranted; a pouch can't do that. I agree that most during-the-school-day communication is not urgent, but why is that the standard? We are we throwing supportive parent-child communication in with the basket of evils. It is a good thing to have a line of communication with your kid because there are non-urgent things (like sharing excitement over a test) that are important. Yes, they can wait, but no one has explained why they should. If the evils we're combatting are distraction and phone addiction, stopping normal, healthy communication doesn't advance the ball. It is just a side effect. Why tolerate negative side effects when there is a cheaper alternative without them? If we now have to prove there is an emergency to be allowed to talk to our kids, there should be a good reason, and there isn't.

Good lord, land that helicopter.

You are confused. A helicopter parent is one who is heavily engaged in engineering a child's life. Keeping in touch with a kid is normal, healthy parenting.

When it happens before/after school. It does not need to happen during. Let your kid have some space.

I communicate with my husband, my sister, my parents, my friends, and even my in-laws throughout the day when we're all working. The discussions hardly ever concern emergencies. I don't need to have all these conversations but they enrich all our lives. Why would my relationship with my kid be any different? Relationships are ongoing conversations. I'm confused as to why we are casting family communication as a bad thing.

I am pretty sure your kids' teachers would prefer their lives not be enriched during class. And the same probably goes for your employers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fully support a no phone policy and ask that schools enforce it. Up to them how to do it but there is no place for them during the school day, at all. I don’t want to hear the whining from admins. If the pouch makes them stop whining, fine.

Aren’t the admins now going to be tasked as the messengers going between kids and parents that can’t communicate directly? Strikes me as a lot more work for admins than before.

Most messages do not really need communicated mid day. Plan ahead.

Interesting how the talking points evolve. First, it was don’t worry about communicating with your kid because you can just communicate through the front office. So, now it is, actually what you have to say to your kid or your kid has to say to you is not all that important in our view so no need to communicate at all.

No, I think the point was important messages can be communicated through the front office but there are only so many important messages. How often are you contacting your kid during the school day??

DS is in HS with the phone pockets in each class but when he was in MS, there was an "away for the day" rule. I never had to communicate anything to him the entire two years. One time he asked a teacher if he could use his phone to text me -- he was excited to have received the highest grade in the class on a test. The teacher said it was fine (and also messaged me through Talking Points to tell me a) he allowed the phone usage and b) to tell me how impressed he was with my kid's performance in his class.

DD is at a Yondr school and she thinks this is no big deal.

Your example is exactly why "away for the day" is better than Yondr. The teacher recognized that an exception was warranted; a pouch can't do that. I agree that most during-the-school-day communication is not urgent, but why is that the standard? We are we throwing supportive parent-child communication in with the basket of evils. It is a good thing to have a line of communication with your kid because there are non-urgent things (like sharing excitement over a test) that are important. Yes, they can wait, but no one has explained why they should. If the evils we're combatting are distraction and phone addiction, stopping normal, healthy communication doesn't advance the ball. It is just a side effect. Why tolerate negative side effects when there is a cheaper alternative without them? If we now have to prove there is an emergency to be allowed to talk to our kids, there should be a good reason, and there isn't.

Good lord, land that helicopter.

You are confused. A helicopter parent is one who is heavily engaged in engineering a child's life. Keeping in touch with a kid is normal, healthy parenting.

When it happens before/after school. It does not need to happen during. Let your kid have some space.

I communicate with my husband, my sister, my parents, my friends, and even my in-laws throughout the day when we're all working. The discussions hardly ever concern emergencies. I don't need to have all these conversations but they enrich all our lives. Why would my relationship with my kid be any different? Relationships are ongoing conversations. I'm confused as to why we are casting family communication as a bad thing.

I am pretty sure your kids' teachers would prefer their lives not be enriched during class. And the same probably goes for your employers.

Well, technically, I'm my own employer as a partner at my firm but I assure you the firm is perfectly happy with my performance and actually prefers that we all -- owners and employees alike -- maintain a work-life balance. As far as school goes, there are mountains of non-instructional time even when you don't count lunch and study hall. I am not suggesting that my kid text me during instructional time but I see no reason why a pouch should stand in the way when he is not actually getting instruction from a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Jesus, leave your kids alone. They don’t need or want you in their face all day at school. Hard to believe you’re a real person and that you have children who tolerate this.

[Anonymous]

This the most popular thing Glen Younking ever did. I think everyone likes this bill now. Kids are way more social and they are doing better in classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So grateful our HS is not a pilot HS. Business as usual and my kids are doing just fine.

+1 I hope the few anecdotes we have so far won’t influence them to all get pouches next year.

Same

[Anonymous]

Would prefer if School Board just tell us now if they plan to spend more millions on pouches as do believe any survey or pilot is waste of time. If one school with pouches says success! and a school without pouches says success! The Board is going to do whatever it planned to do.

[Anonymous]

My kid is at Chantilly HS and so far no pouches have been working just fine. Teachers are more strict about the no cell phone policy. They are enforcing the rules. We don’t need or earn pouches next year. My kid also likes being able to use his phone in his own free time such as lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fully support a no phone policy and ask that schools enforce it. Up to them how to do it but there is no place for them during the school day, at all. I don’t want to hear the whining from admins. If the pouch makes them stop whining, fine.

Aren’t the admins now going to be tasked as the messengers going between kids and parents that can’t communicate directly? Strikes me as a lot more work for admins than before.

Most messages do not really need communicated mid day. Plan ahead.

Interesting how the talking points evolve. First, it was don’t worry about communicating with your kid because you can just communicate through the front office. So, now it is, actually what you have to say to your kid or your kid has to say to you is not all that important in our view so no need to communicate at all.

No, I think the point was important messages can be communicated through the front office but there are only so many important messages. How often are you contacting your kid during the school day??

DS is in HS with the phone pockets in each class but when he was in MS, there was an "away for the day" rule. I never had to communicate anything to him the entire two years. One time he asked a teacher if he could use his phone to text me -- he was excited to have received the highest grade in the class on a test. The teacher said it was fine (and also messaged me through Talking Points to tell me a) he allowed the phone usage and b) to tell me how impressed he was with my kid's performance in his class.

DD is at a Yondr school and she thinks this is no big deal.

Your example is exactly why "away for the day" is better than Yondr. The teacher recognized that an exception was warranted; a pouch can't do that. I agree that most during-the-school-day communication is not urgent, but why is that the standard? We are we throwing supportive parent-child communication in with the basket of evils. It is a good thing to have a line of communication with your kid because there are non-urgent things (like sharing excitement over a test) that are important. Yes, they can wait, but no one has explained why they should. If the evils we're combatting are distraction and phone addiction, stopping normal, healthy communication doesn't advance the ball. It is just a side effect. Why tolerate negative side effects when there is a cheaper alternative without them? If we now have to prove there is an emergency to be allowed to talk to our kids, there should be a good reason, and there isn't.

Good lord, land that helicopter.

You are confused. A helicopter parent is one who is heavily engaged in engineering a child's life. Keeping in touch with a kid is normal, healthy parenting.

When it happens before/after school. It does not need to happen during. Let your kid have some space.

I communicate with my husband, my sister, my parents, my friends, and even my in-laws throughout the day when we're all working. The discussions hardly ever concern emergencies. I don't need to have all these conversations but they enrich all our lives. Why would my relationship with my kid be any different? Relationships are ongoing conversations. I'm confused as to why we are casting family communication as a bad thing.

That's insane that you all communicate so much during work. I am blown away at that admission.

I don't know a single person in my family, nor in any of my friend groups, who send non-emergency texts during work hours. Not one. Granted, many work in environments in which they cannot have their phones, but even those of us who do not work in such environments don't send casual texts during work.

Your poor employers+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Chantilly HS and so far no pouches have been working just fine. Teachers are more strict about the no cell phone policy. They are enforcing the rules. We don’t need or earn pouches next year. My kid also likes being able to use his phone in his own free time such as lunch.

+1 for Oakton. The teenager is complaining so it must be working. Friend got phone confiscated and no one wants to be next.

[Anonymous]

The pouches are dumb. My middle school kid does not use their phone at school (really) and instead puts their phone in their backpack in a pocket next to the pouch. The school does not know because my kid does not actually use their phone at school so there are never any issues. Kid reports that the unlocking areas are clogged up at dismissal.

It’s unclear to me if the pouches are helping other kids. I fully support no phones out in school, so I hope the pouches are making that easier for the teachers. But still, lots of dumb extra nonsense involved with the pouches.

[Anonymous]

You could definitely go without the pouches IF all the teachers equally enforced no phones out during class period, and IF admin actually backed up the teachers on punishment/confiscating phones. But the second one teacher is like yeah ok whatever I don’t get paid enough to police your phones or an AP caves and just gives a kid’s phone back … it’s all over.

I also understand the impulse to say oh but they can have phones between classes or at lunch or whatever - but that’s when a lot of recording of kids in the bathroom or a special needs kid having a meltdown and getting posted to Snapchat happens. It’s obviously not disruptive to learning like a kid starting at YouTube all day in class, but it’s still very disruptive socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could definitely go without the pouches IF all the teachers equally enforced no phones out during class period, and IF admin actually backed up the teachers on punishment/confiscating phones. But the second one teacher is like yeah ok whatever I don’t get paid enough to police your phones or an AP caves and just gives a kid’s phone back … it’s all over.

I also understand the impulse to say oh but they can have phones between classes or at lunch or whatever - but that’s when a lot of recording of kids in the bathroom or a special needs kid having a meltdown and getting posted to Snapchat happens. It’s obviously not disruptive to learning like a kid starting at YouTube all day in class, but it’s still very disruptive socially.

THIS. I confiscated a phone in advisory last week; a girl was texting on her lap. I said there is no one for you to text right now anyway, everyone has their phones put away. She replied with, "Mrs. X lets her class have their phones during advisory."

Just like that, the power of "everyone has them away all day" was gone.

I still took the phone, I still wrote the referral, she will still get into trouble. But I'm watching the rules slip as the year goes on. Earbuds are in their ears constantly, even if phones are away. Phones are kept in pockets and not touched in class, but if you poke your head in the bathroom they're all on their phones during class in the restrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fully support a no phone policy and ask that schools enforce it. Up to them how to do it but there is no place for them during the school day, at all. I don’t want to hear the whining from admins. If the pouch makes them stop whining, fine.

Aren’t the admins now going to be tasked as the messengers going between kids and parents that can’t communicate directly? Strikes me as a lot more work for admins than before.

Most messages do not really need communicated mid day. Plan ahead.

Interesting how the talking points evolve. First, it was don’t worry about communicating with your kid because you can just communicate through the front office. So, now it is, actually what you have to say to your kid or your kid has to say to you is not all that important in our view so no need to communicate at all.

No, I think the point was important messages can be communicated through the front office but there are only so many important messages. How often are you contacting your kid during the school day??

DS is in HS with the phone pockets in each class but when he was in MS, there was an "away for the day" rule. I never had to communicate anything to him the entire two years. One time he asked a teacher if he could use his phone to text me -- he was excited to have received the highest grade in the class on a test. The teacher said it was fine (and also messaged me through Talking Points to tell me a) he allowed the phone usage and b) to tell me how impressed he was with my kid's performance in his class.

DD is at a Yondr school and she thinks this is no big deal.

Your example is exactly why "away for the day" is better than Yondr. The teacher recognized that an exception was warranted; a pouch can't do that. I agree that most during-the-school-day communication is not urgent, but why is that the standard? We are we throwing supportive parent-child communication in with the basket of evils. It is a good thing to have a line of communication with your kid because there are non-urgent things (like sharing excitement over a test) that are important. Yes, they can wait, but no one has explained why they should. If the evils we're combatting are distraction and phone addiction, stopping normal, healthy communication doesn't advance the ball. It is just a side effect. Why tolerate negative side effects when there is a cheaper alternative without them? If we now have to prove there is an emergency to be allowed to talk to our kids, there should be a good reason, and there isn't.

Good lord, land that helicopter.

You are confused. A helicopter parent is one who is heavily engaged in engineering a child's life. Keeping in touch with a kid is normal, healthy parenting.

When it happens before/after school. It does not need to happen during. Let your kid have some space.

I communicate with my husband, my sister, my parents, my friends, and even my in-laws throughout the day when we're all working. The discussions hardly ever concern emergencies. I don't need to have all these conversations but they enrich all our lives. Why would my relationship with my kid be any different? Relationships are ongoing conversations. I'm confused as to why we are casting family communication as a bad thing.

Because your child should be focusing on school during the workday not catching up on what Aunt Jane said about the guy next door who has cancer. Similarly, your husband should be working instead of chatting away with you all day. I definitely do not text people all day long during the workday (and neither do my relatives/friends/acquaintances - I mean, sometimes my retired parents forget that I'm working and send me a text in the middle of the day, but we're chatting away regularly, they ask a question, maybe I will respond when I have a minute). Your interactions throughout the day aren't normal unless none of you have jobs.