New Policy: APS school board adopts all-day ban on student phone use, makes one exception

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

NP. Now you have to tell the office what class kid is in, and office will call that teacher. Except the teacher is very unlikely to hear the phone. So office will eventually call someone else to physically walk to the class and collect your child (but they don’t let you go yourself). And it will take forever. At least, this is how it played out when I picked my high schooler up for an appt a week or so ago.

So, it’s doable for sure, but build in a lot of extra time. You could have a kid set a reminder alarm an old fashioned dumb watch or the school device, I suppose.

On another note, before the phone ban, my kids’ art class was supposed to photograph their art pieces to upload for the teacher, and in band, they used phones for tuning instruments.

1. Nonsense
2. Your kid could also learn to remember they'll be leaving early that day. Or, just go with the flow when you arrive. It really isn't essential for them to remember.
3. It's ridiculous for teachers to require students to upload photos of their work. Why isn't the art teacher looking at your kids' actual artwork? And bands can go back to non-phone tuners and, heaven forbid, learning how to tune by ear like a real musician. These are merely examples of how teachers have adapted to the availability and kids' affinity for phones. Not examples of essential uses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the schools have not replaced it with other ways to set reminders, for parents to contact kids, etc.

The offices are not doing it, so now what?

It has never been the school's responsibility to set reminders for students. Schools have always had front offices and phones for parents to call and for students to go to to use the phone or have their parents contacted. Students still go to the school clinic when they're sick and the nurse still contacts the parents to pick up their kid.

It is NOT the SCHOOL's responsibility to replace a means of communication that they never started in the first place. Schools should have banned the phones from the beginning. They didn't; but they also didn't introduce phones to students and parents as the system for them to communicate with each other during the school day. YOU, WE, our KIDS brought them into the schools and just started using them. They've become a problem, interfering with the school's ability to teach, and the school is setting restrictions....just like they do for other things like tardiness, skipping classes, being in the hallways when they are supposed to be in class, smoking, drug use, offensive material on t-shirts, weapons.

YOU are the one who is responsible for figuring out how to schedule, coordinate, and make contingency plans ahead of time and how to call the front office and work problems through with other adults. The school HAS set policies and procedures: in cases of emergency, phones will be made available to the students as soon as safely possible; parents needing to contact their student may call the front office. If you need to pick them up mid-day, you go to the office and your child will be called to the attendance office to be signed out. If it's after-hours, your kid's phone is back in use.

But will someone in the office call the classroom to tell my child to come out of class? And how is this better? The teacher on here insisted that using classroom phones was much more distracting than a quick text. And someone in the office will need to take time to do this. It also interrupts the class and the lesson for the teacher to answer the phone, so that's lost teacher and instructional time too. How is this an improvement?

I realize that you are merely intentionally being obtuse and obnoxious, pretending to be so flummoxed by this major problem. But I will waste a few more minutes playing along.
In case you didn't realize it, part of office staff's (particularly the attendance staff's) JOB is to call students out of class when you come to pick them up. Yep, it is a quick disruption to use the PA system into the classroom; but less than a student just getting up in the middle of class and leaving, the teacher stopping to ask in front of everyone where they're going, confirming their parent is there and they are supposed to leave. A student leaving in the middle of class is always a distraction, even if it's just for a nano-second. Nobody said there's a perfect system or that it's better. The whole discussion is about how to function without students having access to their phones all day. And this is how it works for leaving early for an appointment.
Let us know when you get tired of pretending to be so dense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

NP. Now you have to tell the office what class kid is in, and office will call that teacher. Except the teacher is very unlikely to hear the phone. So office will eventually call someone else to physically walk to the class and collect your child (but they don’t let you go yourself). And it will take forever. At least, this is how it played out when I picked my high schooler up for an appt a week or so ago.

So, it’s doable for sure, but build in a lot of extra time. You could have a kid set a reminder alarm an old fashioned dumb watch or the school device, I suppose.

On another note, before the phone ban, my kids’ art class was supposed to photograph their art pieces to upload for the teacher, and in band, they used phones for tuning instruments.

What a giant waste of time. Also, I don't even know where my high school student is at all times (like lunch).

Well, then it's quite handy that the school does. The office staff simply looks up their schedule if you don't know what class they're in. They even can tell what lunch period they have. Without using their phone, just an old-fashioned desktop computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the schools have not replaced it with other ways to set reminders, for parents to contact kids, etc.

The offices are not doing it, so now what?

It has never been the school's responsibility to set reminders for students. Schools have always had front offices and phones for parents to call and for students to go to to use the phone or have their parents contacted. Students still go to the school clinic when they're sick and the nurse still contacts the parents to pick up their kid.

It is NOT the SCHOOL's responsibility to replace a means of communication that they never started in the first place. Schools should have banned the phones from the beginning. They didn't; but they also didn't introduce phones to students and parents as the system for them to communicate with each other during the school day. YOU, WE, our KIDS brought them into the schools and just started using them. They've become a problem, interfering with the school's ability to teach, and the school is setting restrictions....just like they do for other things like tardiness, skipping classes, being in the hallways when they are supposed to be in class, smoking, drug use, offensive material on t-shirts, weapons.

YOU are the one who is responsible for figuring out how to schedule, coordinate, and make contingency plans ahead of time and how to call the front office and work problems through with other adults. The school HAS set policies and procedures: in cases of emergency, phones will be made available to the students as soon as safely possible; parents needing to contact their student may call the front office. If you need to pick them up mid-day, you go to the office and your child will be called to the attendance office to be signed out. If it's after-hours, your kid's phone is back in use.

But will someone in the office call the classroom to tell my child to come out of class? And how is this better? The teacher on here insisted that using classroom phones was much more distracting than a quick text. And someone in the office will need to take time to do this. It also interrupts the class and the lesson for the teacher to answer the phone, so that's lost teacher and instructional time too. How is this an improvement?

These are just such ridiculously small "harms" to a cell phone ban in comparison to the massive distraction the phones caused during the school day for educators. It's like you cell phone advocates have no concept of a cost benefit analysis, and in any event almost all of the benefit you identify inures to the adult's benefit (in this case you have to get out of your car and wait longer). I just don't care that you have to wait, kids can't take pics of their art, and kids can't tune their instrument using their phone when teachers and our experience as adults tells us that kids were on snapchat/IG/YouTube during the day instead of learning and socializing -- yeah, not all day, i get it, but who cares whether it was all day or not? They are in school for a limited time period and can put down social for a minute to practice living IRL. Get over yourself and put your kids first.

+1
It's all about "me."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Policy J-30 Student Use of Cell Phones and Personal Electronic Communication Devices

School Board adopts all-day ban on student phone use, makes one exception
https://www.arlnow.com/2024/12/13/school-board-adopts-all-day-ban-on-student-phone-use-makes-one-exception/

"Arlington School Board members Thursday night (Dec. 12) voted unanimously (5-0) to implement a bell-to-bell ban on student use of phones in county schools starting Jan. 6. High school students will be allowed to have “brief” access to their phones in designated areas during non-instructional time, most likely around lunchtime."

No mention of penalties for students, and admin/teachers who do not follow the new policy.

Where do you see that this applies to admin/teachers? The quote above specifies “student use”.

It says they have to be off and away. It doesn't say only students have to turn them off and put them away.

Why would it be OK for teachers to play on their phones during the school day?

The policy is titled “Student use of cell phones…”. Everything that follows in the post mentions “student”.

Why are you asking if it would be ok for teachers to “play on their phones”? Who suggested that? There are, however, legitimate reasons a teacher might utilize a phone during the school day.

what are the legitimate reasons a teacher might have to use their phone during the school day?

None of your fcking business.

Well, you are quite unpleasant. And what do you mean not of my business? The teachers are ON the job supposed to be teaching my children. What they do during this time is exactly my and all of our business.

I'll ask again - why would a teacher HAVE to use their phone during the school day?

No. You don't get to ask that. You are not their boss and you have zero say into their work expectations.

Sit down.

Lots of people here don't seem to have a problem with bossing around other people's kids.

A ban on an addictive and distracting device that was recommended by your child’s teachers? And all scientists? And now most major school jurisdictions across the country? And the elite private schools? And most parents?

And opposed by most students? And some helicopter parents who can’t handle their child’s sports practice change?

If they're that bad, then teachers shouldn't have them during the school day, either.

I’m convinced. If teachers are really so against phones in school, they should live with the same ban. Principles too. Let’s get them pouches. Violations subject to write up’s. Let the teachers focus on teaching without social media distractions.

That is ridiculous, and I am a parent, not a teacher. The whole point of a phone ban in schools is to permit children to experience a distraction-free educational experience: students can focus on their academics, they can practice face-to-face communication, they have more opportunities for social and academic engagement, they won't be tempted to bully, they won't be distracted by helicopter parents of feel depressed or anxious due to incoming phone notifications or social media posts (look, I know teens can feel the same way about in person social interactions but those kinds of interactions are still proven to be kinder than what happens online), the list goes on. My concern is my child's experience, and I value it being phone free including ALL the students that makeup that community. If a teacher is in the teacher's lounge or in their empty classroom, I have zero concern or objection with them checking their phones. Of course, if a teacher is on their phone checking Facebook during class, that is a whole other issue that relates to their maturity and professionalism and should be dealt with by the administration accordingly.

Well the only way to enforce a rule that a teacher isn't on Facebook during class is a bright line ban. Also, I think teachers should be engaging in face to face communication with their colleagues during breaks. They should not be using their phones when alone in their classroom. That is paid time for planning, so the phone needs to be banned so it does not continue to distract them from their job duties.

+1. Either it is important or it isn't. Allowing teachers to play on their phones during the school day suggests it isn't important.

Teachers are telling you it’s harming the students. So are scientists. Social media companies admit that they program their platforms to be addictive as possible. Do you not experience your child being distracted on their phone? If you don’t, you either don’t have a teenager or you aren’t paying attention.

We make rules for children in schools that are distinct from adult employees in all kinds of professional jobs. I’m so unclear why you think that making a rule for children that doesn’t apply to adults makes the rule for children a bad rule? Of course it would be better if we all (adults) put our phones down during the work day. But that is a separate question from making rules for students.

If you think it is also bad for adults, then why wouldn't you expect adults to abide by the same rule when they are supposed to be working? We're not talking about what they do at home.

+1. Plus it's going to be pretty hard for teachers to enforce a ban when they are on their own phones. Practice what you preach!!!

Y'all are acting like teachers are on their phones all day, including during their own lectures and classes. The "teachers" that have been guilty of this are substitute teachers - they are the ones who should be given pouches when they report for duty.

Some of them are addicted to their phones, just like some students are. Give everyone pouches.

Nope. Pouches are only for students.

We can get them for teachers too, so y'all can model better behavior. I'll even donate.

When your kid pays taxes like I do, he can have the same privileges I do.

[Anonymous]

Phone lady- your kid is perhaps suffering the consequences of other kids who’ve misused the phones. School buildings will be safer without them. Let him know this will happen in the workplace, too. I’m a professional, and there are a lot of things I have to do or can’t do because some jerk did something wrong. It’s life. He might as well get used to it.

He also is not the same as his adult teachers. Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

But wait wasn't it a giant distraction to have the phone ring in class and the teacher go over to answer it right in the middle of class? That's what the teacher said a few posts ago, but now you're good with this?
You're really not that stupid that you can't figure that out, are you? But fine....
The office calls them out of class and the teacher sends them down. I and others have been doing it this way for years. Works every single time. Pretty incredible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

I don't think you get it, probably because you have younger kids. Older kids are not just in one place, like the cafeteria, during lunch. And even if they were in the cafeteria, how does one find 1 kid out of hundreds?

NP. Now you have to tell the office what class kid is in, and office will call that teacher. Except the teacher is very unlikely to hear the phone. So office will eventually call someone else to physically walk to the class and collect your child (but they don’t let you go yourself). And it will take forever. At least, this is how it played out when I picked my high schooler up for an appt a week or so ago.

So, it’s doable for sure, but build in a lot of extra time. You could have a kid set a reminder alarm an old fashioned dumb watch or the school device, I suppose.

On another note, before the phone ban, my kids’ art class was supposed to photograph their art pieces to upload for the teacher, and in band, they used phones for tuning instruments.

What a giant waste of time. Also, I don't even know where my high school student is at all times (like lunch).

Well, then it's quite handy that the school does. The office staff simply looks up their schedule if you don't know what class they're in. They even can tell what lunch period they have. Without using their phone, just an old-fashioned desktop computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

NP. Now you have to tell the office what class kid is in, and office will call that teacher. Except the teacher is very unlikely to hear the phone. So office will eventually call someone else to physically walk to the class and collect your child (but they don’t let you go yourself). And it will take forever. At least, this is how it played out when I picked my high schooler up for an appt a week or so ago.

So, it’s doable for sure, but build in a lot of extra time. You could have a kid set a reminder alarm an old fashioned dumb watch or the school device, I suppose.

On another note, before the phone ban, my kids’ art class was supposed to photograph their art pieces to upload for the teacher, and in band, they used phones for tuning instruments.

What a giant waste of time. Also, I don't even know where my high school student is at all times (like lunch).

Well, then it's quite handy that the school does. The office staff simply looks up their schedule if you don't know what class they're in. They even can tell what lunch period they have. Without using their phone, just an old-fashioned desktop computer.

I don't think you get it, probably because you have younger kids. Older kids are not just in one place, like the cafeteria, during lunch. And even if they were in the cafeteria, how does one find 1 kid out of hundreds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the schools have not replaced it with other ways to set reminders, for parents to contact kids, etc.

The offices are not doing it, so now what?

It has never been the school's responsibility to set reminders for students. Schools have always had front offices and phones for parents to call and for students to go to to use the phone or have their parents contacted. Students still go to the school clinic when they're sick and the nurse still contacts the parents to pick up their kid.

It is NOT the SCHOOL's responsibility to replace a means of communication that they never started in the first place. Schools should have banned the phones from the beginning. They didn't; but they also didn't introduce phones to students and parents as the system for them to communicate with each other during the school day. YOU, WE, our KIDS brought them into the schools and just started using them. They've become a problem, interfering with the school's ability to teach, and the school is setting restrictions....just like they do for other things like tardiness, skipping classes, being in the hallways when they are supposed to be in class, smoking, drug use, offensive material on t-shirts, weapons.

YOU are the one who is responsible for figuring out how to schedule, coordinate, and make contingency plans ahead of time and how to call the front office and work problems through with other adults. The school HAS set policies and procedures: in cases of emergency, phones will be made available to the students as soon as safely possible; parents needing to contact their student may call the front office. If you need to pick them up mid-day, you go to the office and your child will be called to the attendance office to be signed out. If it's after-hours, your kid's phone is back in use.

But will someone in the office call the classroom to tell my child to come out of class? And how is this better? The teacher on here insisted that using classroom phones was much more distracting than a quick text. And someone in the office will need to take time to do this. It also interrupts the class and the lesson for the teacher to answer the phone, so that's lost teacher and instructional time too. How is this an improvement?

These are just such ridiculously small "harms" to a cell phone ban in comparison to the massive distraction the phones caused during the school day for educators. It's like you cell phone advocates have no concept of a cost benefit analysis, and in any event almost all of the benefit you identify inures to the adult's benefit (in this case you have to get out of your car and wait longer). I just don't care that you have to wait, kids can't take pics of their art, and kids can't tune their instrument using their phone when teachers and our experience as adults tells us that kids were on snapchat/IG/YouTube during the day instead of learning and socializing -- yeah, not all day, i get it, but who cares whether it was all day or not? They are in school for a limited time period and can put down social for a minute to practice living IRL. Get over yourself and put your kids first.

+1
It's all about "me."

i actually am trying to make a cost benefit analysis but the anti cell phone brigade is so triggered that you can't admit there are uses to the phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phone lady- your kid is perhaps suffering the consequences of other kids who’ve misused the phones. School buildings will be safer without them. Let him know this will happen in the workplace, too. I’m a professional, and there are a lot of things I have to do or can’t do because some jerk did something wrong. It’s life. He might as well get used to it.

He also is not the same as his adult teachers. Nope.

such hypocrisy on the teachers' part here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the schools have not replaced it with other ways to set reminders, for parents to contact kids, etc.

The offices are not doing it, so now what?

It has never been the school's responsibility to set reminders for students. Schools have always had front offices and phones for parents to call and for students to go to to use the phone or have their parents contacted. Students still go to the school clinic when they're sick and the nurse still contacts the parents to pick up their kid.

It is NOT the SCHOOL's responsibility to replace a means of communication that they never started in the first place. Schools should have banned the phones from the beginning. They didn't; but they also didn't introduce phones to students and parents as the system for them to communicate with each other during the school day. YOU, WE, our KIDS brought them into the schools and just started using them. They've become a problem, interfering with the school's ability to teach, and the school is setting restrictions....just like they do for other things like tardiness, skipping classes, being in the hallways when they are supposed to be in class, smoking, drug use, offensive material on t-shirts, weapons.

YOU are the one who is responsible for figuring out how to schedule, coordinate, and make contingency plans ahead of time and how to call the front office and work problems through with other adults. The school HAS set policies and procedures: in cases of emergency, phones will be made available to the students as soon as safely possible; parents needing to contact their student may call the front office. If you need to pick them up mid-day, you go to the office and your child will be called to the attendance office to be signed out. If it's after-hours, your kid's phone is back in use.

But will someone in the office call the classroom to tell my child to come out of class? And how is this better? The teacher on here insisted that using classroom phones was much more distracting than a quick text. And someone in the office will need to take time to do this. It also interrupts the class and the lesson for the teacher to answer the phone, so that's lost teacher and instructional time too. How is this an improvement?

I realize that you are merely intentionally being obtuse and obnoxious, pretending to be so flummoxed by this major problem. But I will waste a few more minutes playing along.
In case you didn't realize it, part of office staff's (particularly the attendance staff's) JOB is to call students out of class when you come to pick them up. Yep, it is a quick disruption to use the PA system into the classroom; but less than a student just getting up in the middle of class and leaving, the teacher stopping to ask in front of everyone where they're going, confirming their parent is there and they are supposed to leave. A student leaving in the middle of class is always a distraction, even if it's just for a nano-second. Nobody said there's a perfect system or that it's better. The whole discussion is about how to function without students having access to their phones all day. And this is how it works for leaving early for an appointment.
Let us know when you get tired of pretending to be so dense.

You really are incapable of having a discussion without throwing out insults. I hate to think what kind of social media etiquette your modelling for your own children. But congratulations, I actually am starting to see why *some* children can't handle having phones since this is what they learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my kid early today for an appointment. In the before times, I would have had the kid set a reminder on her phone to leave class, and then I would text her too when I arrive at the office. What am I supposed to do now?

First of all, unless your kid is of certain age/grade, you are supposed to physically sign them out in the attendance office - or send a message directly to the attendance office allowing them to sign themselves out.

Regardless, since you can't figure out, or even imagine, how it was done in the before-the-before-times (ie, before cell phone days), here's how you can do it:
When you arrive at the school to pick him up, phone the front office or actually go into the office and tell them you're there to pick up your kid.
When he gets to the office, you sign him out and take him with you as you leave.

Well, how does my kid know to go to the office at that time? They used to use their phone as a reminder and I used to text that I was there. What now, since you seem to have all the answers?

NP. Now you have to tell the office what class kid is in, and office will call that teacher. Except the teacher is very unlikely to hear the phone. So office will eventually call someone else to physically walk to the class and collect your child (but they don’t let you go yourself). And it will take forever. At least, this is how it played out when I picked my high schooler up for an appt a week or so ago.

So, it’s doable for sure, but build in a lot of extra time. You could have a kid set a reminder alarm an old fashioned dumb watch or the school device, I suppose.

On another note, before the phone ban, my kids’ art class was supposed to photograph their art pieces to upload for the teacher, and in band, they used phones for tuning instruments.

What a giant waste of time. Also, I don't even know where my high school student is at all times (like lunch).

Well, then it's quite handy that the school does. The office staff simply looks up their schedule if you don't know what class they're in. They even can tell what lunch period they have. Without using their phone, just an old-fashioned desktop computer.

I don't think you get it, probably because you have younger kids. Older kids are not just in one place, like the cafeteria, during lunch. And even if they were in the cafeteria, how does one find 1 kid out of hundreds?

My youngest is now a senior in high school. Been doing it this way since my oldest was in kindergarten.
Older kids should be responsible enough to remember they have an appointment and what time their parent told them they'd pick them up. But even if they forget, there are actually adult supervisors in the cafeteria.
If they are not in the cafeteria, the school has a paging system. If they are off-campus for lunch, they'll be back shortly. And, even more conveniently for you, if they're off-campus for lunch, they have their phone and you can text or call them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phone lady- your kid is perhaps suffering the consequences of other kids who’ve misused the phones. School buildings will be safer without them. Let him know this will happen in the workplace, too. I’m a professional, and there are a lot of things I have to do or can’t do because some jerk did something wrong. It’s life. He might as well get used to it.

He also is not the same as his adult teachers. Nope.

such hypocrisy on the teachers' part here!

I’m sorry- is your teenager paying taxes? Maybe I missed something. Should he get a paycheck, too? Maybe he’d like some wine tonight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the schools have not replaced it with other ways to set reminders, for parents to contact kids, etc.

The offices are not doing it, so now what?

It has never been the school's responsibility to set reminders for students. Schools have always had front offices and phones for parents to call and for students to go to to use the phone or have their parents contacted. Students still go to the school clinic when they're sick and the nurse still contacts the parents to pick up their kid.

It is NOT the SCHOOL's responsibility to replace a means of communication that they never started in the first place. Schools should have banned the phones from the beginning. They didn't; but they also didn't introduce phones to students and parents as the system for them to communicate with each other during the school day. YOU, WE, our KIDS brought them into the schools and just started using them. They've become a problem, interfering with the school's ability to teach, and the school is setting restrictions....just like they do for other things like tardiness, skipping classes, being in the hallways when they are supposed to be in class, smoking, drug use, offensive material on t-shirts, weapons.

YOU are the one who is responsible for figuring out how to schedule, coordinate, and make contingency plans ahead of time and how to call the front office and work problems through with other adults. The school HAS set policies and procedures: in cases of emergency, phones will be made available to the students as soon as safely possible; parents needing to contact their student may call the front office. If you need to pick them up mid-day, you go to the office and your child will be called to the attendance office to be signed out. If it's after-hours, your kid's phone is back in use.

But will someone in the office call the classroom to tell my child to come out of class? And how is this better? The teacher on here insisted that using classroom phones was much more distracting than a quick text. And someone in the office will need to take time to do this. It also interrupts the class and the lesson for the teacher to answer the phone, so that's lost teacher and instructional time too. How is this an improvement?

These are just such ridiculously small "harms" to a cell phone ban in comparison to the massive distraction the phones caused during the school day for educators. It's like you cell phone advocates have no concept of a cost benefit analysis, and in any event almost all of the benefit you identify inures to the adult's benefit (in this case you have to get out of your car and wait longer). I just don't care that you have to wait, kids can't take pics of their art, and kids can't tune their instrument using their phone when teachers and our experience as adults tells us that kids were on snapchat/IG/YouTube during the day instead of learning and socializing -- yeah, not all day, i get it, but who cares whether it was all day or not? They are in school for a limited time period and can put down social for a minute to practice living IRL. Get over yourself and put your kids first.

+1
It's all about "me."

i actually am trying to make a cost benefit analysis but the anti cell phone brigade is so triggered that you can't admit there are uses to the phones.

I admit there are uses for phones. I'm just saying none of them seem to be critical uses that can't be done without.