Banning and confiscating phones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way would I send my kid to school without a phone for many reasons as they need it to communicate with us. It’s not like schools have pay phones still.

why can't your kid send you a quick email on the rare occasion they NEED to communicate with you? I'm baffled.

I’m fully against phone use in schools and my own kid’s phone is fully locked down during school (8th grade), but your kids can’t “just” send you an email from school. Chrome books do not give you the option to email outside of the MCPS system and you can’t email parents from your MCPS email address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kinda s/o to the fights and drugs threads.

Can the county ban cell phones in schools? I went to high school in the 90s and electronics were banned like beepers and the old brick cell phones. If somebody had a beeper, it would be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

MCPS doesn't have the authority to confiscate personal property, nor should they have to especially to placate some crazies.

DP.. they don't have to confiscate it. They can use the pouches.

But, you are incorrect in stating that they don't have the right to confiscate personal property. If they bring something that is unsafe, they can take it away.

If you make it so that a teacher cannot confiscate things that they deem are distracting in a classroom, then don't complain if your kids are getting bad grades or other kids are disrupting the class. You keep cutting of teacher's ability to control a classroom. This plus restorative justice is not helping.

It's no wonder why some kids just do whatever the heck they want in schools. They know nothing will happen to them.

If someone took my phone, I'd report the the theft to the police. They don't have the right to do this. We don't live in a police state.

You live in a society. Society has schools. You can't bring your gun into a courtroom either. Boo hoo for you.

This is the entirety of the problem. My "Jimmy" has every right to his phone and nobody can take it from him. Even if it means a substantial change for the better to the learning environment for the entire student population. If you want "Jimmy" to go to school, he has to comply with the rules.

Because American parents are entitled and self-centered to the detriment of the greater good and the community.

Unfortunately, you can't change that. The best you can hope for is that those people end up as the minority and the majority who vote and engage in the policies and management of public schools think and behave otherwise. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Ah, never change DCUM. Never miss a chance to bash Americans.

I have lived in other countries and have family all over the world. Trust me, there are plenty of entitled parents and kids in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way would I send my kid to school without a phone for many reasons as they need it to communicate with us. It’s not like schools have pay phones still.

Our elementary has a free phone in the lobby.

In MCPS? We had a gizmo for our kids after an incident at the ES where the school should have called and didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't use your phone when you're going through customs, either. Schools get to impose rules, too. Kids enjoy the break from phones as well, by the way.

Personally, I haven't been through customs in years so it's a non-issue. As a parent, it's my responsibility to control and monitor the phone. See how that works. Its easy to lock it down or shut it off.

How are you monitoring and controlling your kids' phone usage when they are in class?

There are a lot of things kids cannot bring to school, like if they little Jimmy wanted to bring his ps4, the school would confiscate it and return it at the end of the day.

I stated earlier, they can use phone pouches, so your little snowflake won't have their phones taken away; they just won't be able to use it unless the teacher unlocks the pouch.

Easy to see the usage.

If my kid has an allergic reaction, I want them to call me.

If there is an incident at school or somewhere else, I want them to call me as I will go get them.

If I have an issue and cannot get them, I want to be able to contact time.

If they need to let me know something like school supplies or a change, they need to contact me.

As a parent its my job to deal with it, not the teachers.

My snowflakes can just yell out when they need me right now so it's not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kinda s/o to the fights and drugs threads.

Can the county ban cell phones in schools? I went to high school in the 90s and electronics were banned like beepers and the old brick cell phones. If somebody had a beeper, it would be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

MCPS doesn't have the authority to confiscate personal property, nor should they have to especially to placate some crazies.

DP.. they don't have to confiscate it. They can use the pouches.

But, you are incorrect in stating that they don't have the right to confiscate personal property. If they bring something that is unsafe, they can take it away.

If you make it so that a teacher cannot confiscate things that they deem are distracting in a classroom, then don't complain if your kids are getting bad grades or other kids are disrupting the class. You keep cutting of teacher's ability to control a classroom. This plus restorative justice is not helping.

It's no wonder why some kids just do whatever the heck they want in schools. They know nothing will happen to them.

If someone took my phone, I'd report the the theft to the police. They don't have the right to do this. We don't live in a police state.

You live in a society. Society has schools. You can't bring your gun into a courtroom either. Boo hoo for you.

This is the entirety of the problem. My "Jimmy" has every right to his phone and nobody can take it from him. Even if it means a substantial change for the better to the learning environment for the entire student population. If you want "Jimmy" to go to school, he has to comply with the rules.

Because American parents are entitled and self-centered to the detriment of the greater good and the community.

Unfortunately, you can't change that. The best you can hope for is that those people end up as the minority and the majority who vote and engage in the policies and management of public schools think and behave otherwise. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case.

I agree with you but am not convinced that phones are the root problem here...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't use your phone when you're going through customs, either. Schools get to impose rules, too. Kids enjoy the break from phones as well, by the way.

Personally, I haven't been through customs in years so it's a non-issue. As a parent, it's my responsibility to control and monitor the phone. See how that works. Its easy to lock it down or shut it off.

How are you monitoring and controlling your kids' phone usage when they are in class?

There are a lot of things kids cannot bring to school, like if they little Jimmy wanted to bring his ps4, the school would confiscate it and return it at the end of the day.

I stated earlier, they can use phone pouches, so your little snowflake won't have their phones taken away; they just won't be able to use it unless the teacher unlocks the pouch.

Easy to see the usage.

If my kid has an allergic reaction, I want them to call me.

If there is an incident at school or somewhere else, I want them to call me as I will go get them.

If I have an issue and cannot get them, I want to be able to contact time.

If they need to let me know something like school supplies or a change, they need to contact me.

As a parent its my job to deal with it, not the teachers.

My snowflakes can just yell out when they need me right now so it's not an issue.

My kids phone is in school mode which shuts it off during school hours. They can use it in an emergency but we are notified. For us, this arrangement has worked fine. I really don't see why this is a school problem.

[Anonymous]

So many of these kids are addicted to their phones. Adults too. I was iat BCC the other day and kids walk and look at their phones so much. I am surprised they don't trip but maybe we are adapting as a species. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't use your phone when you're going through customs, either. Schools get to impose rules, too. Kids enjoy the break from phones as well, by the way.

Personally, I haven't been through customs in years so it's a non-issue. As a parent, it's my responsibility to control and monitor the phone. See how that works. Its easy to lock it down or shut it off.

How are you monitoring and controlling your kids' phone usage when they are in class?

There are a lot of things kids cannot bring to school, like if they little Jimmy wanted to bring his ps4, the school would confiscate it and return it at the end of the day.

I stated earlier, they can use phone pouches, so your little snowflake won't have their phones taken away; they just won't be able to use it unless the teacher unlocks the pouch.

Easy to see the usage.

If my kid has an allergic reaction, I want them to call me.

If there is an incident at school or somewhere else, I want them to call me as I will go get them.

If I have an issue and cannot get them, I want to be able to contact time.

If they need to let me know something like school supplies or a change, they need to contact me.

As a parent its my job to deal with it, not the teachers.

My snowflakes can just yell out when they need me right now so it's not an issue.

If your kid has an allergic reaction the first thing they should do is go to the health tech, and have them deal with it. They can then call you.
If there is an incident at the school, it will be on lockdown, and they won't let you near the building.
If you have an issue, you can still contact them, and they can see it after class ends. That is how the pouch works.

How on earth did parents deal with reaching kids before smartphones? Did your kid have a smartphone with them when they were 5, 6, 7?

As a parent, you parent, but when they are in school, the teachers are responsible for the kids in the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many of these kids are addicted to their phones. Adults too. I was iat BCC the other day and kids walk and look at their phones so much. I am surprised they don't trip but maybe we are adapting as a species. Sad.

And it's sad that teens today don't socialize that much face to face. It's all about the phones. That's why this one Principal started using the pouch.

https://abc7news.com/yondr-no-phone-pouch-student-phone-free/5479289/


I really wish MCPS would use the money on things like this which helps kids focus more in class, and overall have healthier social interactions, rather than things like the anti-racist audit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way would I send my kid to school without a phone for many reasons as they need it to communicate with us. It’s not like schools have pay phones still.

there is no need for your kid to communicate with you during class. It's a distraction. Did your parents need to communicate with you when you were in school and didn't have a phone?

Goodness, how did we all manage to go to school without being able to reach our parents during class?

+1

The office has a phone

No need to communicate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many of these kids are addicted to their phones. Adults too. I was iat BCC the other day and kids walk and look at their phones so much. I am surprised they don't trip but maybe we are adapting as a species. Sad.

seems more of a parenting problem than MCPS problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way would I send my kid to school without a phone for many reasons as they need it to communicate with us. It’s not like schools have pay phones still.

there is no need for your kid to communicate with you during class. It's a distraction. Did your parents need to communicate with you when you were in school and didn't have a phone?

Goodness, how did we all manage to go to school without being able to reach our parents during class?

+1

The office has a phone

No need to communicate

Except when there isa need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way would I send my kid to school without a phone for many reasons as they need it to communicate with us. It’s not like schools have pay phones still.

there is no need for your kid to communicate with you during class. It's a distraction. Did your parents need to communicate with you when you were in school and didn't have a phone?

Goodness, how did we all manage to go to school without being able to reach our parents during class?

We’d use the pay phone. They always made sure we had money to call them and it was expected we call if something changed. If phones were invented we would have all had them too. Some kids had pagers.

Pagers were not allowed in my school. Confiscated and a week worth of detention.

I never ever used a pay phone to call my mom from school

[Anonymous]

At the school where I work, if a phone is out during the day (any time between the start of 1st and the end of 7th), it gets taken from the student and turned in at the office. The kid gets it back at the end of the day. The second time it happens, a parent has to come for it. (Rarely, they can wait a week and get it back rather than involving parents.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the school where I work, if a phone is out during the day (any time between the start of 1st and the end of 7th), it gets taken from the student and turned in at the office. The kid gets it back at the end of the day. The second time it happens, a parent has to come for it. (Rarely, they can wait a week and get it back rather than involving parents.)

I don't think it's reasonable to confiscate personal property without cause. We don't live in a police state, but if students use phones in class and distract others or can't keep it silenced, that seems reasonable.

I've often used my phone to photograph lecture notes since it's faster than writing them down which also seems like a perfectly valid use.