WaPo: Students can’t get off their phones. Schools have had enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

This is not a "if scenario." Teachers ARE getting assaulted over trying to enforce cell phone bans. It is a reality.

So what do you propose MCPS do to prevent it from happening? Cause until you solve for that, many teachers will smartly make the decision that enforcing the ban is not worth their safety and wellbeing.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It says "MD" is included, but what are the proposing in MD? I don't see any proposal about phone usage in class.

They already have a phone policy in MCPS, but it's at the teacher's discretion, and some teachers just don't care enough to do anything about phone use in the class.

Some teachers "don't care" because they're not willing to risky their physical safety and wellbeing by confronting screen addicted teens over their phone use.

This exact scenario just played out in the news: https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/tennessee-teen-pepper-sprays-teacher-after-he-takes-her-phone/

Teachers should not be on the hook for enforcing MCPS's cell phone policy. It's not safe and it's not fair to them.

What? Then who? They are the ones in the classroom.

What are you going to do about the violent students who attack teachers over confiscating their phones? If you solve for that, then we can discuss teachers being on the hook for enforcement. Until then, it's not right and it's not fair. Teachers aren't police officers or firefighters. They do not sign up to put themselves in harm's way like that.

Deal with them in the correctional system as that is a crime. You can't just throw your hands in the air and let a few a*Holes ruin it for the majority of the good kids who would follow the rules.

So basically, you're advocating we continue to let the teachers who are going to get attacked get attacked and arrest the kids after the fact.

That doesn't solve the problem I put forth. Pay attention to the problem: How do we prevent teachers from being attacked over cell phone enforcement?

And you're advocating that they give up all control of their classroom and just let these problem kids do whatever they want? Are you serious? The teachers already know who might be/is violent. Perhaps involve the SRO earlier in the process and get those kids removed from class. There are many, many ways to deal with this other than giving up.

You sidestepped and refused to answer my question. We're done here.

And I have no idea why you think teachers are mind-readers or prophets who can know which kids might be or are violent. Kids snap. You never who that will all the time. It might be the ones you suspect or the ones you least suspect.

And again: the CEO is not in the school building. And there's one CEO not only for the high school, but for all of the middle and elementary schools in that cluster. There's a good chance the CEO will not be available when a teacher is assaulted.

It's clear you have no idea what school in MCPS is like today. So perhaps it's best if you sit this convo out.

You should also get some training on classroom management or change careers if you are so scared. It's clear that you're a teacher and a very ineffective one at that. If you can't even establish order in your classroom, can you really teach our kids anything?

I'm actually not a teacher. I'm PTA parent who intimately understands the issue from all sides because I've invested time to understand the challenges, nuances and tensions at play.

Nice to know you believe all of these teachers who were attacked are responsible for their assaults because they lack training on "classroom management":

MCPS is in dire need of substitute teachers. You should apply since you're so masterful at preventing or stopping kids from using their phones in class without chaos and conflict erupting.

I never said I wanted to be a teacher. I'm very grateful for the ones who are capable of doing their job. I suggest you sit this one out too (as you suggested I do) since you clearly don't know anything about classroom management. I am not willing to give up all control of the classroom for a few bad examples/apples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Also bring back textbooks. No homework or online grades. Many fewer assignments but more quality.

This requires a lot of shelving and organizing of paper.

It will never happen but it will soon be his the elite are educated. The poor kids will get YouTube videos and online worksheets.

I’m a teacher….20 years.

As a person who went to high school in the US when there were textbooks and everything was on paper - it wasn't all that. In fact, a blue-ribbon federal commission said about it, "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/29/604986823/what-a-nation-at-risk-got-wrong-and-right-about-u-s-schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

This is not a "if scenario." Teachers ARE getting assaulted over trying to enforce cell phone bans. It is a reality.

So what do you propose MCPS do to prevent it from happening? Cause until you solve for that, many teachers will smartly make the decision that enforcing the ban is not worth their safety and wellbeing.

What do teachers do when kids get mad over other things? Surely they have a way to deal with it. IT's not that hard to piss off teens and access to phones is just one of a million things to set them off. Or do you suggest we let these kids do whatever they want? Is that safe????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

This is not a "if scenario." Teachers ARE getting assaulted over trying to enforce cell phone bans. It is a reality.

So what do you propose MCPS do to prevent it from happening? Cause until you solve for that, many teachers will smartly make the decision that enforcing the ban is not worth their safety and wellbeing.

So what does a teacher do if a student brings a beer into class and starts drinking it? Or lights up a joint? Just let it go, since the student might become violent if you try to enforce a rule?

[Anonymous]

I'd happily pay $45K tuition for a school that had no technology in it whatsoever. Throw away all electronic boards, laptops, and tablets. Cancel all subscriptions to portals, educational management systems, and Google classrooms. Make the place a GD Faraday Cage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is important to point out to both students and parents at the start of the semester that cell phone are not to be used in class. Students who spend time on their devices in class and do not pay attention are responsible for their own status in class. No complaints from either students or parents about grades or class status will be entertained if the student is routinely on their device during class. This is the only warning.

Then let the students be responsible for policing themselves. They're going to have to learn in college and the work force that if they are constantly distracted and not paying attention to their work, then they bear the consequences of their own habits.

Then they will just apply for food stamps and free housing and welfare because they can't earn a living wage working at McDonald's, which will be the only place they will be able to get a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

This is not a "if scenario." Teachers ARE getting assaulted over trying to enforce cell phone bans. It is a reality.

So what do you propose MCPS do to prevent it from happening? Cause until you solve for that, many teachers will smartly make the decision that enforcing the ban is not worth their safety and wellbeing.

What do teachers do when kids get mad over other things? Surely they have a way to deal with it. IT's not that hard to piss off teens and access to phones is just one of a million things to set them off. Or do you suggest we let these kids do whatever they want? Is that safe????

The cell phone has a special hold over kids because it's an addiction. Have you ever tried to separate an addict from their substance of choice? It's not pleasant.

Read up: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/screen-time-over-can-child-stop

https://brisbanekids.com.au/how-to-stop-screen-rage-attacks/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It says "MD" is included, but what are the proposing in MD? I don't see any proposal about phone usage in class.

They already have a phone policy in MCPS, but it's at the teacher's discretion, and some teachers just don't care enough to do anything about phone use in the class.

Some teachers "don't care" because they're not willing to risky their physical safety and wellbeing by confronting screen addicted teens over their phone use.

This exact scenario just played out in the news: https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/tennessee-teen-pepper-sprays-teacher-after-he-takes-her-phone/

Teachers should not be on the hook for enforcing MCPS's cell phone policy. It's not safe and it's not fair to them.

What? Then who? They are the ones in the classroom.

I think the more important question is what the hell is going on when kids are becoming VIOLENT if their phones are taken away? Isn't that a bigger issue? Having a rule about no cell phones will be ignored by anyone that would attack a teacher over taking said phone away. Something is pretty messed up in this whole scenario. It's like taking an addict's fix away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

This is not a "if scenario." Teachers ARE getting assaulted over trying to enforce cell phone bans. It is a reality.

So what do you propose MCPS do to prevent it from happening? Cause until you solve for that, many teachers will smartly make the decision that enforcing the ban is not worth their safety and wellbeing.

So what does a teacher do if a student brings a beer into class and starts drinking it? Or lights up a joint? Just let it go, since the student might become violent if you try to enforce a rule?

Show me news articles of those things happening in the classroom and the frequency at which it's happening. I assure you it's not coming to close to the meltdowns over cell phone confiscation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Also bring back textbooks. No homework or online grades. Many fewer assignments but more quality.

This requires a lot of shelving and organizing of paper.

It will never happen but it will soon be his the elite are educated. The poor kids will get YouTube videos and online worksheets.

I’m a teacher….20 years.

As a person who went to high school in the US when there were textbooks and everything was on paper - it wasn't all that. In fact, a blue-ribbon federal commission said about it, "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/29/604986823/what-a-nation-at-risk-got-wrong-and-right-about-u-s-schools

A good article. Maybe the looming disaster about cell phones depicted in this thread is also a matter of interpretation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is important to point out to both students and parents at the start of the semester that cell phone are not to be used in class. Students who spend time on their devices in class and do not pay attention are responsible for their own status in class. No complaints from either students or parents about grades or class status will be entertained if the student is routinely on their device during class. This is the only warning.

Then let the students be responsible for policing themselves. They're going to have to learn in college and the work force that if they are constantly distracted and not paying attention to their work, then they bear the consequences of their own habits.

Then they will just apply for food stamps and free housing and welfare because they can't earn a living wage working at McDonald's, which will be the only place they will be able to get a job.

Are you posting from 1978?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue of teacher safety is really important but I don't see what it has to do with cell phone policies. If you're saying you can't have a cell phone policy because kids might get violent if someone tries to enforce it, then you're essentially saying you can't have any rules or expectations whatsoever. Just let kids do whatever they want.

+100. None of these objections have anything to do with cell phones. Teachers enforce all sorts of rules every class--take out your books, stop talking Mandy, sit down now, no snacking... It seems like some sort of learned helplessness about cell phones--that has less to do with any unique prospect of cell phone-related violence (???) and more to do with the fact that clearly there is no societal consensus on what the rules should be and/or we are all phone addicts now.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure if that has been mentioned but why not just enforce mandatory downtime on phones 8am to 3pm.

You can still dial any calls and text up to 5 contacts (of your choice) with downtime. You can even pick certain apps to allow (weather, calculator, etc....)

That way all of the worried Nellies and helicopter can still keep tab on their kids 24/7 and the kids don't have access to apps, internet, and texting friends that keep them glued to it all day.

It's a very simple fix. And if a child's phone is being used otherwise, it goes to the office and a parent picks it up the first time with a child detention.. Second offense, a week's detention. Third offense, 2 day suspension.