GDS Phone Ban

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t like phone bans for hs. I have a recent grad and there were times we needed to be in touch and going through the school office would have been a pain. If you are just about ready to be in real world then the real world includes phones. I totally get bands for younger years but not hs. I also think it will drive kids to overuse phones after school. I have come to believe being too strict on anything has unintended consequence.

Needing to be in touch 24/7 is a sign of anxiety. Maybe get some therapy? It’s better for students if they can focus on being present with their classmates and their school experience. Yes, it requires some parents to change their behavior and make plans ahead of time or go through the school to contact their student but it is better for adolescents’ mental health, learning, and concentration not to have access to their phones all day.

+1- let it go parents. I have two high schoolers and I understand. But we don't need to be texting our kids every moment. They don't need to tell you how they did on a test or how x went IN the moment. These are the skills young adults are missing- how to deal with situations on their own, how to manage struggle and feel confident in doing so. Constant reaching out to you and by you demontrates not having confidence in your kids that they can handle it. You don't need to text them to wish them luck before a test- wish them well that morning, tell them you will be thinking of them in that moment, and say goodbye for the day. Sure there may be some logistics which could be handled via email when needed. We don't text our kids during the school day. This is better for them.

Exactly - you just don't need to be in touch about everything in the moment. When my kids are at sleep-away camp, our only form of two-way communication is letters. And it's fine. There's nothing wrong with asking parents for guidance, but being able to do it all the time and so easily ... is not so great for independence. (That said, I think this is more an issue of convenience and habit, rather than clinical anxiety, in most cases.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does every school have that or just GDS? I went to school down the street - I hate to be like back in my day! But back in my day, we did just sign out and back in when we left campus - and if we weren’t there for our first class, that’s how they knew we weren’t on campus. Sometimes kids snuck off campus and got in trouble and that was just life and part of growing up. This technology is not necessary.

It's just an electronic way of signing in and out -- serves the same function, but with less paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does every school have that or just GDS? I went to school down the street - I hate to be like back in my day! But back in my day, we did just sign out and back in when we left campus - and if we weren’t there for our first class, that’s how they knew we weren’t on campus. Sometimes kids snuck off campus and got in trouble and that was just life and part of growing up. This technology is not necessary.

It's just an electronic way of signing in and out -- serves the same function, but with less paper.

Yes, but it's getting phones out of kids backpacks and into their hands at a point when they're going to be away from supervision. If kids are walking out the door with a phone turned on and in their hands, they are going to be more likely to use that phone, then if they are walking out the door with their phone off and buried in their backpack. Because even a kid who buys into the idea of not using the phone, is going to notice an alert, and just read that one, and just reply to that one . . . So, getting rid of this school pass needs to be a priority. Similarly, parents who are smart will have their kid carry a physical credit card or cash, so they aren't tempted to pull out their phones for Apple Pay. Also, they won't get their kids smart watches.

[Anonymous]

Our school uses SchoolPass but it’s for the parents to use when picking up a kid early, arriving late, or being out. If the kids are already in school and they are allowed to sign themselves out (only upperclassmen), they do by going to the front office and putting their pin/ID into the electronic device in the office - they don’t use the app on their phones. They have to do this for an unexcused late arrival, too.

[Anonymous]

This phone thing feels like a teacher thing. I know a few teachers who are concerned with students documenting things. I have a grad and the phone in hs is just a convenience. I can understand middle school but even then kids with multiple caregivers need access so feel like the greater issue is when kids are not at school when bullying happens. Also kids in hs are so focused on getting work done and college that I am not even sure about phones being the issue because you would have to add computers.

[Anonymous]

My kid can see her texts on her computer. She generally ignores them because she’s actually a good student and pays attention in class, but if a kid is the type to be on their phone all day, they’ll find another way to access the same stuff on their computer.

[Anonymous]

And it’s not just text messages from parents or friends. It’s social media. It’s doom scrolling instead of interfacing with other human beings during lunch. Inappropriate videoing and photography of every moment during the day. It’s the anxiety, focus and attention issues caused by our phones. And it hits children of all ages harder than it even hits us. When we gave our kids phones, it’s like we gave them crack. If anyone thinks the smart phone in the hands of kids and teens has been good for them and society, I’d love to hear it. Actually, keep it to yourself. I don’t wanna hear it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school uses SchoolPass but it’s for the parents to use when picking up a kid early, arriving late, or being out. If the kids are already in school and they are allowed to sign themselves out (only upperclassmen), they do by going to the front office and putting their pin/ID into the electronic device in the office - they don’t use the app on their phones. They have to do this for an unexcused late arrival, too.

There are, of course, other options. GDS just needs to find one. The fact that they didn't find one before rolling out the announcement that they are going to be phone free doesn't look good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid can see her texts on her computer. She generally ignores them because she’s actually a good student and pays attention in class, but if a kid is the type to be on their phone all day, they’ll find another way to access the same stuff on their computer.

I agree with this. So many times I think that we get to a point where none of us want to deal with doing taking a harder but right approach which is to get to the root of the probs v just take things away so the prob goes away.

The better solution and I know too ideal to make it actually be practical LOL is to get kids to a point where they don't use their phones when they aren't supposed to. I know it is too hard. It's even hard for us adults. But honestly, it's the right thing to do ultimately. It's not about taking it away as much as it is the focus, discipline and knowing why you should not be distracted by using the phone if you're in class or something. It's about knowing the different between right and wrong which I'm pretty sure all us parents are hoping for when it comes to our kids.

But I get it, I really do. MUCH easier to just take it away from them, I don't disagree, I just wish that we were all more on the same page as to how to make our kids behave

[Anonymous]

I am glad for this move and think/hope kids will be, too.
Unfortunately, there's still the ubiquity of laptops during classes. My kids at two different Big 3 schools have reported video games during class starting at 6th grade. Even if it's not always during instruction, it's happening when the kids have their 3-minute downtime before the teacher starts class. School is not the place! Has anyone heard anything about better systems for blocking video games? There's got to be more that can be done.

[Anonymous]

Sure. Do more. Find a way to block those dopamine hits.

Limiting phone use in school is one thing parents and schools can do now.

Read the research.

[Anonymous]

Maybe parents could keep tiktock, instagram, etc off their kids’ phones. It’s not the scheduling texts from parents that are causing anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school uses SchoolPass but it’s for the parents to use when picking up a kid early, arriving late, or being out. If the kids are already in school and they are allowed to sign themselves out (only upperclassmen), they do by going to the front office and putting their pin/ID into the electronic device in the office - they don’t use the app on their phones. They have to do this for an unexcused late arrival, too.

There are, of course, other options. GDS just needs to find one. The fact that they didn't find one before rolling out the announcement that they are going to be phone free doesn't look good.

My friend whose kid goes there said that she thinks the school's email indicated that they will become more draconian (pouches or checking them in) if necessary.

[Anonymous]

GDS LS and HS have different requirements. For HS kids the expectation is they stay out of sight while on campus and not in use. If they leave campus at lunchtime they they can use them off campus. Field has also announced a policy that varies by LS and US.For US both smart watches and phones are turned in at beginning of class. I did not read the lower school requirements as carefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe parents could keep tiktock, instagram, etc off their kids’ phones. It’s not the scheduling texts from parents that are causing anxiety.

No, the problem is the scheduling texts from parents who cannot control their own anxiety.