Reply to Jackson-Reed phone policy?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As the parent of a recent JR graduate and a current JR student, I’ll offer this: We can’t turn back time. Just like TV and every other technological advance seen by some as disastrous for kids, cell phones are not going away. The more we focus on teaching kids to use them responsibly, the better off they’ll be.

My kids know how and when to use their phones, including in school. They know what their teachers’ expectations are. They are smart, social kids, as are their friends; just like I didn’t fail to develop socially and emotionally because I was watched a lot of TV as a kid (alone and with friends), my kids aren’t stunted by their phone use.

I am thrilled that my kids missed the yondr experiment at JR, which by all accounts was a distraction and waste of time and money. I much prefer the school’s current approach, which I believe to be much more realistic and age-appropriate. [/quote]

I agree with part of your post - we cannot turn back time. And it is correct, that every generation has had something that people view as 'new' and 'bad'  like TV, computers, etc. However, if you take time to read the wealth of research they have now on kids who grew up using smart phones - having constant access to the internet has impacted development and mental health in ways that has never happened before. Even when our generation had computers in our youth, there was typically only one per household, you had limited access (and slow internet), etc. I am sure there are some kids who are able to navigate through the real world while always on/with a smart phone, and perhaps your kids are two of them - but data shows the vast majority of young adults do not benefit, and it is in fact detrimental. We can't turn back time, but we have a chance to make changes moving forward. [/quote]

Every one thinks the latest thing is unique and worse than the thing that came before it. The panicky research today is no different than the panicky research of a generation ago or a century ago. [/quote]

I don't think the research is panicky, it seems pretty in depth and thought through. And part of the research is directly comparing today's world/kids/situation to generations past, showing it is not the same.  I'd suggest folks look into it before assuming it is not a big deal. COVID didn't help either - and depending on family situations, some kids were completely glued to screens for years which didn't help the situation.[/quote]

Yeah, i finally read The Anxious Generation book and now I'm utterly convinced that we need to reverse the social media thing. [b]It's not the phone -- it's the apps.[/b] They are built to be addictive and kids are powerless to resist. Bring back dumbphones.[/quote]

JR parent PP here, and on this we agree. But the way to address this is through muscular regulation of technology companies, not by putting phones in lockers at school. We should be able to use our phones for convenience and pleasure.

And at the risk of turning this thread political: there’s a reason Big Tech money is getting behind Trump. Rather than writing letters to Ferebee to protect your kids from the devices you give them, spend your time working like hell to defeat Trump.[/quote]

I think JR might be the exception here, though. Basis, Banneker and McKinley Tech all ban phones during the day. Not sure what Walls' policy is. [/quote]

Walls allows phones. The phone was a big distraction for my rising senior when they were in 9th grade (their middle school didn't allow them), but they learned pretty quickly not to use them during class. I'm not sure all kids have had so much success resisting temptation, and I do worry about this for my younger kid, who is much more addicted to screens.[/quote]

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