Reply to Yondr pouch pilot program at some MS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ask the teachers what they prefer - pouches or enforcing the cell phone policy. [/quote]

Both require the same amount of effort.  If a kid tells me he doesn't have a phone and shows me an empty pouch, there's nothing I can do about that.  When he gets out the phone he actually did have in his bag later in the day, it gets confiscated.  In the off and away school, it's the same situation.  I don't see the phone in the morning when I put out the reminder to keep it off and away and then when he gets it out later, it gets confiscated.  It's the exact same end either with or without the pouch.  Which is why I think the pouches are a waste of money.

As a teacher, I am having the exact same number of encounters this year with cell phones with a yondr pouch that I was last year with the off and away policy which is to say...none.[/quote]

There is a difference--hallways and cafeteria usage.  Pouches restrict that (meaning anything seen in the hallways can still be confiscated).[/quote]

How so? Our pilot school was away-for-the-day last year so phones in hallways and cafeterias were just as illegal last year. Kids game either system, and each system requires manual labor from teachers. But one is expensive, lines pockets we don't need to be lining, and creates unnecessary consequences for parent-child communication.[/quote]

If they're in the pouches, they can't be used in bathrooms during lunch/passing periods. If they're in the bottom of backpacks, they are being used in the bathroom all the time. I teach at an "away for the day" middle school, and every passing period I have a few minutes free I walk into the girl's bathroom (because I can't walk into the boys!) and confiscate 2-3 cell phones. EVERY period. That's all they do. There are crowds of 10-15 girls standing around staring at phones. Some of them are frequent flyers, some are "good" kids who you wouldn't expect, and some are on phone #3 because multiple have been confiscated already.

I see what you're saying that if a kid lies about putting a phone in the pouch it doesn't make a difference and essentially becomes away for the day, and if 90% of kids are skipping the pouch then you are correct. From colleagues' stories it is more like 5% skipping the pouches though, so the number of kids who could use phones in the bathroom is small.

Regardless, I am glad FCPS is running the experiment this year! They will have tons of data on number of referrals, behavior incidents, etc to compare, and we won't have to wonder anymore--we will know which solution is more effective.[/quote]

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