Reply to Why not phone free

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Why not phone free"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have no issue with (and actually approve of) phone bans, but the argument that “we handled communications just fine without cell phones” is silly. We handled communications just fine because no one else had phones either. No one’s afterschool job was trying to reach them to see if they could pick up an extra shift today or tell them they didn’t need to show up because things are slow. No one’s kid brother was texting asking to be picked up from a friend’s house instead of baseball practice. No one’s friend group was trying to coordinate lunch plans on the fly in a group chat. None of these things are emergencies or a reason not to have cell phone bans, but “communications” simply looked very different and had very different expectations of access than the world today.

The way we did or did not handle things is really not relevant anymore, in very, very many aspects of life. [/quote]

You're not wrong that society has changed; however, we still have the free will to decide how we want to navigate the modern world. If an employer is calling or texting in the middle of the day and DC doesn't answer because they are in class, my response is "oh well," and if they don't need you to come in for your shift, DC will see that text at the final bell. DC can also let that employer know that they do not have access to their phone during school hours (people who employ high school students are aware of school rules around phones). There's no scenario where my daughter would need to know that my son needs to go to Freddy's house instead of baseball in the middle of French class. An after-school change of little brother's plans would be one she'd see at 3 pm.  Friend groups at school coordinating lunch plans at school is a non-issue if no one has their phone. Kids make plans after morning assembly (or whatever). My point is that we've allowed the phone to dictate immediate access to each other, and it now feels necessary, but it does not need to be this way--or certainly not for middle and high school kids. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics