So what’s the deal with Grade 12?

Washington Latin is locking up phones next year for grades 5-11.

Parents need to put more pressure on JR. Like email the principal, the instructional superintendent Kim Martin, and central office. The principal won’t change school policy without being forced to. The school is being run into the ground.

Anonymous wrote:JR parent here. The school is abysmal about this. Apparently they leave it to teachers to set their own policy. It should really be the responsibility of the principal to set uniform rules. Another way Brown is a disappointment.

Came to say the same - our son is a rising senior and says there is zero enforcement of the no phone rule in any classes.

But that is sort of consistent with the total lack of rigor at J-R where you can get a 4.0 just for showing up.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Banneker where phones need to be left in lockers before they go through security. My kid loves it, says it's nice to know there won't be a lot of distractions during the day; they hear from their friends at Walls that people are on phones a lot.

OMG this is so smart!

JR parent here. The school is abysmal about this. Apparently they leave it to teachers to set their own policy. It should really be the responsibility of the principal to set uniform rules. Another way Brown is a disappointment.

I think the writing is on the wall in DC, NY, Boston, etc. The research is clear- cell phones hinder learning. And what they do for mental health is a big problem as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

It’s so interesting because the Yondr
Experience at Deal was fine. They just used it and life went on.

I worry too about phones and social media in the bathrooms and other places where kids should have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Some kids are just bad and the rest pay the consequences.

Just saw this in the news today about New York City, maybe DC will follow suit?
https://www.silive.com/parents/2024/07/nyc-could-ban-cellphones-in-public-schools-next-year-report-says.html

Anonymous wrote: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.

It’s so interesting because the Yondr
Experience at Deal was fine. They just used it and life went on.

I worry too about phones and social media in the bathrooms and other places where kids should have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Some kids are just bad and the rest pay the consequences.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

I will say this as a HS teacher. Not all kids are on their phones if the teacher is teaching or has rules about phone use. If the teacher is lax/has no rules, 30-40% of kids are on their phones. If the teacher stops teaching/gives some free time 90% of kids are immediately on their phones. It’s a problem.

The problem is not just individual students distrating themselves with their phones -- it's them misbehaving online.

Kids filming other kids at school; kids posting things about other kids to social media during school; kids showing things to each other during school. It creates extra social drama.

Really, really not helpful to anyone.

I hate all the phones, all the screen time, and wish we could reverse things 15 years. Having said that, My JR student thinks that the (fairly lax) phone policy may be somewhat helpful in one respect, i.e., bored kids who might otherwise be behavioral problems in the classroom are on their phones and not disrupting the class for everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I would argue that when you are working for advocacy/change it can be possible to tackle it from the top down, and from the grassroots up. Bolling v. Sharpe was started by a petition from parents in Anacostia hoping to integrate Sousa Middle school. The more voices on the ground in districts around the country, the more attention the issue gets. Not to mention, if a community is talking about it on the local level, it is not hard to continue those conversations/efforts at the ballot box, or when talking with lobbyists, national advocates, etc.
And personally, as the parent of a middle schooler who seems like the only one without a cell phone - it is nice to have a good part of their day when all of their peers communicate and interact 'in person'. We can only (somewhat) control what our own kids do, so I am going to push for and advocate for policies that will impact their experience in the environments they are in 6+ hours/day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.