Sixth grade boys caught texting in class

[jodifla]

If I were the principal, I'd take the phones, call the parents, and have the PARENTS show me the messages when they got to school.

 

[Magpie]

Oh... something just occurred to me!

Schools are "in loco parentis", legally speaking. That means that if a parent can read their child's texts, than the principal can most likely argue that she can, too.

That's how schools justify locker searches, backpack searches, pat downs, dress codes, censoring the school paper, punishing free speech, etc...

 

[jrmasm]

Yes, should have said "some". Broad brush, sorry. This, after yesterday's experience with a little guy who all but hung from my chandelier, lol. Ugh. And all I hear is how strict his mom is.



Sexting wasn't mentioned!

The word Sixth and the word texting but no "sexting."

Older kids tend to remove their batteries before handing their phones over to teachers.

Its funny how the parents that you are referring to have shown up, some with guns blazing.

Good lord people. Kids broke the rules. Too bad so sad for them.

 

[Buckalew11]

If I were the principal, I'd take the phones, call the parents, and have the PARENTS show me the messages when they got to school.

that'd work, maybe--if the parents would show up. You and I would show up but do you know that many would not? I have teachers who are late for appointments because parents are very, very late picking kids up from school at the appointed time, let alone show up at another time during the day!

 

[twinglesmome]

I think the correct reaction should be to contact the school board or superintendant and request that a policy be put into place. If there is already a policy about school staff looking at cell phones, and the principal violated it, then that's a different story.

It also depends on what was on the screen in plain view when the phone was taken. If anything looked like a potential threat or safety issue, then I feel the principal may have been justified in scrolling back to read more. But who knows, if there was something that made the principal feel justified in scrolling back, I would think it would also make necessary calling the parents immediately

The privacy of minors in a school has been treated very differently than a normal citizens privacy in courts over the years. Things like locker searches, backpack searches, dress restrictions, etc should show that.

I wonder what the policy in effect was and whether the principal violated it as well. Our technology is rapidly changing and schools are educating/preparing students for jobs/further education that are unknown(s) at this point in time. I think that technology is changing so rapidly that policies would have to be continually updated--and that there would be a catch-up time to get that information out to parents.

Now, all of that being said, if my son had a cell phone out and was texting during class, then he is putting himself at risk for others discovering his private conversations. He can deal with those consequences...

 

[JerseyJanice]

In our school district, it is written in the Student Code of Conduct handbook that a cellphone or other electronic device brought to school is subject to seizure if it's used during class. It's also stated that school personnel has the right to monitor any electronic communications by the students anytime, any place, or in any form, including Facebook in the middle of the night or on the weekend.

We had an incident in town where a big feud started brewing between some students on Facebook. Before it escalated into an actual battle, our principal alerted the police who visited the student's homes. We had another incident where a boy was caught with naked pictures of a 12 year-old female student. She sent them to him, and he shared them with about 100 kids on his phone's contact list. It was a BIG DEAL! Every one of those kids had to bring their cellphone and memory card to the principal and vice principal to make the photo was deleted.

So now our district says that for the sake of the community on the whole, it has the right to monitor anything our kids do electronically. The police and parents totally back the district up on this. I agree with it too, and I don't believe a sixth grader has the right to expect privacy over cell phone texts. If one of the kids in the OP were my child, he'd be losing his cell phone for a few months.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I believe the principal's actions were 100% within the law. There is very little privacy offered to children at a school. The school has taught them a very good lesson: there is no privacy in technology. Hopefully now they will think twice before sharing any information on Facebook.

If they were my kids, they wouldn't have their phones at school. However, assuming they did, they would no longer have phones anymore.

 

[luvthatdisney]

I work in a middle school and see this every day - yes every day! In our district the principal has a little discretion on how their school's cell phone policy is written and enforced. During the day the phone should be inside the child's locker. It can only be used after school has been dismissed.

If a child is found with a cell phone during the day they are confiscated and are only returned to a parent/guardian. We do keep a log which has to be signed by the parent picking it up. On the 4th time a phone is taken from the same time it is kept until the end of the school year. This policy is in the student handbook and at the beginning of the year the parents must sign a form stating they (and the child) understand the policy and it is kept on file.

If a child is caught mid-text the teacher/principal will read that text. If there is language/content in that text that is disturbing or against school policy the parent is called immediately and is asked to come to the school and they along with the parent will look at the rest of the messages and take appropriate action. Usually referral to the guidance office it one of the actions, but punishment is also used if the content warrants it.

Just to show how bad this can get, last year we had one boy who was going into the restroom and using his phone to take pictures of his genitals. He was then texting those pictures to several girls in his class. The teacher found out when one of the girls gasped when she saw the picture. No one would fess up to sending the picture so the teacher used her class phone to call the number and of course the boy did not have his ringer turned off and his phone rang. Would you want your daughter seeing that????? I don't think so! Plus these were 6th graders.

This is an extreme case, but the sad part was when all parents were called to the school each phone was searched by parents/principal together and photos some of the girls had sent to the boy were found. Very explicit pictures - taken in the school restroom. Very very sad these children felt this was okay to do - innocence lost.

I have instructed my DD (who is in high school) to keep her cell locked in her car. If she needs me the office will let her call me - as they will any other student. She has no need for the cell during school hours. I know the school I work at will let kids use the office phone if they have a valid reason - sick, injured, need lunch money, etc... What can't wait until after school to use their cell - nothing...

 

[Sugardimples]

How times have changed! I'm old enough that our teachers (actually nuns as this was Catholic school) would actually hit us as punishment. If you went home and told your parents you got hit again. The attitude was "you must've done something!"

I'm not saying this was a good thing. It's just the way it was.

 

[MichelleVW]

If I were the principal, I'd take the phones, call the parents, and have the PARENTS show me the messages when they got to school.

And as a parent I would go pick up the phone and go home without showing the principal the text because it's none of their business.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Kids broke the rules. Too bad so sad for them.

 

[goofy!]

our middle schools have very strict policies about phones.

My niece (8th grade) had hers confiscated for a week - first offense too - because a teacher could see the top sticking out of her back pocket. The phone has to be in your locker.

High school is different. Kids can use their phones between passing periods and on breaks.

The school was correct in taking it - she broke the rules. And boy did she learn a lesson not having her phone for a week!

There have been several cases where parents have sued the schools for breach of privacy due to principals and teachers reading the content of the phone. If I recall correctly, almost all the decisions favored the school.

Around here, kids just have their phones password protected.

 

[Hannathy]

Maybe she is a jerk? and that is why they were texting about her. Kids are never to talk about their teachers or principals? tell me you never did.

sounds like it to me, why did she feel the need to read personal texts? the only reason she should have is if she thought other children or the teacher was at risk. like a threat.

Yes I'm sure legally she has the right to but why did she feel the need to other than being nosy? She took the phones. great if they weren't allowed. Now give them whatever punishment is outlined. Give the phones back at the end of the day or to the parents whatever is written policy.

Put it this what if she had taken a child's diary because they were writing in it in class, should she go back to her office unlock it and peruse it for the fun of it?

 

[BeefJerky]

I see the texting like writing notes in class, a teacher or principal reads them when the kids are caught. This is what happened. Now common sense says don't text something that you wouldn't want read outloud.

 

[plutotek]

I'll disagree with you for one reason: they were using the phones during class - a method that many students have used to cheat on tests. To say that a school cannot investigate a known method for cheating is ridiculous to me.

And when you add in the fears about school shootings, then we have to double the reason for a principal to review text messages.

Those who are screaming about privacy issues now would likely be the first to scream about why the incompetent principal didn't look at the text messages of the shooter when she had the chance a few weeks earlier and how all those lost lives are on that principal's head.

I'll stand by my first impression: if it's something you shouldn't be doing during school hours then don't do it and you won't have to worry about the repercussions which could include violation of your privacy. School rules have never been that difficult to adhere to and I don't consider the ban on distractions (texts) during class to be unreasonable.

It's not often we agree on anything, but I agree on every point you made. As another poster said, school administration has been given the responsibility to act in the parent's stead, so (in most cases) no rights were violated as a result of the principal reading the texts.

Of course, I don't think any electronic devices should be allowed in school (including calculators) but that's another discussion.

 

[happygirl]

First of I think 6th grade is to young to have cell phones.

It's really no wonder that kids have no responsibility for themselves, instead of the kids parents being mad at the kids for texting during the school and breaking the rules, They want to turn the kids into the victims and blame someone else for there kids poor choices.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I have no idea, really. While I do not think a teacer or principal should scroll through and read the text, it isn't much different than when we used to pass notes and they'd read our "private" notes. This is just the high-tech todays' version.

Honestly, I think the parents' should be more upset with the kids breaking the rules of the school policy. Parents today think so differently than our parents used to (I'm old so this may be beyond what you know, lol) I think their getting a lawyer is a waste of time and money. I think they should tell their kids to follow the rules or the phone will be taken away. JMHO.

It's funny how some people think that's a bad thing, but others (like me) think it's about time. Thank goodness parents started reacting to the things teachers and admins had been given carte blanche over in the past.

You can be mad at your kid for breaking the rules and still be mad at the administration for reading the messages on the phone. How often do parents tell their kids "two wrongs don't make a right"?

And as a parent I would go pick up the phone and go home without showing the principal the text because it's none of their business.

 

[Hannathy]

Oh I would be mad at my child for using his phone when he wasn't supposed to but I would also not appreciate a nosy woman reading all my texts for no good reason. Once she saw there were no "I'm gonna get a gun and shoot Jimmy" then she should have quit reading.

I would have picked the phone up told her they were my texts and then punished my child at home and she could punish him for using it at school, but I still would have told Her I didn't appreciate her reading all my texts.

If she hadn't read them but asked to read them , I would have said no I'll look at them and tell her if there was anything of danger.

Doesn't she have anything better to do with her time than read a bunch of 6th grade texts calling her a " donkey" or whatever else they called her?

That is what I would be asking her.

 

[LuvLDM]

Good lord people. Kids broke the rules. Too bad so sad for them.

No kidding.

 

[gina2000]

What if the child had been texting about suicidal thoughts? What if a group of kids had been? Does the content change peoples' opinions?

You can't have it both ways. If you have entrusted your child with another adult you must give them the authority to act like an adult in grey situations. Regardless of whether or not a phone is personal property, its content was being used publically. At that point, all bets are off.

As far as the diary is concerned, many middle school students keep a writer's notebook as part of their language arts class. In the past, if a student didn't want the entry read, he/she folded the entry in half. Now, if a student doesn't want it read, he/she had better not write it. The teacher is responsible to report ANYTHING suspicious written in that notebook....be it abuse, fights, threats, personal information.