So at my son's middle school orientation..

[edandcolleen1995]

after columbine, I always thought my dd would have cell phone in her back pack God forbid she needed it in such a situation (I am a worrier ), if she left it on, with the ringer on mute, and was forbidden to touch it unless it was a Columbine situation (please don't let their be another), would she get in trouble then?

she is only 4 so I have time to figure this out, but what about other parents out there who worry about this?

el

Wait.. your kid is 4 and you gave her a cell phone????? I really hope you meant to type 14, not four!

 

[babytrees]

after columbine, I always thought my dd would have cell phone in her back pack God forbid she needed it in such a situation (I am a worrier ), if she left it on, with the ringer on mute, and was forbidden to touch it unless it was a Columbine situation (please don't let their be another), would she get in trouble then?

she is only 4 so I have time to figure this out, but what about other parents out there who worry about this?

el

I don't worry about those things and Columbine happened in the unincorporated part of our town. I will say that I did get a little worried when for 3 weeks straight there was 2 lockdowns a week at JUST the oldest's school....that was enough to have me worried. 5 out of the 6 were false alarms,the other was the one mentioned above. One scared me after the fact as it was a bomb threat in the parking lot outside of her classroom.

I don't mean to belittle or scare you more....lockdowns (in some areas of the country) are a common occurence and thankfully I know that the school systems procedures work effectively. (Our football field is a place that crooks like to run to when running away from law enforcement)

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I kindly disagree. The student can text or call to mom or dad directly and calm down both the parent and the child by both knowing they are connected. The school does not let the kids use the phones in the classroom for an emergency like this.

A cell phone could let the police on the outside know where the shooter is on the inside.

I can understand and respect both sides of the phone debate. What mystifies me is why anyone would argue school policy in front of everyone at school orientation. Like the principal is going to say "You know what? You're right. I'm going to go ahead and make an executive decision and say we will allow kids to have phones". Sheesh.

I understand bringing it up at the orientation so that others know it's been brought up; I can't see arguing it further, but rather waiting to discuss it privately.

I wouldn't assume that just because no one else said anything that they all thought it was fair.

I'm with handbag lady on this one.

If the person who brought up the policy at the orientation got grief from the principal, or presented her argument in a way no on else wanted to be associated with (whether or not they agreed), I can see others not speaking up.

One of the "rules" in our lockdown procedures is to make sure that kids are aware that cell phones are not to be taken out and used. After we lock our classroom doors, we are to sit by our computer for communication via email, if possible. We practice the lockdown during the year and one of the big things is to make sure that the kids are silent.

That's great if an actual lockdown goes according to the drill, but who knows what might happen? I'd want my child to have a phone on hand.

Hmmm. I think that I agree with the helicopter mom this time.

In many of the classroom incidents that we hear about in the news, someone from the class calls 911 on their cell. What will happen when no one has a cell phone? If a child is abducted from school grounds, there might be a chance of locating them through the cell signal, if the cell phone wasn't in the locker.

I think a better solution is to say that no one may use a cell phone during class, and to confiscate the individual cell phone when that rule is broken. It seems simple enough.

Excellent post.

LOL!! Watch out, someone will call you an old foggy!!! lol!!!

I've never called anyone an old "foggy".

Wait.. your kid is 4 and you gave her a cell phone????? I really hope you meant to type 14, not four!

Read the post. Her child is 4 and no, she does not have a cell phone.

 

[torinsmom]

I don't know about every cell phone, but when someone texts me or leaves a message, the phone makes a noise, even if I have it on vibrate. In the situation of a lockdown, even that noise at the wrong time could alert the gunman(or whoever to your location) You need to trust your child's teacher to do the right thing to protect the students. We have been trained and know what to do in the situation. Kids do not need to call parents so they can call the police. If there is a lockdown, the police have already been called.

My son sometimes takes his cell phone to school. He actually takes out his battery to make sure it does not ring. He uses it to call me if he has trouble between school and home.

Marsha

 

[luvthatdisney]

I work in the office of a middle school in our community. Our school system does not allow cell phones to be used at anytime during the school day, just as others have said. I am aware that each school is different and have different demographics of the students they teach. In our school, we have had numerous problems with instructional time being interrupted with cell phones going off in class. Also, children have been caught cheating with their cell phones. Many kids end up in ISS because they will not give up their phone for the day when caught with them.

It seems the middle school years are the ones where children want to test their boundaries and see what they can get away with. Yes, many children abide by the rules, but there are many that don't. So it is in everyones best interest to keep the cell phones in their lockers. If a phone, mp3, psp is taken a parent must sign for the item before it is released.

One other problem we have had with phones were during our End of Grade testing, which has strict guidelines the school must follow. If a phone goes off during testing (they have) it is an irregularity that has to be dealt with. Sometimes by re-testing that entire group. Major headache!

I guess I see the bad side of the phones and the havoc they can sometimes cause. Cell phones and the internet are new problems educators have to incorporate into the school day. It is not like it was when I was in school. If we forgot our gym clothes or needed a ride home, we had to wait until the last bell rang to use the PAY phone! Life went on and we survived.

One thing to think about... Most parents do not realize the time it takes a teacher to handle a cell phone going off in class, it takes away the precious time they have to teach my child. For that reason alone, I personally do not want students to have cell phones in the classroom.

Today alone we received 4 confiscated phones in the office. Those are the phones the teachers found in use during the school day. Who knows how many used their phones with no one seeing them????

 

[dismom2]

The truth is, a lot of kids don't abide by the cell phone rules at school. From what I hear from my kids, their friends, and teachers, many kids text message on and off all day long with each other during school hours, and even in class. And most of the time it's not an 'emergency'. Maybe occasionally someone is contacting a parent, but most of the time it's kids just chit-chatting with eachother. My DD told me that kids are always reaching into their purses and backpacks at their desk to text (thinking the teacher won't notice); others simply hold the cell phone under the desk and text. Some kids keep their phones on vibrate instead of silent, and sometimes you can really hear that noise loud and clear, and nobody will admit it's their phone, and it's distracting because everyone is looking around to see where that familiar noise is coming from.

Parent's can and should check cell phone bills (you can usually check online, too) and see exactly when those phones are being used. Some kids may be following the rules, but some parent's who think their kids are following the rules may just be surprised.

 

[hereyago]

My DD will be going into 6th grade as well. She does have a phone, but guess what? She isn't going to take it to school with her, she doesn;t have a need to.
Her school last year had a 20 minute lockdown. Classrooms were locked, shades were down and the teacher instructed them to be quiet. It was a unruly student who needed to police to be called.
If she does after school activities, I am going to know about it before hand.
If there is a lockdown, I don't want a kid in my DD's class whipping out his/her phone and listening to their parent freak out and freak out their kid and then a chain reaction of freaked out kids do not listen to the teacher.
This "modern" technology is for our lives to be a little easier, but unfortunately, we become too relied upon it, addicted to it. I know parents who let their kids out til 9pm at night roaming the housing development, but they think a cellphne is going to save their kid from getting assaulted or kidnapped. It's just a form of communication, it can't stop a bullet or someone behind you or more likely someone your child knows from assaulting them,etc.
As for the mother in the OP's situation: She has "allowed" her daughter to act that way, not paying attention to something that affects her in the way of getting to know her school because she wants to text. That just isn't acceptable. She needs to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocalate Factory and learn a lesson from the umpa lumpas-lol.

 

[krcit]

But are the kids allowed to use them to place outbound calls? I have spent countless hours volunteering and I've never seen that happen.

There are reasons during the day when it would be nice to be able to have contact without having to involve the office staff. It is a waste of their time and you run the risk of messages being lost. My kids are 9 and too young for phones IMO. But when they are in middle school or older, I'd like there to be a way to reach each other if need be.

And I don't know what kind of natural disasters you have where you live, but we have earthquakes. There was a minor earthquake (5.5 magnitude) about a year ago and the phones were all jammed. I can only imagine the issues if there were a serious one. Texts can often go through in those kinds of situations when calls cannot. I'd like to have a way to reach my kids directly in such a situation.

I'm sure that kids are not allowed to use the phones in the classrooms in regular circumstances but in a dire circumstance ie. a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, I would think so. Anyway, I'm not against the kids having phones in the school building, in fact, my dd brings her phone everyday. I just don't think it is necessary for them to be in the classrooms because we all know that even if they are not suppossed to be using them, some kids will. I also know of a few parents who would be calling/texting their kids b/c of 'emergencies' that are so not emergencies, lol! My school also has lockdown drills a couple of times a year and I'm pretty confident with how they are handled so maybe that influences my feelings on cell phones in the classroom.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I didn't 'read' the mom in the op as being overprotective...I read her as being controlled by her daughter. After all, if mom doesn't win the argument with the principal her daughter is likely going to raise holy hell over not being able to text all day at school (like she was texting during orientation)...and mom I'm betting doesn't want to have to listen to the beast that she created. Just my $.02.

 

[Sparx]

i'm a huge advocate of cell phones. i've been in lockdowns that lasted HOURS after school. and no, the school doesn't call our parents and let them know whats going on.

but cell phones should be on their person, turned off. and if they go off, teachers should take them away.

i've graduated, but i had a mother in my high school orientation who believed that her daughter would not survive through the day if she wasn't allowed to talk on the phone to her mother at least once. the mother argued with the teacher for a good ten minutes, saying that her daughter NEEDS to hear from her. and yes, it had to be a phone call, not a simple text message or anything like that.

 

[Sparx]

I'm sure that kids are not allowed to use the phones in the classrooms in regular circumstances but in a dire circumstance ie. a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, I would think so. Anyway, I'm not against the kids having phones in the school building, in fact, my dd brings her phone everyday. I just don't think it is necessary for them to be in the classrooms because we all know that even if they are not suppossed to be using them, some kids will. I also know of a few parents who would be calling/texting their kids b/c of 'emergencies' that are so not emergencies, lol! My school also has lockdown drills a couple of times a year and I'm pretty confident with how they are handled so maybe that influences my feelings on cell phones in the classroom.

of all times you can use a classroom phone to place an outbounding call, a "dire emergency" is not one of them. its IMPOSSIBLE to get a line out, becuase every other kid wants to call their mom too. honestly, it is near impossible to call out on a classroom/office phone during an emergency.

 

[3boymthr]

Sometimes the person addicted to the presence of the phone is as much the parent as the child.

Our boyscout troop does not allow kids to carry phones at troop events activities. All the adults have cell phones but the kids aren't allowed to have them; usually about 10 adults - moms and dads as well as leaders - attend each meeting with 40 kids. But phones that are brought by kids are confiscated and handed back at the end of the event/meeting. The Troop's reasons for not allowing kids to carry cell phones are the same as for school - kids spending more time with technology than focusing on what scouts is all about. One mother literally had a meltdown at the troop orientation because how would she get ahold of him in an emergency (the leader would have the phone if it rang they would answer). She yanked the kid from scouts that night. The son didn't even care if he had the phone because he had one of those jitterbugs that only allowed him to call her or his dad or his grandparents. DH and I were both like "Hover much?"

And yes, I can see the point of a cell phone, but I figure I have a phone at home where I can reach my kids after school - and they should be at home and able to reach the phone and I can call the school if it's truly an emergency during school hours - but really we've never had a "true" emergency. Important need to communicate, yes, but no emergencies. If there is a situation where one of my sons needs to call me from a location where there isn't a phone I give him my phone and he can call DH's cell phone or our home phone.

ETA - yes, we've gotten the scary blast phone call from the school. Not a lockdown, but a fire and all the kids were being evacuated and sent home. I figured if anyone was injured they would have communicated via a real phone call not a blast phone call. I called home left a message and then called again an hour later. He was home, he was fine and no one had been injured but a couple of kids had been treated - those parents had received real phone calls.

 

[disfan07]

It's only been 7 years since middle school for me but most of us did not have cell phones. I had one because i was by myself so much b/c my brother had after school activities in high school, my mom worked until 4:30 and my dad worked 30 minutes away on DC. Our rule was in lockers and off during the day. We had 6 lockdowns in 2 years AND this was during spetember 11th and the DC snipers. We seemed to be fine without havign them on us.

Also, in high school, we could have them with us but they had to be off. If you were caught using one during school, it was confiscated until a parent came and got it.

No Middle schooler or high schooler needs to have a phone on during school hours. There is no reason for it at all. Having it off at school is one thing but they should not be allowed to be used...period.

 

[Took]

And the reassurance of the child that the parent knew where she was physically in the school. Maybe my life example was a bad one because there actually wasn't a gun, but no one knew that at the time. My sister was able to call police but she didn't have to because by then she was watching the footage on TV and saw police were there already.

I'm just thinking that if my child were in that situation, there is NO way I'd just leave it up to the school to tell me what is going on and be able to just wait. We're talking about LAUSD here, so maybe your trust in your school is higher than ours here.

Yes, you're right. I do have a bit more trust, and perhaps I wouldn't feel that way in another area. But, as a teacher myself (at a cc), I daily see the problem of students and phones in a classroom.

 

[stego]

that's the first word that came to my mind when the OP described what occured. Can you imagine being married/living with that woman? I always try to see the glass is half full.

Intersting topic. Seems that parents are concerned with reaching their children during a crisis to find out if they are safe. What comes instantly to mind is...unpredictability. That describes a threat a bit in a school...think about it. There are professionals trained to respond to this. Being as I went to school for years to learn design, I know NOTHING about threat situations and have NO experience in it (sticking to the facts). Those who have experience and have trained for years would unlikely post on a public forum.

That's all the local authorities need...a frantic parent racing up the school and beating their drum louder than all the other parents. BEING THE SOLUTION. That has to be foremost in the safety for my child, as well as others around him. How I contribute to that has to be paramount.

I'd have better success hiring some a few big guys to sit on me during that period because I know myself too well.

Our local HS was very clear about CP use and we as parents agree completely. I personally am of the mind that if it were up to me I would NOT have one...but I do so for my wife and son (my average monthly minutes show about 60 EACH MONTH...no texting).

 

[JR6ooo4]

one reason to not allow them is cheating. you can have answers typed in.

for my licensing exam, "no word processing calculators are allowed"!

Mikeeee

I did not read all four pages, I am sure someone stated this already. right?

 

[MelanieC]

My son is going into middleschool (6th grade) this year too. The rule is the same for him in middleschool as it was in Elementary and will be in HS. You must leave your cell phones in your backpack in your locker - in the OFF position. My sons is not for use at school, but rather for emergency only.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think the massive amount of media available instantaneously these days has given parents the impression that danger lies around every corner (which is probably true to some extent) and that a cell phone will keep their child safe.

The hard fact is that no one is safe. All you have to do is be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you're a goner. We have no control over the actions of others.

So in the event of a massive Columbine-like event at your child's school, the cell phone's not going to help, unless it's a combination cell phone/semi-automatic weapon. But that would make your kid james Bond, now wouldn't it?

 

[monkey68]

I was in high school during the twin tower attacks, and I went to high school in NY. plenty of people had cell phones by that time, but I don't recall huge issues because they weren't as commonplace, I guess. And of course, the rule was no cell phones during school hours. After the attacks happened, we obviously weren't doing any work in classes, the teachers all let us use our cell phones to try to contact our families. Granted, not all the calls would work, but occasionally, something would go through, so they let us all keep trying throughout the day. You couldn't go into the office to call, I went to a school with 4,000 students, it just would have been mayhem. And they needed to keep a few lines free because plenty of parents were calling to the school as well.

I had my phone that day, and I was able to get through to my dad one time. I was the last one in the family that they hadn't heard from. But after I was able to get through, I know I felt better knowing that my family was safe, and that my parents felt better knowing that I was safe. I could see having a cell phone in the event of something like that happening again. I also needed to figure out a way home. High schools in NYC don't have school buses, they just gave us a metrocard. I took the train everyday, but the trains weren't running that day, and I lived too far to walk, so I was able to call my sister from my cell, and she picked me up.

But during the regular day, as a former teacher, I agree they should be turned off and out of sight. In some sort of crazy event, then the rules may not apply, and sure, go turn that phone on and call home.

 

[The Iron Giant]

My DD will be going into 6th grade as well. She does have a phone, but guess what? She isn't going to take it to school with her, she doesn;t have a need to.
Her school last year had a 20 minute lockdown. Classrooms were locked, shades were down and the teacher instructed them to be quiet. It was a unruly student who needed to police to be called.
If she does after school activities, I am going to know about it before hand.
If there is a lockdown, I don't want a kid in my DD's class whipping out his/her phone and listening to their parent freak out and freak out their kid and then a chain reaction of freaked out kids do not listen to the teacher.
This "modern" technology is for our lives to be a little easier, but unfortunately, we become too relied upon it, addicted to it. I know parents who let their kids out til 9pm at night roaming the housing development, but they think a cellphne is going to save their kid from getting assaulted or kidnapped. It's just a form of communication, it can't stop a bullet or someone behind you or more likely someone your child knows from assaulting them,etc.
As for the mother in the OP's situation: She has "allowed" her daughter to act that way, not paying attention to something that affects her in the way of getting to know her school because she wants to text. That just isn't acceptable. She needs to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocalate Factory and learn a lesson from the umpa lumpas-lol.

+1

Bravo!