Cell phones in schools.

Matt Moen wrote:

Every generation complains about the prior. It’s as predictable as death and taxes.

Back when I was in school, we/kids brought things to school that were disruptive. Teacher took it away and in many cases, it was thrown away or given back at the end of the day with a firm warning. We sure the heck didn’t want our parents involved because that got us in MORE trouble.

Now kids have their parents storming the school and defending their kid’s actions, regardless of what the kid did. Teachers are verbally abused, principals threatened. Crazy. My daughter was about 7 months pregnant and had a 1st grader pick up a hard cover book and threw it at her when her back was turned. All because the kid didn’t want to pay attention and was instructed to sit down. Needless to say she got hurt and parents came in. The parents threw a fit and wanted to know who she thought she was to tell their kid what to do. Seems as if “learning” isn’t a priority to them

Stay at home parent?? IN THIS ECONOMY???

Another issue we see at school with cell phones is that students will put their phone in the “holder” during class, but leave their hotspot on to connect their iPad to in order to circumvent the firewall and restrictions.

Well when the world is pure technology and all learning is pushed electronically and everything is phones tablets and laptops or chrome books, you kind of expect the kids to get addicted to them it’s what most teach their kids now even the schools.
Schools have very little power every one is afraid of lawsuits and hurting feelings. Hell the schools don’t even stop modern day bullying. The teachers have no power to control kids and the class. It’s the society the upper generation created.

Parents……………..
Helicopters………
Values are so different and parents who have been raised by parents who were the “progressive” type have infected our children. Yes, “non-progressive” parents too.
I LOVE my phone – greatest thing EVER. WORST invention ever from a societal standpoint.
Until our leadership (local, state, federal) decide it’s time to be the adults in charge change will never occur. Parents, sue?? Go ahead – let’s get this settled once and for all.
ABSOLUTELY no reason they need a phone at school. Been doing school since the 19th century in the current fashion. Never needed them until the 90’s/00’s?! Yeah, right.

Man some of these schools you guys describe sound awful. My kid goes to a public school and it’s great. Have not heard any of these types of stories. Granted he is not cell phone eligible.
My kid has an iPad like most kids. He uses it some but not that much because I actually get off my butt and do things with him. Most of the things we do are far more entertaining than utube videos.
My wife and myself are also fairly involved with our school.
Why? Because as a parent you should be. It’s part of being a parent.

JEREMY wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Michael Obremski wrote:</div>
The dad is supposed to be the breadwinner while the mom takes care of the home and kids.

Are you the kicker for the KC Chiefs?

no but would like to meet him in person i hate the chiefs but harrison butker is very good. As a person and speaker that is.

Matt Moen wrote:

I think the younger generations are realizing that loyalty of a company to its employees is a thing of the past so what is the reason to give everything you have to a company that isn’t going to return that loyalty?

It’s not a matter of loyalty, from either party.

An employer has agreed to give you 100% of your agreed upon wage per hour. Don’t you think that should mean you give 100% of that hour to your employer? You don’t spend 30% on your phone, spend 70% working and expect a 100% wage. That’s NOT the agreement.

Not to derail this topic or anything but along the lines of stuff that’s banned but basically accepted is vaping. Where I work it’s banned inside but that policy is pretty much a joke as probably half the people I work with vape including the bosses and nobody bats an eye where they are doing it, in the break room, in the bathroom, in the plant, the vehicles, everywhere, it’s apparently an ok thing. The whole place smells like a giant fruitloop. I bet if someone fired up a cigarette in the break room heads would roll. It’s just stupid. I can only imagine this is a problem with kids in school too.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
I think the younger generations are realizing that loyalty of a company to its employees is a thing of the past so what is the reason to give everything you have to a company that isn’t going to return that loyalty?

It’s not a matter of loyalty, from either party.

An employer has agreed to give you 100% of your agreed upon wage per hour. Don’t you think that should mean you give 100% of that hour to your employer? You don’t spend 30% on your phone, spend 70% working and expect a 100% wage. That’s NOT the agreement.

If any of that was accurate (it’s not), places like IDO would cease to exist.

Ganderpike that’s hilarious. I’ll have to take your word for it though, i have no idea if IDO works on my work computer

It works on mine. Havent needed it for anything else today. Damn im bored. I should just go home before I get stuck in the 1/4 inch of snow.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
I think the younger generations are realizing that loyalty of a company to its employees is a thing of the past so what is the reason to give everything you have to a company that isn’t going to return that loyalty?

It’s not a matter of loyalty, from either party.

An employer has agreed to give you 100% of your agreed upon wage per hour. Don’t you think that should mean you give 100% of that hour to your employer? You don’t spend 30% on your phone, spend 70% working and expect a 100% wage. That’s NOT the agreement.

You ever taken a personal call at work? Ever spent a few extra minutes chatting with a coworker on the clock? If so, you didn’t put in 100%.

Let me take it a step further? Ever been asked to take on more responsibility without a pay raise? Ever worked for a company that asked you to work more hours than standard? Ever been passed up for a promotion when you were told it was yours? Ever been let go for no reason other than it’s an “at will” employment arrangement?

It is about loyalty. Do I think people should do their jobs well and with pride? Absolutely. But don’t be so delusional that the vast majority of companies give a lick about their employees. They will take as much as they can and move on when that usefulness is through.

Amen.

I saw a lot of home schooled families during my career-from small out state to a large metro school.
ALOT of success depends on the parent and how they “teach” at home. Some brought their kids to the local fieldhouse for exercise in the gym and with other home schooled families and they and took the kids on trips around town, businesses etc. Very good.
Others did the least possible and it showed. The “ teacher” is the biggest determinant of success at home or in the public school( the teacher in the public schools runs into far more policy, procedural BS) they have to abide by that hurts their efforts. And YES parent involvement is critical in public or catholic type schools. The “ value” of one over the other is not necessarily apple to apple. MY OPINION

Randy for president!
(No, seriously)

Matt Moen wrote:

You ever taken a personal call at work? Ever spent a few extra minutes chatting with a coworker on the clock? If so, you didn’t put in 100%.

Let me take it a step further? Ever been asked to take on more responsibility without a pay raise? Ever worked for a company that asked you to work more hours than standard? Ever been passed up for a promotion when you were told it was yours? Ever been let go for no reason other than it’s an “at will” employment arrangement?

It is about loyalty. Do I think people should do their jobs well and with pride? Absolutely. But don’t be so delusional that the vast majority of companies give a lick about their employees. They will take as much as they can and move on when that usefulness is through.

But we’re a family! And what about all of those pizza parties???

Umy wrote:

Randy for president!
(No, seriously)

That’s a death wish. Ild be assassinated

Randy Wieland wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Umy wrote:</div>
Randy for president!
(No, seriously)

That’s a death wish. Ild be assassinated

i think alot of us would!!!!!!!

Matt Moen wrote:

You ever taken a personal call at work?

Only when I had to go to the office to take the call. My personal phone was always turned off. Worked most of my career without a cell phone.

Breaks were 10 minutes and yes, sometimes my machine was the only one running after that 10 minute period. Many times I was in the middle of something and missed break.

Got hurt at home once when I ran a power saw into my leg, down to the bone. Went into the emergency room on a Friday. Monday I could only work 4 hours before the pain became unbearable. Tuesday the same, Wednesday a bit more, etc.
Payday rolled around and I received a paycheck for a full week of work. Went to the office and explained that I had not worked a full week, was told to go see the owner. The owners told me I always gave 100%, even when recovering from my injury, so full pay was appropriate.

I stand by my earlier statements.

Teachers can teach BUT you can’t make kids learn IF the parent(s) are not doing their job at home.

mxskeeter wrote:

Teachers can teach BUT you can’t make kids learn IF the parent(s) are not doing their job at home.

That’s not all that accurate. Partial but not totally. I had some pretty horrible teachers that were absolutely awful at teaching. My son is dealing with the same in 1 class. I’ve had 10 conferences this year with the school and I finally put my foot down and said get him out of her class. She was a awful teacher, I guess I wasn’t the only parent to make these complaints.
Lots of teachers are absolutely awesome, but at the same time alot of teachers are absolutely awful

I agree with you BC. I was painting a broad picture that no matter how great a teacher is that many kids, with crap parents, will not put the effort in to learn.
I also agree some teachers are in the wrong profession.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
You ever taken a personal call at work?

Only when I had to go to the office to take the call. My personal phone was always turned off. Worked most of my career without a cell phone.

Breaks were 10 minutes and yes, sometimes my machine was the only one running after that 10 minute period. Many times I was in the middle of something and missed break.

Got hurt at home once when I ran a power saw into my leg, down to the bone. Went into the emergency room on a Friday. Monday I could only work 4 hours before the pain became unbearable. Tuesday the same, Wednesday a bit more, etc.
Payday rolled around and I received a paycheck for a full week of work. Went to the office and explained that I had not worked a full week, was told to go see the owner. The owners told me I always gave 100%, even when recovering from my injury, so full pay was appropriate.

I stand by my earlier statements.

I’ll stand by mine as well. But, I’m glad you had an employer that appreciated your effort. Thats becoming less and less common.

slough wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>LabDaddy1 wrote:</div>
Also, all a kid has to do is say they didn’t bring it today or that they left it somewhere or let their friend borrow it, all the while it’s in their pocket or backpack. What’s a teacher/staff member gonna do, pat them down? Make them walk thru phone detector devices? Wand them down with a cellphone wand?

Just too tough to enforce for government and schools IMO.

Teacher here as well. Have tried the phone caddy thing (my high school says phones should be put away during class but no real teeth and many teachers don’t follow) and it’s a hassle. 75% of kids are good about it but you get the ones who are always trying to get around it and as a teacher it becomes a pain in the rear to police and I’d rather worry about teaching than be a cell phone cop. The schools I’ve heard of “banning” them seem to have positive reports, often times kids even report that they enjoy feeling free from them. Appalling how many parents text/IG their kids all day long while they’re at school. Sad how many kids don’t even talk to any peers at school, just play on their phone every free second.
I teach upper level science classes and it is sad to see how many kids who “struggle” or say a class is “too hard” or that a teacher isn’t good spend every free second mindlessly staring at their phone and I don’t think really ever study. Mind you, plenty of kids still do work hard and do what they need to do well. So many kids rush through the work so they can get back to playing on their phone “well I’m done with my work” and you look at the work they’ve done and it’s total garbage. That’s my biggest beef with the phones, no attention span and attention to detail on their learning. And yes, the amount of phone/social media drama our administrators have to deal with is disgusting. Plenty of research out there that anxiety and depression are way up in kids since smartphones came about. I can’t imagine if I would have had one of those things in my hands 24 hours a day when I was 13.

Appreciate the response and perspective. Thanks for what you do, too!

This news flash today seems pretty significant. I cant imagine imposing this on high school students. It could be really good for them though.

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/education/st-paul-schools-districtwide-cell-phone-ban/89-47888bb0-e252-4745-8d33-ab5d6dcc6366

^0% chance that is enforced with fidelity. Some of the largest schools cannot even keep drugs or weapons out…much less cell phones.

There’s not a poster here who would have the time or energy to walk hallways of crowded high schools taking phones from 16-18 year old kids who have them and use them. If/when that happens, the parents are lined up at the office to get them back anyways.

You can probably do it successfully in a classroom with a rigid teacher who commands respect and has administrative support, but as far as a district wide ban in all areas with literally thousands of kids…..no chance.

It’s a flashy headline though that garners blind support, despite the fact that enforcement is impossible.

Luckily my kids will be going through a small rural school system where there’s a pretty old school adminstrative team that does push the cell phone issue to the forefront. They do confiscate phones and stuff when necessary, but even here in the land of cows and rocks there are so many crazy parents who are the real issue…not the kids, nor the phones. They will be at the district office demanding their students’ phones back AND will hand them right back to the kids to break the policies the next day.

buckybadger wrote:

^0% chance that is enforced with fidelity. Some of the largest schools cannot even keep drugs or weapons out…much less cell phones.

So might as well get rid of the drug and weapons policies too, with that logic

No it’s not going to be perfect, but having the policy at least gives teachers, staff, administration, etc. a fighting chance

Don’t they have a anti bullying policy as well. How’s that work ? They can’t even get away with telling kids no these days. The way the neighbor lady talks, her classes can be a war zone and all they can do is give warnings. We had a kid threaten a kid he was going to bring a gun to school and shoot him. All the school said was it was a stupid threat, well yeah that’s where the discipline starts.
It took a heard of us parents to tell the school that violent kid goes or all of our kids do. And it still took over 3 more violent threats to get the kid to his own safe area. The rest of the kids just prayed he didn’t focus on them. The anti discipline league is what happened to schools.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Don’t they have a anti bullying policy as well. How’s that work ? They can’t even get away with telling kids no these days. The way the neighbor lady talks, her classes can be a war zone and all they can do is give warnings.

My Father is a retired HS teacher 11 years now. He still subs for a few districts near his house though. Times have most certainly changed in that respect. He used to toss kids out of the classroom regularly, send them to the principal’s office, place them on detention, etc. He would flunk students in various classes, which in rare cases, kept them from graduating.

Now the school administration is so petrified of getting sued for disciplining students that they don’t back teachers doing it. So no one really does it with any seriousness. Threats of lawsuits from parents is a real thing.

The hard knocks of school is over and it ain’t coming back.