Back To School: Cell Phones

Posted by Vulnadia on Aug 03, 2009 at 02:56 PM It's back to school time, and the delimma on to buy or not to buy/equip your child with a cell phone comes in to play... Last Christmas, I took the plunge and we bought my eldest a tracphone with double minutes for the life of his phone. As long as he keeps his minutes active he gets double for each reload. It's been great, too. I can send him texts at school for him to check during lunch or in the lockerroom, he can text me to bring him something he needs, pick him up if need be or even check him out. The problem is, that the school board doesnt like him having it in the classroom. They have even tried banning them, but I don't think they have totally done so just yet. If so, many many of us are in violation & I will continue to allow my child to have his phone. When the original incidences came up, I blogged about it- I will post it seperately.. What do you think, will you get your child a phone for school & school functions? Have you already been using one? Do you like it? What are your feelings on them being banned? ~mimi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Community Theater, Stage Work, Haunted Attractions, Renaissance Festivals, Writing, Directing,Acting, Sewing, Literature, Art & Music. Send to Friends Facebook Publish to a group Replies19 1 2 Next Last 10870 posts by Vulnadia on Aug 03, 2009 at 02:58 PM Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Public Schools? As I was reading the paper this morning, I stumbled upon a piece that concerns the Caddo Parish School Board. It is an article that reports that the local School Board is thinking of proposing a ban on students having cell phones at school. There are a myriad of reasons out there both for and against this proposal, however the main reason given by the Board really does bother me. I do have a 13 year old son in the local school system, and although he does not currently have a cell phone, I really have considered getting him one recently. But now, our School Board has decided that they do not like the idea of students having cell phones, "After student's cell phone video that showed Huntington High School Principal Jerry Davis and a student in a physical altercation garnered local media attention and subsequently forced the system to place Davis on paid administrative leave." Now, I am a bit biased on this particular issue, I will admit. I have a relative that actually attends Huntington High and was there when all of this happened and has had many a story to tell about what actually goes on at that school. There is a very good and valid reason that so many students thought to try and document what was supposed to be labeled as a normal run of the mill school fight. I also managed to catch the news bit when that video footage aired on channel 12, and I still cannot believe what was depicted on that child's cell phone's footage. So, because somebody (and there were many folks actually who were able to capture the fight on film so to say) filmed the altercation, and it portrayed the issue in a less than positive manner than what the School Board would have us believe, all children should be banned from having in their possession a means to contact their parents or help should a need arise? Yes, in the old days, we used the office phone if we needed to contact our parents in emergency cases. This was often tedious if there was a real problem such as snow accumulation and ice on the streets forming, or if there was a problem on campus and we needed to leave (yes those types of problems do arise more often than one would think.) In fact, when I was in High School, I was very glad to have access to the pay phone out by our cafeteria for just such reasons. Now a days, we as parents have the option and security of being able to provide our children with a constant link to us in case of emergency or need in the form of a cell phone. We have use of this technology found in cell phones. If our kids are sick and need to call us to come and check them out, they can. If something happens, God forbid, such as a school shooting, a stabbing incident, or maybe something larger such as an act of terrorism that warrants school letting out on an emergency basis, we can have the luxury and really the peace of mind that a cell phone in our children's possession affords us. I know that when I was little, my mother often preferred that she come and pick me up in cases of ice on the roads or snow accumulation rather than risk something happening to us while riding home in our school buses that did not have seat belts. It would have been nice to have had a cell phone in such cases, but alas they were the about the size of a cinder block at this point and were too large for a child to carry. I also often participated in after school activities where the times would often not be specific as to when to when rehearsal would be over. Such technology would have been helpful then as well. But, our School Board has decided that because children were able to film a fight on their camera phones that showed a side of school discipline that they did not want portrayed in the media, that we should not have the security and connection to our children and their safety anymore. Does this not bother you as a parent? I know that I really would prefer that my child be able to call me in cases of any emergency. I know that this past week at my son's school has been one where many kids just are not attending because of yet another supposed threat that has yet to be contained or the source discovered. I received one of those we-are-upping-the-security-on-campus-and-within-our-halls letter this past week, again. Students are frightened. In this day and age, you just never know what might happen at school. It's not the safe place it used to be for our kids (as a generality.) I know that I want to be connected to my child in just such cases. The question is, are our School Board members about to pull the plug on our communication with our kids over an incident where students felt it necessary that they document an altercation to avoid possible implication of those non-guilty party's being punished? There is a precedent within that particular school where children having nothing to do with altercations but being in the general area of them, are being punished and severely so. Are we as parents going to accept this proposal as necessary on the Board's part, and for the teacher's well being and thus necessary for our children? Is possession of a cell phone on a child's person at school such a bad thing that it needs to be banned? What are your thoughts on the subject? we use ours when bregon has forgotten something, he texts me & i just bring it up to the school office & "leave" it for him & it gets delivered... we use it to find each other if i cant park where he is used to me parking for pickup, or after school dances to find each other... we use it for school functions where he gets dropped off & there isnt really an appointed/set end time for pick-up... he takes it with him for tournaments, & other functions so he can call me if he needs me or text me whatever is easiest... he pays for it, too- the cards are $20 for an hours worth of minutes, but he has double minutes for the life of his phone, so its $20 for 120 minutes ...it includes texts, he is responsible for usage & paying for his own minute cards so he is also learning the responsibility of it all & for us, it works well! but i dont have the kind of kid who would text during class & risk losing his phone for any reason we had a payphone in front of the cafeteria we could use in highschool-BUT with the advent of cell phones it has been pulled OUT!!!! there are many MANY uses for them with teens especially- no waiting on your ride after an extended school day activity, no worries if there is an emergency ie icy weather, snow-day, flooding etc & your child needs a ride home NOW...& doesnt want to ride a bus, or doesnt ride the bus!!!! its easy to miss school closure announcments that air on the news 30 minutes before they let your kids out for the day!!!! when i was in school i was constantly on the road with choir trips, tours & festivals-we were ALWAYS going somewhere, sometimes during a school day even- if i could have called home to get this or that, or let them know arrival times for pick up it would have made a world of difference in everything! used to we had to stop an hour outside of our destination to call home- with 100+ kids to call, that took a while!!!! if you have a good honest kid, then i see nothing wrong with equipping them with a cell phone for convenience & peace of mind- besides, remember those commercials back in the 80's where you were to encourage your kid to call you if you EVER were in a situation where you didnt want to be around the folks you were with anymore like parties or outings where the others started doing things you didnt agree with or drinking? now our kids can call before they get into a bad situation if they see it coming!!!! ~mimi get a prepaid if you are worried about texting- tracphone is great as you can get double minutes for life of the phone bit...& texting is included- no weird plans or thought to it...& my kid buys his own minutes or earns them by doing things round the house one...good teaching tool... elaine, especially in your case its probably a good idea for her to have access to you or her grandmum just in case!!! that way she knows you guys are always there!!!! i can see where some kids would misuse them, but if taught at an early age what it is truly for you shouldnt have a problem! ya know, discretion goes a long way if they hadnt pulled the payphone because of the cellular revolution, it would be one thing, but they did! so its a cell phone as the answer its a personal choice we make for our kids for safety reasons ~Mimi no the CHILDREN are the ones up for debate on the discretion issue & not sure how you got the other meaning out of it!!!! the child in possession of the cellphone must exercise DISCRETION in what they answer/open in the first place!!!! but that all depends upon the child!!!! you can choose NOT to open a text from someone other than a parent during a school day! while yes it depends upon the child, there are companies out there who can in effect place parental controls on a child's svc/cell thru the use of applications the actual rule is that they can have them but not use them during the school day- at our school it is on a dont let us see it if you need it in an "emergency" policy...& that was basically the way it was put to the parents. ~mimi we havea tracfone...got it @ xmas & got a great deal on it-came with the double minute card for life of the phone...& its a $20 card every 3 months to keep the service going-texts are included & for very minimal debit towards the minutes on the phone...& the cost is soo low that my son can earn the money easily & save towards his next refil...so that $20 card for 60 minutes gives us twice that- they send coupon codes that give 20 extra minutes...when added i get 40 instead...so its a good deal ~mimi