Disconnected Park Slope High

jaha127 wrote: This is unbelievable… I am sure they were protesting peacefully, and the fact that they were “clubbed” and had to spend a night in jail is ridiculous…

The whole cell phone thing in high school is a complex argument though… I mean I graduated high school in 2000 and at that time I had a cell phone and so did most of my friends….

As long as we had our phones on silent and didn’t have it out during the day then we could have them. Otherwise they’d be confiscated… and our parents would have to come pick them up.

But honestly, back then I had no real need for a cell phone while I was at school. All my friends were in class with me, and if there was an emergency and my parents had to get into contact me… they could easily call the main office and get me…

Post 9-11 and with all of the kidnappings and stuff going on… I can see why parents send there kids to school with a phone…in an emergency that’s the most efficient way to find your child…

If they are being respectful and responsible with there cell phones then I say they should be allowed to have them at school…

That was also before most people were text messaging. That's like super stealth note-passing, and has got to be the ultimate classroom distraction. I think the schools are probably right to not let kids bring them to school, although maybe they should institute some kind of phone check-in system, so they can have their phones when they get out of class at the end of the day.

jaha127 wrote: Post 9-11 and with all of the kidnappings and stuff going on… I can see why parents send there kids to school with a phone…in an emergency that’s the most efficient way to find your child…

Kidnappings are pretty rare and in fact most kids are more at risk from obesity and diabetes from sitting in front of the television and computer screens instead of running around outside.

Having taught before, I am totally against cell phones in the classroom. Absolutely disruptive, and an aid for cheating, which sadly is rampant. Why can't we just live in the moment for a change and not always be on a cell phone talking to our selected group? Teens are all about their group and the more we can get them to branch out from that group I think the healthier they are.

Anonymous wrote: [quote=Rose]I agree -- cell phones should be permitted as long as they are kept in a bookbag and turned off during the school day.

Get real, you know that's not going to happen.

It works fine at my kid's school. If a cell phone comes out of the bookbag, it gets confiscated. It doesn't happen very often. Individual schools should be allowed to set their own policy on this issue. The chancellor is always talking about giving principals autonomy, so why can't they have it in this area? Instead, metal detectors are going into schools where the principals haven't asked for them (because their schools don't have weapons-related incidents) and don't want them. It really makes no sense that resources are being directed to this when there are so many more pressing needs within the school system.

Bottom line is the chancellor does not actually give a rat's ass about children's safety. Or what parents want.

The issue is not reaching my kid when she's in school. If I need to get a message to her, I can call the school office. (And no one is calling or texting her during the school day because the phone is off.) It's when she's walking to and from school that I want to be able to reach her. I think that's a legitimate safety issue. If I lived in the suburbs, I would just drive her everywhere, or she would take a school bus, and she'd never be free of adult supervision. That was one of the things I hated about growing up in the suburbs, and I didn't want that for my kid. I want her to be able to walk around the neighborhood, by herself or with a friend, but I want her to be able to call me if she has a problem.

I just don't see why this policy is being imposed from above on schools where it is not wanted or needed. Meanwhile all the people making policy at the DOE are either 22-year-olds fresh out of Yale, or people who send their kids to Dalton (with a cell phone). They are totally detached from the experience of public school parents in this city.

As for pay phones, my experience several years ago was that only one out of every half-dozen or so pay phones actually worked. That was what prompted me to finally get a cell phone. Sure, if you just look around, there seem to be pay phones here and there -- but have you tried actually making a call with one?

O.K. the dinosaur is weighing in again--I am really against cell phones for kids. I think we are insulating ourselves more and more from "the other"--other classes, other races, other ages--and the cell phone aids in it. We can always talk to our group and not make a conversation with a stranger because we are talking to the same people we talk to and email to 10 times a day. In addition it is one more distracting electronic gadget that can keep us/them from living in the moment. I am all for no cell phones in class rooms. I remember how BORED I could be in school. A hot May day and a boring subject and your mind starts to wander. But if you can slyly text message, what is to say you will ever re-engage in the lecture that day? Maybe you won't but you also won't be messaging to your friend about the weekend plans. And also, kids are using them to cheat which has become a bigger problem than it used to be with plagiariazing on the internet as well as sending instant answers to tests answers. I don't think the world is any more dangerous than when we were kids--there is just more media fear mongoring. There are no more sex offenders per population than there were in the past. I made it to adulthood WITH a seriel killer actually living around the corner from us!

alafairnadia wrote: I'm surprised more companies, actually, haven't released super low-tech cell phones like the firefly mobile that lack things like cameras and a text messaging. a cell phone company would make a killing, I think, if they could work with public school systems and design a cheap, locked down phone like the firefly that, for instance, only vibrates, doesn't have text messaging, doesn't have a camera, etc. I mean, cell phone manufacturers already release modified versions of phones for business use (most businesses that give treos to their employees don't want it with the camera feature and don't want them to be able to load games onto them).

Hey Alfalfa, you were wrong about the tatto before, how do you know it hasn't been produce somewhere else, but it's not market driven in the states.

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=Anonymous][quote=alafairnadia]I'm surprised more companies, actually, haven't released super low-tech cell phones like the firefly mobile that lack things like cameras and a text messaging. a cell phone company would make a killing, I think, if they could work with public school systems and design a cheap, locked down phone like the firefly that, for instance, only vibrates, doesn't have text messaging, doesn't have a camera, etc. I mean, cell phone manufacturers already release modified versions of phones for business use (most businesses that give treos to their employees don't want it with the camera feature and don't want them to be able to load games onto them).

Hey Alfalfa, you were wrong about the tatto before, how do you know it hasn't been produce somewhere else, but it's not market driven in the states.

now I KNOW you're anon-g. you're the only one who ever calls me alfalfa

Give that dame a bozo button

kosherdave wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]I'm surprised more companies, actually, haven't released super low-tech cell phones like the firefly mobile that lack things like cameras and a text messaging.

$100 bucks for a phone that can only call mom or dad, ouch, that's an expensive short leash

I have a friend who gave her 12 year old daughter a cell phone for school. Here daughter is a severe diabetic and must inject herself with insulin. She pays an extra (I think she said) $10 a month for certain blocking privileges, i.e., only certain numbers can call her as well as she can only call certain numbers. My friend informed her daughter's teacher about the cell phone and she is allowed to carry it in her bookbag but it must be off at all times.

I asked her what is the difference with having a phone and the school calling and she told me that if for any reason she is having a problem injecting herself no one at the school is allowed to help. When I asked what about the school nurse my friend said the school told her they do not employ an RN (who by NYS law is allowed to inject a person [Carnivoire is this correct?]) they employ an LPN who is only there 3 maybe 4 times a week and not all day. Since she works about 15 minutes away from the school it is quicker for her daughter to call her and have her come help.

Couple of interesting things on this topic. First, it seems the UFT came out in SUPPORT of kids having phones in school. Second, I was listening to WABC this morning (don't ask, it was against my will) and they were talking about some type of jammer that can be used in the schools. It will block all of the the incoming and outgoing calls and text messages except for 911. However, it can be programed so that it does not jam teachers cell phones (see my first point). Evidently, the guy who invented it has approached the City about using the technology, and is waiting to hear whether they are interested.

I'd love to have it to jam the cell phones of the kids who stand out in front of my house and Nextel one another across the street. I swear, I start twitching when I hear that damn chirp now.