Posted on 09/29/2023 11:34:20 AM PDT by raccoonradio
A recent cellphone policy, introduced at a public high school in Massachusetts, has stirred up controversy, leading students to launch a petition in protest.
Partnering with a company called Yondr, the school initiated a program to curb cellphone use during school hours. Under this policy, students are provided with special pouches that lock away their phones for the duration of the school day, rendering them unusable until they leave the grounds.
But one student, here named Chris*, expressed his doubts about the new policy to Newsweek. "At first, my reaction was that I understood the spirit of what they were looking to achieve," Chris told Newsweek. But it wasn't long before he started to see flaws in the idea.
Planned to be introduced on October 30, the policy would mean that students must turn off their phones and place them in a Yondr pouch upon entering the school building. They then lock the pouch using a special magnet. Throughout the day, students carry their devices but cannot access them until the pouch is unlocked at the end of the school day, or when students leave the building for an early dismissal.
The concept of stricter cellphone restrictions in Massachusetts schools gained prominence in May 2023 during a meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley addressed members, saying, "I think we're at a time where we have to ask ourselves, 'what role does technology play in education?'"
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Good afternoon.
Hope you are doing well Jim.
All high school students have a smart phone and an Uber app.
Amazing.
5.56mm
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2020, cellphone bans were in place in 76% of U.S. schools.
Shut up, Chris and do your homework.
It would he easier for the school to install cell phone blockers. They’re illegal in the U.S., except for police depts, the military, etc. Schools could be added to the list of institutions that can use them.
Works for me, but parents shouldn’t wait ‘til that happens.
Because many public schools students are pieces of garbage who will do whatever they can to use them. Sorry, but as much as everyone here blames teachers, bad parenting and rotten, entitled kids that don’t follow common sense instructions are as much to blame for today’s schools.
In the old days, if teach said to do something, most of the kids would do it, knowing that in addition to whatever punishment teach gave, they’d get even worse at home. Now parents fight punishment at all cost. Every child is a special, little angel oppressed by the system.
I fully understand why they would have to put them in special bags in order to get it to actually be followed.
Yep.
Your child using a phone during a school shooting isn’t going to do much.
Emergency at home? Call the front office and the child will be summoned for you to go pick them up.
No, it’s in response to kids never putting the damn things away.
Why are they illegal?
In my own home?
Too bad there’s not a way for parents to lock phones for emergency use only...
Parents claimed they wanted emergency contact with their kids. I was OK with that but they had no idea how the phones were being abused in school.
Why? I suppose rationales include the public's right to use phones in public spaces (theaters, restaurants, etc), overriding the property owners' rights. Especially since someone might want to make a 911 call.
As for using a cell phone blocker in your own home, I don't know how wide the blockage works, but it might interfere with your neighbor's phone.
I think theaters, restaurants, anyone should be able to use them if if doesn't interfere with neighboring properties. They're apparently legal in Mexico, and some churches use them.
But the cell phone lobby is powerful in the U.S. So there s that reason.
Like the CGM (continous glucose monitoring) devices (FreeStyle for example, scan a sensor, optional alarms)
No there isn't. Lock them up when you arrive at school and pick them up on the way out...There is no question that they're a distraction if the kids are allowed to carry them in school.
They're nothing more than adolescent pacifiers and if I had kids, they would not be allowed to own one.
When a spoiled brat decided to shoot up my son’s high-school, wounding several people and they went into lockdown, I was on the cellphone the entire time with my son.
Hell, no, you are not taking my son’s phone away. Being able to hear his voice kept me from going postal.
I know, right? I just stared at my empty hand for 4 years...
“A teacher in Flint, Michigan is knocked unconscious after a student threw a chair at her head.”
Let me guess, the student received an “A” for accuracy
Lock them up when you arrive at school and pick them up on the way out.
Sure but how do they get them unlocked on days they play hooky? :D
They could lock up a burner phone and keep the real one of course.
Excellent!
In the town where this is happening, it is a wonder that those kids can read and write enough to write a letter. It’s as much a surprise that the school committee can read it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.