Zero Tolerance For Classroom Texters

[mokthraka]

Sounds good to me, I never had a cell phone in school and I did fine, same as many of my friends. Anyone caught using their phone in the middle of a class should have it taken away until the school year is out IMHO.

seriously? I would tell my school to **** off if they tried to take it for the year. I pay my own bill, and personally, they can go **** them selfs if they are making me waste money

[Digitalx]

I say we line all classrooms with wire mesh creating faraday cages. That way none of the cell phones would even get a signal. No signal, no call, no texting, no data, no problem.

Classrooms can have a landline phone for emergencies.

I've seen that tried (not in classroom but outside), it complicates all communications, especially emergency stuff so pretty much it's a no go.

[mokthraka]

I say we line all classrooms with wire mesh creating faraday cages. That way none of the cell phones would even get a signal. No signal, no call, no texting, no data, no problem.

Classrooms can have a landline phone for emergencies.

did you know landlines can be cut? pretty easily too. I could go to my school and cut them in 2 or 3 minutes.

[Nagisan]

No matter under what reason, property of people no mater of what age shouldn't be allowed to be taken away, if anything, take it away for that specific lesson and give it back afterwards.

Your assuming the student actually owns the phone, I would be willing to bet a majority of students are using phones their parents bought for them, not phones they bought themselves, therefore only few students would actually be having their property taken.

I can give a example of a friend of mine: he never did his homework and the teachers punished him at first, however all he got in tests were As and Bs so after a while the teachers didn't care about what he did anymore because they saw he got educated and gained knowledge. And before anyone says he cheated, no he did not, he finished his A-Levels with a awesome 1.8 and is studying now.

My point is: after a certain age and grade of maturity, work with the students to learn for themselves, do not work against them, stop forcing stuff on them, because the more restrictions you apply, the higher is the thrill of breaking them.

I don't know you do I? I was the same way when I was in school, never did my homework, which always annoyed my teachers, but I always aced their tests. Sadly, my teachers did care whether or not I got good grades on tests, they still were annoyed that I didn't do my homework.

WRONG

its the parent's responsibility to discipline kids, not the schools. If its disrupting the class, put the kid outside and contact the parents. If schools want to take 200-600 dollar property from a child they better prepare for a backlash. If someone came up to me and tried to steal my phone on the street, theyd be lucky if i dont stab them with the first sharp object i can find, and if i was still a student and this happened, then the teacher gets it to, or better yet when i DID see this happen once with another student, he refused to give it over and kept things goin until the teacher made the first move and hit him...and got his ass fired. These teachers are paid very little for a reason, because all theyre expected to do is teach. Why do parents support offloading their own responsibilities onto them, oh right..because they love blaming others for when their kid does something wrong(mainly north american parents too ive noticed...cause foreign kids in the many countries ive been to grow up with more strict parents and tend to not have as many probs as the spoiled ones here)

True, but many parents don't discipline their children, or at least not as harshly as they should, therefore teachers try to step up and help not only the children, but the parents as well, by doing so. Unfortunately, too many parents are this way, therefore parents who actually do discipline their children have to put up with the majority that don't. The reason the teacher got fired in your story is because his anger got the best of him and he hit the child, it has nothing to do with the teacher trying to take his phone. It has nothing to do with parents offloading blame to others, it has to do with a majority of parents not willing to raise their children properly, so the majority ends up causing the minority to suffer.

You mention that you see this problem mostly in the US, well guess what, this story is from the US, so the way foreign kids are raised has little to do with the way US schools should handle discipline.

[bjoswald]

Good. They should crack down on it everywhere. Not only is it annoying, it's also dangerous. It scares me to death having to drive around mindless teenagers typing away.

[Kpssst]

No school has the right to take ANYONES property, i never had a cell in school..but id kick the teacher's ass for theft...he can take it and say never bring it back...but to keep it for a year...hes either gonna pay me for the years worth of bills...or give it back

Dam he's right! We should just go around beating all those teacher's asses. :rolleyes:

[mokthraka]

Your assuming the student actually owns the phone, I would be willing to bet a majority of students are using phones their parents bought for them, not phones they bought themselves, therefore only few students would actually be having their property taken.

I don't know you do I? I was the same way when I was in school, never did my homework, which always annoyed my teachers, but I always aced their tests. Sadly, my teachers did care whether or not I got good grades on tests, they still were annoyed that I didn't do my homework.

True, but many parents don't discipline their children, or at least not as harshly as they should, therefore teachers try to step up and help not only the children, but the parents as well, by doing so. Unfortunately, too many parents are this way, therefore parents who actually do discipline their children have to put up with the majority that don't. The reason the teacher got fired in your story is because his anger got the best of him and he hit the child, it has nothing to do with the teacher trying to take his phone. It has nothing to do with parents offloading blame to others, it has to do with a majority of parents not willing to raise their children properly, so the majority ends up causing the minority to suffer.

You mention that you see this problem mostly in the US, well guess what, this story is from the US, so the way foreign kids are raised has little to do with the way US schools should handle discipline.

they way I see, they should need the parents concent, if I had a kid and their phone got tooken away for a year, I would be ****ed at the kid, but I would be going down to their school and bitching the principle out.

same as if they took my phone now, I paid for my phone and pay the bill. they can go to hell if they think they are taking it for the year

[Denis W. Veteran]

These teachers are paid very little for a reason, because all theyre expected to do is teach. Why do parents support offloading their own responsibilities onto them, oh right..because they love blaming others for when their kid does something wrong(mainly north american parents too ive noticed...cause foreign kids in the many countries ive been to grow up with more strict parents and tend to not have as many probs as the spoiled ones here)

Actually, teachers make decent pay. Up to ~$70000 per year but that's after teaching for six years.

The last part I agree with though.

[Julius Caro]

I'm kinda against taking anything that is the student's property (unless it's dangerous to others). I guess confiscating stuff until the end of the day is fine, but anything else is crossing the line to me.

That said, is texting in class really that popular? Here in Spain I dont recall most people doing it, yet we ALL had mobile phones even in class.

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

Ok, I get it. No phones in school. But I'll be damned if a teacher takes my phone and keeps it past the end of the day (not that I would hand it over anyways).

Especially if they lose the phone for weeks, and you're still stuck paying the bill.

The whole argument about taking away the line of communication... please. Go back not even 10 years ago to when cellphones weren't commonplace and people still lived perfectly fine without them.

[Denis W. Veteran]

How long has the human race survived just fine without cell phones? I don't see how holding a students phone for an extended period of time is going to make them more susceptible to accidents or anything than they were before cell phones were mainstream. Heck, if anything it will make them less likely to need a phone in an emergency, less people texting while driving and being distracted while doing other tasks.

The human race survived just fine for millenia without computers but nowadays our lives in this society fall apart if they were removed.

Obviously people won't be more susceptible to accidents without cell phones. But - and I know this has nothing to do with students owning cellphones but since you brought up texting and driving - what about emergencies involving stalled cars? Calling insurance companies over flagging down passerbys or walking to the next exit - obviously in this case cell phones on persons while driving is a good thing, even if some people choose to text and drive (well here, it's completely banned so that's a non issue).

For schools, what about in cases involving schools placed on lockdown? Yes it's extremely rare but cell phones being on students offers parents the reassurance their child is safe, as opposed to worrying helplessly for a few hours until the lockdown is lifted. I suppose parents could call the school and ask about their child, but it's a bit difficult to check up on an individual during a lockdown when no one is permitted to get up and move.

And honestly, ask any normal highschool kid whether they would rather lose their phone for a year or have a week of suspension, I would be willing to bet a majority of them would pick a week of suspension. As far as draining their bill goes, that can also be seen as a part of their punishment, though most of the time it's the parents paying the bill not the students. Maybe parents should be a bit more responsible and take the phone from students during school hours?

Either way, suspension isn't much of a punishment in all honesty, most kids these days (again, in the US) would quickly pick suspension over losing their phone.

I agree on suspension being a very weak deterrent, but I still firmly do not believe in phone confiscation for THAT long. If they choose to be a repeat offender then there needs to be another form of punishment other than a year long confiscation.

[zhangm Supervisor]

It has been established that in the US, students on school property are not entitled to the same rights as a generic citizen on public land. Property can be confiscated. Searches can be conducted without a warrant, etc. If you don't like it, find a different school or get home schooled.

Kids these days, have no idea what they're given. Their parents and neighbors and fellow countrymen pay taxes so that they can go to school, get educated, and maybe end up par with some poorer student from Malaysia or India who was more motivated to make something of themselves. The education system should be overhauled to recognize the fact that education is a privilege, not a right. If the kid isn't contributing to their own education, throw them out on the street and let the parents deal with it.

[Growled Member]

It has been established that in the US, students on school property are not entitled to the same rights as a generic citizen on public land. Property can be confiscated. Searches can be conducted without a warrant, etc. If you don't like it, find a different school or get home schooled.

Yes, I've seen that many times. I'm not sure I agree with it, though. We are teaching our kids that the government has all the rights and the citizens have very little.

I am totally against schools taking the phones and keeping them. It is not their property to keep. They are not the ones paying the bill.

[Richteralan]

Surely a better solution is a threat of suspension instead of confiscation of their phones? That way their only consequence is the loss of their education (if they care about it at all) over a loss of a critical tool in emergencies.

yes wondering how kids "survived" school before cellphones or even landlines phones invented.....geez.... :rolleyes:

It has been established that in the US, students on school property are not entitled to the same rights as a generic citizen on public land. Property can be confiscated. Searches can be conducted without a warrant, etc. If you don't like it, find a different school or get home schooled.

Kids these days, have no idea what they're given. Their parents and neighbors and fellow countrymen pay taxes so that they can go to school, get educated, and maybe end up par with some poorer student from Malaysia or India who was more motivated to make something of themselves. The education system should be overhauled to recognize the fact that education is a privilege, not a right. If the kid isn't contributing to their own education, throw them out on the street and let the parents deal with it.

problem is so many kids take that for granted...

[QuantumTrickery]

They should go the route many places (especially hospitals) have done. Block all cellular signals in the building. Problem solved.

[PsyOpWarlord]

I've seen that tried (not in classroom but outside), it complicates all communications, especially emergency stuff so pretty much it's a no go.

Not sure where or what source you saw that, but I disagree. I deal with faraday cages, TEMPEST and HEMP hardened facilities all the time as part of my job. It does not complicate all communications, primarily just RF energy. Your established landline services (ie phone/LAN) would operate fine. And fire/police services do not stop operating and fall apart when they are temporarily without signal on their radios. When I volunteered, we trained to operate around minor inconveniences like that. If an emergency responder cannot function without a radio, they should probably be looking for a different line of work as they of no reliable benefit to the public.

Cost would be the most limiting factor that I can see.

[mokthraka]

They should go the route many places (especially hospitals) have done. Block all cellular signals in the building. Problem solved.

and you have fun with that. Im sure it will be really good when the kid who decides to shoot up the school cuts the phone lines.

[zhangm Supervisor]

Yes, I've seen that many times. I'm not sure I agree with it, though. We are teaching our kids that the government has all the rights and the citizens have very little.

I am totally against schools taking the phones and keeping them. It is not their property to keep. They are not the ones paying the bill.

Reality check, it happens in the real world too. If someone is being a ******* and driving while intoxicated, the government can confiscate the vehicle. You can sum it up in an if-then statement that doesn't take a genius to figure out. If A, then B. If the kids can't understand a simple "if you text during class, your phone will be confiscated", then they should be working for their living instead of taking up valuable space in a class.

Things are bad in some parts of the States, and I say this in full acknowledgement that it doesn't hold a candle to the Bad that happens in some other countries' schools. Imagine that you're 14, you have a dream of becoming a doctor, or a scientist, or an engineer, but there's a lot of **** that you need to wade through to get there. For some kids, that **** includes being stuck in an underfunded school with class sizes of 60+ kids that refuse to be controlled by the teacher. They do whatever they want. In order to hear the lesson, people that care need to sit up front, within a few feet of the board (if there is one). Some kids can cope with this for four years, but should they have to, and why are 300 million of us paying for the other 90% of the class that lacks the mental capacity to consider My Life Five Years from Now?

Schools need a bigger stick to wield to ensure that kids who want an education can get one. If that involves the ability to take away some whiny kid's playtoy, then do it. I'm not paying taxes to fund morons that wnt2tlkl8r&cn'tspel all day long. Screw them.

[mokthraka]

Reality check, it happens in the real world too. If someone is being a ******* and driving while intoxicated, the government can confiscate the vehicle. You can sum it up in an if-then statement that doesn't take a genius to figure out. If A, then B. If the kids can't understand a simple "if you text during class, your phone will be confiscated", then they should be working for their living instead of taking up valuable space in a class.

Things are bad in some parts of the States, and I say this in full acknowledgement that it doesn't hold a candle to the Bad that happens in some other countries' schools. Imagine that you're 14, you have a dream of becoming a doctor, or a scientist, or an engineer, but there's a lot of **** that you need to wade through to get there. For some kids, that **** includes being stuck in an underfunded school with class sizes of 60+ kids that refuse to be controlled by the teacher. They do whatever they want. In order to hear the lesson, people that care need to sit up front, within a few feet of the board (if there is one). Some kids can cope with this for four years, but should they have to, and why are 300 million of us paying for the other 90% of the class that lacks the mental capacity to consider My Life Five Years from Now?

Schools need a bigger stick to wield to ensure that kids who want an education can get one. If that involves the ability to take away some whiny kid's playtoy, then do it. I'm not paying taxes to fund morons that wnt2tlkl8r&cn'tspel all day long. Screw them.

except, EVERY TIME a teacher has took away a phone from another student, in any of my classes, it has disrupted me, and I can safely assume everyone else in the classroom, a lot more then if they teacher just let the student use their phone

[ArKeYa]

They should just confiscate it, call the parent for a meeting then give the phone back to the parent. No parent, no phone.

[Brandon]

I text in class. And I get good grades. Sending an occasional text or two didn't kill anyone. I think that my professor's lecture could kill me though.

[homeboyrocketshoulders]

When I was in 10th grade (8 years ago) I had an old Nokia with TracFone. I had called my parents between periods because I felt sick and asked them if they would pick me up if I got released by the nurse. They said fine, so I went to my next class and went up to the teacher to let him know I didnt feel well and was going to see the nurse. Right in the middle of telling him, my parents called me. I quickly silenced the phone and asked "can I go now?". He said "right after you give me your phone for disrupting class". I told him that was absolutely ridiculous and I wasnt giving up my phone. He refused to sign me out of class without getting my phone, so we just stared each other down for like 5 minutes. So then I said "well I guess the record will show I was never here" and I just walked out of the class. I called my parents back and told them they would have to sign me out instead of just picking me up, which they did.

Zero tolerance from teachers is nothing new. But ultimately, its the students property and they cant really be forced to give it up.

[Richteralan]

I text in class. And I get good grades. Sending an occasional text or two didn't kill anyone. I think that my professor's lecture could kill me though.

its funny this mentality that "I get good grades so i can do whatever i like in school"

grades is not everything....how about some discipline?

P.S. also considering US schools' over-rewarding grades...

[Growled Member]

They should just confiscate it, call the parent for a meeting then give the phone back to the parent. No parent, no phone.

Good idea. Also, let it be understand that each student has so many chances and when those chances are up the student will be presented with a list of options (suspension, phone taken away, etc.) Our local school has a zero tolerance toward cell phones and I believe they are being very unreasonable.