Why Phones Don’t Belong in School

[Fojos]

As an educator there is limited value in having phones in school (some of the online quizzes use it, some polling sites) but any positive uses they have are outweighed SIGNIFICANTLY by the negatives they bring. I have at least 1 student a day who will answer a PHONE CALL from a friend in my class. They are a hassle, they make teaching harder, and students (and parents) are so vehement that they are needed though we survived for A LONG TIME without them.

This comparison is exaggerated, but we survived a long time without soap and medicine as well.

[Alydael]

I agree, there should be limitations, but not ban them from school (maybe not let them use in the classroom, and if someone those, the teacher will take it away and give it back at the end of the class), also i have had some teachers take the cellphones when the class start (put it on the teacher desk, and pick it up when the class is finished), funny enough those things were done in a college not a school (i don't think it should be done in college, they are not kids anymore)

The official UFT (Teacher's union) policy is to not take phones. There are too many possible lawsuits (what happens if the phone gets lost or damaged, or the student resists the teacher physically). From what I have seen, phones are the single worst thing to happen to students in a long time. There are many students who will not graduate on time due to being on their phone too much.

Also, students get into fights and bully each other over social media. Another issue is that the phones are almost impossible to police. You can take it out on your lap and when the teacher comes over just slide it away.

There is no reason a student needs a phone in school. If there is an emergency, the parent can call the school office (the same way it worked with basically no problems for all the years prior to the invention of the cell phone). If the student has an issue, they can call home from the office.

- - - Updated - - -

How about we solve the fucking problem with guns in schools first #august1st

Edit: Cell phones are a larger societal problem, not just a surgical school-based issue

I agree, I can't tell you the number of times a day I see some adult with their head buried in their phone almost get hit by a car or bump into someone... Not to mention the degenerates that use their phone will driving (even though it has been proven to have a worse effect on your driving ability than alcohol). Just last week a guy crashed near me because he was on his phone while driving. He had a ten month year old in the car, they both died in the crash.

I am not sure most humans are responsible enough to have these phones... Whenever I see someone buried in their phone, I can't help but think "Oooh lookie at this! Shinies!" The best is the mesmerized look on their face.....

[bledgor]

Lol, no, you respect YOUR view, and if you don't like personal attacks, don't use them. I live a block from the school, and I've a veteran and was an instructor for over twenty years with the armed forces. I'd wager I stand a better chance of helping than you'd expect. I'd also bet that gives me a pretty good insight into teaching. So try to say what you like, but the bullshit doesn't wash.

No, I have respected other people who have disagreed with me on this very topic, just not you and your ignorance. Guess what, a block is still a block and 99.9% chance your child calling you isn't going to change shit, and as for being a veteran, thanks for serving, but guess what we have a few veterans at my school teaching so big deal. As for being an instructor giving you insights into being a teacher, yeah about as much as being a driver gives you insights into being a mechanic. Sorry to say that believing something doesn't make it true.

As for control, you've all but directly admitted you have no control over students with phones.
You've shown flawed logic, not saying I haven't in my own way, but it's not your place to question my parenting methods, you are clearly emotional, and while I can't say your objections are baseless, I can say you're way overboard.
Too bad so sad, you don't like it.

I don't recall ever saying I don't have control, I have said it is disruptive (because it is I know how to deal with it, and while I don't get support I still do the same thing every time so their is documentation for any fallback on me, and because I hope eventually the child will get tired of it and put the phone away). I will concede some of my logic may be flawed but your whole premise is flawed, and you logic doesn't solidify it. Your reasoning is baseless, your facts non-existent, and your argument emotional and flawed.

Doesn't change anything, and QQ'ing about it on here isn't going to help you.
In the future, maybe cry up a storm on a teaching forum instead.
Still won't change it.
You gonna go try to squeeze toothpaste back into the tube while you're at it?

It isn't, my hope with talking to you is to educate you, since that is my job, and hope that next time you don't spout such nonsense that will harm your child's education and instead help your child's instructor by teaching your child to keep the phone at home or deep in their backpack. In the future remember your child is receiving education in a vacuum alone with a teacher, but instead their are 20 odd other children in their who are affected when your child misbehaves (or if one of those children misbehave your child is then affected), so EVER IF your child is a perfect student who never plays on their phone, do you really think all the children are, or even most, or that your fear should outweigh the child's education?

Again I don't respect your opinion based on fear and emotions (with zero facts you have used to support it) and don't feel like continuing to debate you since you think that your child and your views outweigh the other children's, and the teachers view, and thus I won't respond to you anymore.

[imabanana]

/signed.

Classrooms should be faraday cages. (and phones still forbidden to avoid offline gaming, of course)

[Feronar]

I got my first cell phone the day I graduated from high school. When I was in high school, any student caught using a cell phone in class got sent straight to ISAP (Kind of an in-school suspension / detention type thing).

[Orlong]

If they need a phone to do their homework at school there is a bigger problem at hand than phones in the classroom

Exactly. If they need to do research they can go to the school library and use the encyclopedia. Every school has a library

[Deleted]

I dont agree. In fact, we should get rid of books or at least allow all students to use electronic alternatives to them. Whats the point of using children backwards stuff that whey will never need. Like say, how to calculate without using a calculator? Like that skill would ever be used in any real situation by anyone.. unless of course one ends up stranded on an alien planet and has to rebuild civilization or something.

That being said however, this doesnt mean they should just be allowed to use the phones to browse the internet, play games and post on social media in class. Thats kinda the same as bringing a story book and reading that instead of a textbook.

[Radaney]

Take phones away during class. Give back at end of class. Simple.

Get caught with phone too much in lesson during day/week/month/year. Get punished. Too many times, hold the phone and make the parents come in and retrieve it and have a nice disciplinary meeting at the same time.

Kid refuses to give phone, send to "insert senior authority figure" for a disciplinary beat down.

Wow so hard. Such a hard system.

Imagine these kids a couple of decades ago, teachers probably would of grabbed the phone and thrown it across the school whilst perpetually beating the kid on the arms with a wooden ruler. Not that I support that or anything, just funny to think about.

Phones must be a fucking pain in the asshole for teachers though, my sympathies.

[kail]

Exactly. If they need to do research they can go to the school library and use the encyclopedia. Every school has a library

I've had a teach ask one of my students to do quick google searches every now and then for him as he's doing a lecture. This was slightly before smartphones were a thing, the student had a T-Mobile sidekick I believe. Why say they can do "X" when "Y" is much quicker.

- - - Updated - - -

Access to knowledge isn't knowledge. Do you think kids use or ever would use the internet to learn?

I give you Mr. Feeny:

Even he admits the benefits of technology.

[Deleted]

Exactly. If they need to do research they can go to the school library and use the encyclopedia. Every school has a library

Or perhaps dig out ancient stone tablets and invest in a hammer and a chisel?

Whats the point in going to a school in the first place if they use ancient methods of getting things done? Especially if it means you can frikin Google something and get the answer in 5 minutes instead of wasting a few hours at the library?

[ryanmahaffe]

Lol, sorry you have a shitty class dude, but for my entire school life, if the teacher says put the phone away, they put it away.

Personally, I read on the phone. This is stupid, people have the right to have their phones, tablets, ect wherever the hell they want.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Literally the only time I have ever had a workplace say that cell phones weren't allowed was when we were working in top-secret environments, and even then, it was just that they had to be off, not that you couldn't have them on you.

Sorry, many workplaces don't allow cell phones. Its fine that you haven't worked in one of them, but they exist. Many don't allow them and many others simply look down on their use heavily.... mainly due to them being a distraction.

And you can tout your own teaching skillz all you want, but I would warrant that many people would rather be on their phones than learn, especially young people. I was in high school when cell phones got popular and more easily affordable... guess what? People ignored teachers to play on phones.. just like they ignore their friends and family to play on them in social settings.

[Macaquerie]

Take phones away during class. Give back at end of class. Simple.

Get caught with phone too much in lesson during day/week/month/year. Get punished. Too many times, hold the phone and make the parents come in and retrieve it and have a nice disciplinary meeting at the same time.

Kid refuses to give phone, send to "insert senior authority figure" for a disciplinary beat down.

Wow so hard. Such a hard system.

Imagine these kids a couple of decades ago, teachers probably would of grabbed the phone and thrown it across the school whilst perpetually beating the kid on the arms with a wooden ruler. Not that I support that or anything, just funny to think about.

Phones must be a fucking pain in the asshole for teachers though, my sympathies.

It's not just kids who are prone to whipping out their phones the minute they get bored with what they're doing. Who hasn't sat through a boring conference or meeting and started dicking around on the phone rather than pay attention to whatever was being said? If we as adults don't even have the self-discipline to control ourselves in these kinds of situations, it's beyond hypocritical to hold children to that standard.

Smartphones are an incredibly useful piece of technology, and the fact that they're mostly used for pointless ends just means that we as a society haven't really adapted to having them around yet. I can't count the number of times when someone on the street has come up to me, smartphone in hand, asking me how to go to a particular place. Just give it some time, we'll adapt just like we did to everything that came before it.

[Deleted]

It's not just kids who are prone to whipping out their phones the minute they get bored with what they're doing. Who hasn't sat through a boring conference or meeting and started dicking around on the phone rather than pay attention to whatever was being said? If we as adults don't even have the self-discipline to control ourselves in these kinds of situations, it's beyond hypocritical to hold children to that standard.

How about putting the phones on the desk maybe and they could be used as a learning tool. They allow using laptops and tablets in colleges, why should schools be any different. In fact, since school classrooms are usually smaller, the teacher can keep a better eye on them.

[Radaney]

It's not just kids who are prone to whipping out their phones the minute they get bored with what they're doing. Who hasn't sat through a boring conference or meeting and started dicking around on the phone rather than pay attention to whatever was being said? If we as adults don't even have the self-discipline to control ourselves in these kinds of situations, it's beyond hypocritical to hold children to that standard.

You have to be either ballsy as fuck or own the fucking place to get your phone out for no proper reason during a conference or meeting.

I wouldn't even begin to dream doing that, I enjoy my job and being known for my professionalism.

[kail]

Because video games can distract kids in school and make them dumber (oh wait, without smartphones, they'd have no way of playing). Because video games have created this culture of sexting that is really ruining younger generations (not to mention when girls send pictures and they get shared to everyone) -- seriously, it's getting bad. Because video games have created a generation with the attention span of a hummingbird. Because video games have caused younger generations to barely be able to string together a coherent sentence -- and then name the nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, and adverbs in that sentence.

They negatives of phones -- to wit: smartphones -- FAR outweigh the good. Put them in the hands of little kids who are now coddled more than ever, and things are bleak. But, like I said, it's the parents fault (who are also often times addicted to them).

You are clearly a young child who NEEDS his/her phone.

It's sad.

I could swear the same thing was said about video games, how it degrades the young generation. Gaming "causes addiction", instead of realizing people have an addictive personality. Now it's smartphones I guess. What's the next scapegoat going to be? And what do you consider a young child?

Here's a newsflash, some kids just get don't like to learn and find school boring. Simple. This mentality has existed long before any of us were born. At least you did point to a valid fault, parenting.

[Macaquerie]

You have to be either ballsy as fuck or own the fucking place to get your phone out for no proper reason during a conference or meeting.

I wouldn't even begin to dream doing that, I enjoy my job and being known for my professionalism.

"Hey boss that's a good idea, reminds me of this thing I saw the other day, lemme see if I can look it up." *whips out phone and never puts it down*

Not that difficult.

[Bigbamboozal]

No, I have respected other people who have disagreed with me on this very topic, just not you and your ignorance. Guess what, a block is still a block and 99.9% chance your child calling you isn't going to change shit, and as for being a veteran, thanks for serving, but guess what we have a few veterans at my school teaching so big deal. As for being an instructor giving you insights into being a teacher, yeah about as much as being a driver gives you insights into being a mechanic. Sorry to say that believing something doesn't make it true.



I don't recall ever saying I don't have control, I have said it is disruptive (because it is I know how to deal with it, and while I don't get support I still do the same thing every time so their is documentation for any fallback on me, and because I hope eventually the child will get tired of it and put the phone away). I will concede some of my logic may be flawed but your whole premise is flawed, and you logic doesn't solidify it. Your reasoning is baseless, your facts non-existent, and your argument emotional and flawed.



It isn't, my hope with talking to you is to educate you, since that is my job, and hope that next time you don't spout such nonsense that will harm your child's education and instead help your child's instructor by teaching your child to keep the phone at home or deep in their backpack. In the future remember your child is receiving education in a vacuum alone with a teacher, but instead their are 20 odd other children in their who are affected when your child misbehaves (or if one of those children misbehave your child is then affected), so EVER IF your child is a perfect student who never plays on their phone, do you really think all the children are, or even most, or that your fear should outweigh the child's education?

Again I don't respect your opinion based on fear and emotions (with zero facts you have used to support it) and don't feel like continuing to debate you since you think that your child and your views outweigh the other children's, and the teachers view, and thus I won't respond to you anymore.

LOL, I guess, if I was a neo otherkin leftist dbag i might think you were spot on.
But I'm not, so I don't.
Clearly, you and i don't agree. Doesn't make me wrong.
You can cry ignorant like mike jackson all you like, but it won't change anything.
I still think you're a shitshow teacher if you can't manage to get them to put their phones down.
Being chosen as teacher of the year by students is at most, a laughable metric.
And I still think it's an issue with admin not supporting as they should.
Far as i can tell, you're just having a freak out because you don't like it when people don't sugar coat it.
Why did you come here if that bothers you? Go find your 'safe space'.
I'm starting to grasp why students tell you to fuck off...

[mizeri]

man when i was in school, i wasnt even allowed to have those calculator watches

[Deleted]

man when i was in school, i wasnt even allowed to have those calculator watches

How is that even relevant? Again, you have to ask if schools are there just because children have to suffer through boring useless stuff cause "thats how it was done in my time, back when the grass was greener, the sky was pink and unicorns pooped rainbows" or because they'll give children valuable knowledge and skills to get by in life?