87 replies to this topic

[FrankExchange]

Teach your kid to obey the rules and you won't have to rip into the idiots right?

Let me guess - you work at a school.

Methinks you doth protest too much. And that's all the Shakespeare I'll ever admit to knowing - taught to me by a wonderful English teacher in high school.

[mylo]

Whatever happened to carrying quarters for emergencies? I digress, this is back to the overprotection vs. safety question. IMO, kids don't need cell phones, and certainly not texts! They only abuse them, they're expensive, and there are other alternatives. If I really wanted to be the protective parent, I'd get a 2 button phone that only calls me or 911.

Like this one, which also records GPS locations of where they are and where they have been:
http://www.wherify.c....html?page=kids

[Darthvader]

Let me guess - you work at a school.

Methinks you doth protest too much. And that's all the Shakespeare I'll ever admit to knowing - taught to me by a wonderful English teacher in high school.

Nope, just trying to make sense when people break rules and complain about the results.

[asbestoshills]

The teacher should have given the phone back.....
However, why does your child need a cell phone in elementary school?

[Andrea V]

Whatever happened to carrying quarters for emergencies? I digress, this is back to the overprotection vs. safety question. IMO, kids don't need cell phones, and certainly not texts! They only abuse them, they're expensive, and there are other alternatives. If I really wanted to be the protective parent, I'd get a 2 button phone that only calls me or 911.

Like this one, which also records GPS locations:
http://www.wherify.c....html?page=kids

hey geezer, when was the last time you saw a payphone?

they don't have them in elementary school either... my 9 yearold has a phone to call when he gets to school too....

ps the firefly phone (similar to what you are talking about sux)
but the gps this is pretty cool!!

[ChipShot]

However, why does your child need a cell phone in elementary school?

To text BFF's and play the phone video games.

Silly question.

I blame the kid 100%. Admins did the right thing.

[bookwom]

Whatever happened to carrying quarters for emergencies? I digress, this is back to the overprotection vs. safety question. IMO, kids don't need cell phones. They only abuse them, they're expensive, and there are other alternatives. If I really wanted to be the protective parent, I'd get a 2 button phone that only calls me or 911.

Quarters?? For what?? What century are you living in?

Well, I respect your right to do what you think is right for your family. My family has chosen, for our reasons, to use them. We can afford it, and knowing that she has it when she's away from us gives us peace of mind. We also like being able to contact her whenever we need to.

And as long as my daughter follows the rules, there is no reason why she shouldn't be able to use it as she likes. She didn't follow the rules, has suffered the consequences, and hopefully has learned her lesson. If she has not, she will suffer the consequences again, because that is life.

But this complaint is not so much about cell phones as it is about the school administration overstepping their authority. As I have said, they have every right to dictate what happens during school hours. After school is my perogative.

[chris v]

However, why does your child need a cell phone in elementary school?

Why don't you mind your own damn business and deal with the topic. I'm sure there is a reason for the phone. My kid has one for very specific reasons.

[bookwom]

The teacher should have given the phone back.....
However, why does your child need a cell phone in elementary school?

The child I am speaking about is in middle school.

[mylo]

hey geezer, when was the last time you saw a payphone?

they don't have them in elementary school either... my 9 yearold has a phone to call when he gets to school too....

ps the firefly phone (similar to what you are talking about sux)
but the gps this is pretty cool!!

Really? When I was in school, I used to test credit card... nevermind

They really don't have a pay phone at the school? That seems pretty silly. I guess I am getting old

Okay then, perhaps I'll have to get the kid a Wherifone. No way getting texting plan, and he'll be lucky if I choose to add any of his friends to the call list.

I think the OP is right, though. They have no right to keep the property. However, I bet they deal with parents every day who let their busted kid off the hook and just hand the thing right back to them on day 1, and the teacher is back taking it away again on day 2. The 'lecture' was probably just a deterrent to stop you from wanting to come in and pick the stupid thing up every day.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

I just want to clarify what I said. W/O a doubt the texting deserved a punishment for breaking the rules. How teachers today put up with some of the behaviour is beyond me. I couldn't possibly be a teacher in this day and age, I'd end up killing the first kid who mouthed off to me. A teacher needs the patience of a saint.

Is the 5 day ban for a first offense?

[bookwom]

I just want to clarify what I said. W/O a doubt the texting deserved a punishment for breaking the rules. How teachers today put up with some of the behaviour is beyond me. I couldn't possibly be a teacher in this day and age, I'd end up killing the first kid who mouthed off to me. A teacher needs the patience of a saint.

Is the 5 day ban for a first offense?

No, second offense.

And my issue is not with their policy on cell phone use. They have every right to dictate policy during school hours. My issue is with them keeping the cell phone away from me, the adult whose property it is. And in essence, deciding for me if my daughter can use it after school. No, I wouldn't have let her use it after school to talk or text her friends. But if I wanted her to have it for my convenience, that is my right. I get very protective of my parental rights.

[Darthvader]

I just want to clarify what I said. W/O a doubt the texting deserved a punishment for breaking the rules. How teachers today put up with some of the behaviour is beyond me. I couldn't possibly be a teacher in this day and age, I'd end up killing the first kid who mouthed off to me. A teacher needs the patience of a saint.

Is the 5 day ban for a first offense?

No, they are all idiots according to some people here. I assume that's where the kids get the idea they can do whatever they please in class these days.

Texting, make phones calls, etc. I can't recall hearing about a real emergency that was cured by a 10 year old with a cell phone. Total false sense of security.

[Andrea V]

Okay then, perhaps I'll have to get the kid a Wherifone. No way getting texting plan, and he'll be lucky if I choose to add any of his friends to the call list.

haa!! I just went online and added a text plan for my son ($5.00) because the bill was $45.00 more then usual because he now has a phone that can text! (no more firefly)

I like that he can text me! After school he always writes to me and chris "I love you, and I miss you!" And we get to write him back!!! super cute!

[supermom]

Frankly, I think the school is right in making the teachers take the phone away from the kid-during the school day.

Sorry folks, the school has that part right.


BUT--if the kid is a walker, or bus kid--then yeah, they should have to go to the office at the end of the day and get it back before heading home.

But then...there is another problem---When my kids were in Elem-they bussed. If they went to the office for anything at all--the bus won't wait.

And frankly--I work too far away to get to the school before the school staff leaves for the day.

So, I can see why parents give the kids phones, and why kids need the phones.

Maybe a better idea is a phone contract with the teachers. Turn it into the teacher at the beginning of the day, and get it back when you go home?


However, with my middle schooler---I want the cell phone on her ALL day. How many times have school lockdowns happened and the only way to know if your kid is safe is through a text or call from the kid? Many. Columbine has made me a very paranoid parent. I freely admit that.

But the one time my kid decides to abuse the phone at school is the one time she would be seriously reprimanded at home. School work without distraction is the only acceptable behavior--as far as I am concerned.