Parents across the city are starting to ask a question as summer break continues in New York: why can't my child bring their cell phone into a public school?
The New York Times wrote this week that a vast majority of City Council members have signed a letter urging Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to lift the long time ban on phones in schools.
As cell phones have evolved into smart phones, PDA's, and other devices that are intimately intwined with our lives, it's certainly a question worth considering. What was once a device just for connecting with friends and loved ones has become a tiny electronic repository for every thought, appointment and crucial piece of information.
Some council members have also argued that the ban is discriminatory, because it is reportedly more stringently enforced at schools with metal detectors and in low-income neighborhoods.
Should students be without their dearly-held technology throughout the school day? Is it a distraction from the learning process? Or is it a violation of a student's basic right to connect with their friends and families?
"Some council members have also argued that the ban is discriminatory, because it is reportedly more stringently enforced at schools with metal detectors and in low-income neighborhoods." As for the council members who are nothing more than agitators who do nothing but cause trouble and clearly lack education themselves by making ridiculous racially charged statements about the ban being discriminatory I have news flash for all of you....Yes, they especially do not allow cell phones at schools with metal detectors because they have already caught those young delightful innocent children that we coddle so much trying to sneak in razor blades within the cell phones themselves. Funny how the news article doesn't say much about that...or our councilmen aren't bothered by that We all survived before cell phones ever existed. If there was ever an emergency the school was always contacted by a family member and the staff would notify the student accordingly. How about teaching these kids how to show respect and stop being followers and trying to out do their classmates w/ the latest smartphone?
Despite you thinking this is "time consuming" the money a program like this will bring may take care of all your concerns if this program in done correctly, of course there will be the parents who will say, “I can’t afford it” or “it’s not fair” the way I see it, you got your kid a phone this is the price you pay. There is NO FOOL PROOF SYSTEM,(kids will always figure out ways to fool the system) but at least the resources will be here to figure out NEW plans. What I find disheartening is an employee who discourages this, and refers to it as “time consuming”. Personally I do not think TEACHER NOR STUDENTS should have phones in their possession at all during school hours. YOU can’t TEACH or LEARN if you’re distracted by “missed calls, texts” Additionally, this rule or ban should not be restricted to NYC but rather NEW YORK STATE! The idea of extra money isn’t so bad particularly when it was the reason you were laid off (maybe someday this may be money that saves your job)
I also agree with you that it's unacceptable that teachers have cell phones in classes during instructional time and the ban should apply to them too. Can I ask why is it necessary to appease these kids at all? After all who makes the rules here and who's in charge? Rules and regulations are put in place for a reason for students and aren't up for debate. People seem to forget that schools are meant for education and structured guidelines. They are meant to teach discipline as well. NO means NO! whining at home may work, not in school. KEEP THE BAN!!!!!
We live almost a mile from the school, which is not enough to qualify him for a bus. I work, and my other son goes to a different school for special needs. I am a single parent, definitely well onto the lower end of the Forest Hills income scale (which is to say I'm middle class), and it can be a real challenge to coordinate picking up both kids from school. But I don't feel comfortable letting my older son walk without any way of reaching someone if anything goes awry. I do believe that school is strictly for education and fully support the phones being banned from classroom use, but there are other things besides school that parents have to consider.