Students to be fined for using cell phone outside of class

[RB TexLa]

Duncanville: Electronic devices off limits to students during school day

By HERB BOOTH / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Students heading back to school in Duncanville should leave their cellphones in their backpacks or at home.

Changes in the district's policy this year will fine violators $15 for using any electronic device during the instructional day, which is basically defined as from the opening bell to the closing bell.

Tammy Kuykendall, a district spokeswoman, said teachers and principals had reported some disruptions during the school day last year when students would use cellphones or other electronic devices during lunch periods, in between classes or in the restrooms.

The new policy goes into effect the first day of school, Monday, and addresses the use of cellphones, radios, CD players, iPods, Blackberrys, and other devices and handheld games at all grade levels.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/duncanville/stories/082307dnmetduncanvilleskul.421acb3.html

So there were apparently teachers who heard students cell phones or conversations during lunch and other times outside of the classroom that they were so distracted they could not teach? Talk about high maintenance teachers, "Ms. principal, I heard students talking on their cell phones at lunch, I have now become so distracted I can not teach, I must have a half day off to recover from this distraction."

[bryant69]

1. Kids today have it so soft.

When I was a kid if I had a little plastic box I used to talk to people in, I would have been burnt at the stake as a witch! or warlock I guess. And I would have been happy to have it!

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[TlalocW]

3. You had it lucky!

Our little plastic box that we had to use was actually quite large and made of wood, and if you wanted to look cool, you had to have one, but we had to drag ours to school and back home through the snow and uphill (both ways). Then if your large, wooden box was cooler than someone else's, they might try to kill you for it, but all we had were sticks and rocks, and it took a long time to either get killed or defend yourself and your property. My large, wooden box was stolen while I was killing a bear with my slide rule for lunch one day.

But that's the way it was, and we liked it. God, how we loved it!

TlalocW

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Feh!

Our little plastic box had to be hand-carved from a granite boulder every morning, and if you did not bring it to school, you would get beaten to a bloody pulp by the in-crowd. We had to drag it to school and back home again through five feet of snow, up hill both ways. And you had slide rules? Goodness, but you had it easy! We had to make our abacus during home room.

That's the way we had it, and we loved it!

[TlalocW]

11. Well, by slide rule I meant

A crude device made out of 500 pound mammoth tusks that we had to drag to school in 10 feet of snow with a pack of rabid wolverines chasing us. It was a slide rule to us!

TlalocW

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. We had to hunt the mammoths ourselves

We weren't allowed to start carving the granite boulder for our little plastic box until we had taken down a mammoth by ourselves and then dragged all three tons of it up hill both ways to school five miles away in 12 feet of snow on bare feet with two packs of very hungry dire wolves chasing us. And if the mammoth wasn't big enough, the school administrators would beat us half to death then send us back out to get another. That was to build character!

[TlalocW]

19. And you try to tell the young people of today stuff like this

And they just won't believe you. Shame.

TlalocW

[SidDithers]

40. Luxury!..

nicely done, both of you :applause:

Sid

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. If the phones were used

to perpetuate hard feelings that might lead to fights or to plan mischief of some kind, or to give another student the answers to a test, I could see why their use is banned during the school day.

[onehandle]

4. Teachers have a right to influence the rules.

It's a tough job with little pay. Whatever helps them and keeps them teaching.

[shanti]

5. they just take them away

if they are seen using them at my son's hs. ask me how i know this!!

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. Same here.

... at my school, the teachers don't give 'em back. Not even to the parents. Not even when the school handbook says they have to.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. A parent sued a school a couple years ago

when a teacher took away Pokemon cards and didn't return them. The parent won a sizable settlement - over cards that probably cost a few dollars.

[cgrindley]

29. Parents should be ashamed

if an child gets caught at school with freaking Pokemon cards, and the cards get taken away, the child's parents ought to ground their stupid child until it learns some respect.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Silly lawsuits affect a lot of school policies

More than a lot of people realize.

[lumberjack_jeff]

44. Preventing a public school from *permanently* siezing my property

Isn't really a silly guideline.

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. Then teach your kid not to take your property to school

:)

[lumberjack_jeff]

43. They have a word which describes unilaterally making someone's property your own.

Theft.

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. I have never taught in a school that doesn't give property back to parents

But I also know very few kids who are brave enough to go home and admit they brought some forbidden item to school and their parents need to go get it back for them.

[shanti]

70. oh, my son's school

gives them back....at the very end of the school week!

[NYC Liberal]

55. When I was in HS, you couldn't even have them on you or in your backpack

Had to be in your locker at all times during the day. Of course nobody really followed that and worst case we kept them in our backpacks. Most teachers wouldn't take them the first time...they just told us to turn it off and took it if it happened again.

Then again, I went to Catholic HS where we had a uniform and each missing/out-of-code piece (shirt, belt, pants, shoes, etc.) cost you one day in detention, each. So did not shaving or having your hair too long.

[cgrindley]

6. Good... they should kick the little bastards out

cellphones are an unreasonable distraction in education. Students who use them for non-medical or police emergencies should be failed for the term. Anywhere on campus. Anytime on campus. Cellphones should be for legitimate emergencies only.

[Bake]

32. It was a good thing somebody had one at Columbine ...

"Zero tolerance" rules just mean the school administrators don't have to have or use any brains.

Bake

[BoneDaddy]

47. Kick them out?

You have to be kidding me. I understand a rational enforcement of the rules, but where did this hostility towards youth come from?

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I'd like to ban cellphone usage from all public places forever!!

[Quantess]

39. Isn't it time to finally embrace the 21st century?

I remember the hostility I faced when I got my first cell phone, back in 1999. I enjoyed chatting on my cellphone as I walked around, in San Francisco. Passersby sometimes yelled at me to get off my cell phone. One guy followed me for 2 blocks, yelling at me to hang up, so that he could yell at me for the way my dog pooped on the sidewalk. (Yes, I cleaned it up). And no, I did not hang up while the nutjob was harrassing me.

Some people got so angry when someone talked on a cellphone in their presence back in 1999 and 2000. I wonder if you were one of those people? I would hope, now that it's 2007, that people are beginning to realize that cellphones are a fantastic technological advance. Cellphones aren't going away.

[sinkingfeeling]

41. You may think that are fantastic, but I think they contribute to the downfall of society.

People ignore those other human beings around them while they talk to someone miles away from them. I don't yell at people on cellphones unless they're trying to turn their vehicle into the side of my car. I think they contribute to the destruction of community and human interaction, not to any advances.

[Quantess]

42. I love cell phones. We'll have to agree to disagree.

Some situations are just not appropriate for using the cellphone. Obviously, the classroom is not an appropriate place, and not while you're paying the cashier, either.
But, I have never felt guilty about talking on the phone while I'm walking down the street, and there's no way I'll hang up just because some random passerby thinks it's irritating.

The ones who think it's irritating have probably never experienced the delightful convenience and usefulness of having a cell phone.

By far, I'm not the least discreet cellphone user. Just a few months ago, my boyfriend picked up a work related call while we sat in a restaurant. I didn't mind, but the people behind us sure did! They had been on their way out, but instead, they stopped and gave him the evil eye for about 2 minutes. What did it matter to them? Those people weren't part of our group, and people talk in restaurants anyway. I think hostility to cell phones is silly.

But, we'll just have to disagree on this. :-)

[NYC Liberal]

57. LOL. Every generation has SOMETHING that supposedly

"contributes to the downfall of society"

The problem isn't cell phones, it's people. Cell phones don't make people rude, rude people just have something else to be obnoxious with/about. If someone is being obnoxious with the cell, take it away and guess what? They'll still be obnoxious...just in some other way.

[CreekDog]

63. there's no putting that genie back in the bottle

and downfall of society, it's not a device causing that --it's people (human nature specifically).

The very best invention can be used to do the very worst evil.

[CreekDog]

62. very democratic

[Drifter]

9. Good ...

I would certainly support this in our school district. Cell phones are to be used only in emergency situations, and OFF otherwise. Anyone caught violating this rule should have it confiscated. Confiscated phones can only be reclaimed by a parent or guardian.

Cell phones in the hands of (pre)teens is very distracting. This is why my 12 yo does not have one, even though most of her friends have them.

We also have a new rule regarding cell phones and our kids' friends, when they accompany us somewhere. We ask their parents for permission and authority to take it away if use gets out of hand.
This stems from an experience when my daughters friend went camping with us. All she did the entire weekend was play games and text message friends. She spent as much time text messaging as she spent actually doing things with my daughter.

Cheers
Drifter

[Squatch]

10. But, kids can still walk around between classes and just speak to thin air, right?

If anything, this teaches kids that the only way to deal with adverse conditions is to apply heavy-handed policies.

[KittyWampus]

73. IMO, it teaches an important lesson too few kids get- No means No!

[LeftCoast]

12. Just wondering under what legal authority they can assign fines

Is anyone actually required to pay these and what are the consequences if they don't?

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. They probably withold report cards and transcripts

[napi21]

13. I'm not sure I agree with "Not being allowed to use the cell during

lunch", but I sure agree with not using them during & between classes etc.

EVERYBODY seems to have contracted some kind of addiction to cell phones! Not only school kids...but EVERYBODY! The damn things are attached to people while driving, shopping, dining, walking, working, watching TV, and every other activity I can think of.

WHY? What in the world do all these people HAVE to say ALL THE DAMN TIME? What did you do BEFORE you had a cell?

[Johonny]

15. What if

You want to call your kid at lunch? And I sure as heck want my kid carrying their cell phone with them to school just in case they need to get in touch with me. Screw the school telling my kid to leave it at home.

[Matariki]

18. Why do parents need to call their kids at school unless it's an emergency?

and if it's an emergency, why can't they call the school office?

[Johonny]

21. So parents can only call their kids in an emergency?

Who made that rule up? I thought an important part of parenting was being actively involved in your kid’s lives. What's wrong with a 2 minute conversation with your kid during lunch to find out how the math test went? Oh and your kid does things after school in which they may get into a situation where they need their phone. F the school telling my kid to leave their phone at home.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Makes me wonder how my parents managed to raise 4 kids

and had no contact with any of us during the school day. And we all graduated from college and are productive adults now.

Must have been a miracle. How did we ever survive without that phone call at lunch from Mommy?

[CreekDog]

64. we weren't "babies"

apparently that's how. I do think parents need to be teaching their kids to continually do more on their own, but the cellphone and that can coeexist.

Although now I'll backtrack and say I have no problem with parents keeping in touch with their kids via cellphone.

Heck, thanks to cellphones, I even call my mother more often when I'm on the road and I'm quite grown up. Cellphones just mean we talk to each other a little more often, but I think in shorter spurts.

[cgrindley]

30. Emergencies only--phone the school office

cut the cord. The kid will do just fine if you let them grow and develop on their own. And yes, your kid should leave the cellphone at home. Phones are NOT welcome in school.

[kath]

38. Yes - cut the frikkin' umbilical cord - kids need to develop some independence.

[Occulus]

58. I've called my mom from work while on lunch break before.

And I'm 32 and am a Federal employee.

My mom talks to my sister almost every day, but I haven't heard from her- mom, that is- in months.

I guess I should just "cut the cord" and develop some independence :shrug:

[Matariki]

45. Oh jeez. Phone call at lunch from mom to 'check in'. Pathetic.

snarkiness aside - I'm sure the 'how was your math test' conversation can wait a few hours. Interrupting your kid at school isn't particularly good parenting skills.

What's happened to people that they can't go more than a couple hours without talking on the phone, or text messaging? Have we become birds? "I'm at the store, where are you?" "I'm walking down the street, where are you?" "What's up?" "Nothing, what's up with you?" "Nothing"

[tammywammy]

53. You can't wait until after school to ask about that math test?

Seriously, my friends would have made fun of me endlessly if my parent called me during lunch to see how my day was going.

And they can still use the phone after school, they just need to leave it in their locker the rest of the day or in their car.

[Quantess]

54. Here we go again, with the outdated assumptions.

No offense intended, kineta, but your argument reminds me of the classic "when I was a kid, we had to walk 5 miles in deep snow to get to school!"

[Matariki]

56. I understand your point, but it's obviously a problem schools are trying to address.

Clearly they have become a distraction in classrooms or it wouldn't be an issue.

What would you suggest?

[Quantess]

71. You're right, that they are a distraction in classrooms.

I had to deal with this problem when I briefly taught high school. At my school, every teacher I knew had a rule banning talking on a cell phone in the class, and probably also to turn the ringer off. No texting, either.

This is the part I just don't get: Why would anyone get offended at someone using their cell phone in the halls, between class, when kids are talking (and screeching) anyway?

I think it's a modern social issue, and students need to learn cell phone etiquette. Cell phones aren't going away! Adults in students lives should teach youngsters proper and respectful cell phone usage, at school.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Every school has phones in the office and in many classrooms

I never refuse to allow my students to use the phone in the classroom. And if a parent has an emergency, they can call the school and probably speak directly to their child.

[kath]

37. Did you talk on the phone to your parents during the school day when you were a kid?

If the kid is sick or has some sort of emergency, they can use the phone in the principal's office, nurse's office, etc.

Likewise, if you need to reach the kid for an emergency, you can call the office.

[theHandpuppet]

16. I don't have a problem with this

Am I supposed to say I'm sorry?

[BlooInBloo]

20. OMG!!! Saying "no" to kids! What is this country coming to????

:rofl:

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Good point

[CreekDog]

67. Oh Come On, you can say "No" to kids

But only I get to say NO to my kid.

But he's such a little angel --it's never come up!

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. They text message each other during class and during tests

and they can also surf the internet on their phones. I picture kids surfing to sites the school computers won't access and the many problems that could cause in a classroom.

I am not a high school teacher but I would find this extremely distracting. Most schools have banned cell phones in class for years. I have no problem with that since most meetings I go to begin with the person in charge asking the attendees to turn off their cell phones. It's a common courtesy and teenagers are not always eager to act in a courteous manner. So no phones at school is not an unreasonable rule.

[Highway61]

28. Seriously...

I may not be popular with this BUT...no electronic devices should be carried to school (ipods, cell phones, blackberry) You need to contact in an emergency? Call the office.
While you at it...Guys...please pull up your pants and fasten them...not interested in seeing your underwear. WTF is that? Guys wear clothes that are 10 times too big and girls wear clothes 10 times too small.

[SoCalDem]

33. Watch for a resurgence of "big hair".. (bluetooth)

:evilgrin:

[nealmhughes]

34. I don't know about HSs, but an a-hole with their cell on ring vice vibrate during a large lecture is

the height of self-centeredness. Almost as bad as cell phones ringing during exams! I don't know how many I sent outside not to come back in 3 years at UA. The rule was simple and in paper and oral and reiterated daily for the first two or 3 weeks of class: cellphones on vibrate, or you will be put out of the class for its duration, unless you are expecting an emergency call and let us know in advance or else take the call outside, pretending to go to the washroom. Not my rule but I was more than glad to enfore it with a vengance. I had to listen to the damned lecture even though I had heard it 4 or 5 times already, and totally unfair to those who were paying their own tuition and for whom planning a date rape or gangbang or whatever the fraternities and sororities do on their phones interrupt.

At my reference desk, you got asked nicely to take the phone outside, then if not, kicked out until you apologize show me it is on vibrate. I would take my own out and show them it wasn't even turned ON while at work! Repeat offenders? there usually weren't many -- asking nicely and showing a bit of good humor goes a long way, but nothing is more intrusive than a shrill or repeatative ringtone while trying to teach or learn. I can deal with leaf blowers, jack hammers and sirens, but not cell phones.

[Bill McBlueState]

35. A fine?

Whatever happened to detention?

This will be just one more way for the rich kids to think they're better than the poor kids. That's the last thing schools need.

Fifteen dollars is peanuts to some kids, and three hours taking orders at McDonald's to others.

[Quantess]

59. In your mind, cell phones are about rich kids thinking they're better?

Did it ever occur to you that the teen has a family cell phone plan?
Has it ever occurred to you that some families place a high priority on telephone communication?

[Bill McBlueState]

69. no, not at all.

Please carefully re-read my post.

I implied that teens from all economic backgrounds may have cell phones. It's getting fined for using them that's unfair to low-income teens. This is essentially a regressive tax, since a $15 fine is a much heavier burden to a poor or self-sufficient teen than to one whose parents shower him or her with cash.

[Pithlet]

36. Until I started seeing stories like this, I had assumed cellphones were banned from schools.

Just as a matter of course. I think it's a perfectly reasonable ban, personally. I'm not anti-cellphone; I love mine. But, I don't see why kids need to take them to school.

[uppityperson]

46. No problem having off during classes, but I think should be allowed between/@ lunch.

I have a problem with a teacher being so distracted by a conversation during lunch or between classes. During class, yes, no electronics, but not being able to talk on the phone between classes seems like not being able to talk in the hallways at all. Duct tape all their mouths shut! That will quiet them down.

Kids should be allowed to talk to each other, directly or through phones, during lunch and between classes.

For all who make negative comments about parenting and cell phones, do what works for you but why so closed minded about what works for other parent/kids? Some of the comments here are sarcasm, I get that, but some are just downright nasty. Do what works for you, but why deride others for what works between them and their kids.

[RB TexLa]

48. A teacher was on radio this morning talking about the psychological damage she had from

the the students phone conversations during lunch last year. They were already banned from using them in class rooms.

[uppityperson]

52. What about their normal conversations? What's the difference? I don't get it.

They swear, gossip, and are loud in person. They do the same on the phone. Seems regular conversations would be as distracting. I am a middle aged person with child out of school.

[CreekDog]

65. Teacher had psychological damage from overhearing lunchtime phone calls?

Okay, I think that teacher's credibility is pretty well shot here.

I could see being offended, but "psychological damage"?!

This is a teacher? Does she have a TV?

[tammywammy]

51. I have no problem with this

They can still have the cell phone, but it's prohibited from being displayed during the school day. So, after school if they need to call a parent or whatnot, they still can.

But regardless, in my high school all this stuff was already banned. I remember accidentally having my pager in my purse (I forgot to leave it in my car) and left it with a teacher for the rest of the day. There are plenty of phones in a school, not only did the office have a phone for emergencies, but we also had quite a few pay phones. :shrug:

They don't need to use a cell phone during the school day.

[CreekDog]

66. In an emergency, I'm sure the rule wouldn't be enforced

Or there would be hell to pay.

I don't like the rules, BTW, but I know that teens will end up with button marks on their cheeks if they got to use their phones as much as they wanted. Oh and repetitive stress injury by 18 from texting.

[Mythsaje]

60. Oh, Jesus Christ...

I hate this heavy-handed crap. I swear, we're all for teaching our kids to bow down to authoritarian shit until they grow up and then we expect them to stand up for their rights. Why should they? They've been taught they don't HAVE any rights.

Talk about mixed messages.

[Odin2005]

61. This anti-cellphone shit is a load of authoritarian bullshit.

I have no problem with cell phones being not allowed to be used in class; but why should they be not allowed to be used going between classes or during lunch? Is that a whiff of technophobia by Baby Boomer administrators and teachers I smell?

[LWolf]

68. Disruptions:

The kids in halls, bathrooms, etc.. are texting kids in the classroom, who have their phone hidden amongst their stuff. Instead of passing notes, today's kids text message each other. As a teacher, I can teach, I can help people learn, or I can police the room for people who are playing games or text messaging each other on phones. I can't give students who want to learn my full attention and police the room at the same time.

Often the messages they are texting are disruptive in nature. Stirring up social conflict that erupts into fights or ends up in bullying, etc.. In some cases, they are making drug deals or planning gang activity. In other cases, they are just gossiping about people behind their backs.

I'm sure some of those kids in the hallways are actually calling parents. Some of my middle-schoolers want to call mommy several times a day; usually because they are making or changing social plans for after school. That would really be the only legitimate use of the phone. To call a parent. Having raised a couple of people, and taught adolescents for many years, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that parents are not who kids are really wanting to chat with on the phone.

I'll also say that excessive trips out of class to lockers or restrooms so that they can use the phone, and excessive time during these trips, is disruptive. They are missing class, and teachers are having to stop instruction to send people out to look for them.

Many of my students have cell phones. The policy is this: the cell phone remains in the backpack, turned off. The backpack remains in the locker. When dismissed to go home, the cell phone can come out of the backpack.

edited to add:

If they are text messaging test answers to each other when I am proctoring a standardized test required by law, my school, district, and I can all land in legal trouble. This probably doesn't happen much, since the testing environment is well-controlled, but still, the potential exists.

[halobeam]

72. If I bet on the responses here before I read them, I would've lost

lol.. DU always amazes me, what a mix of people we have!

My personal thought on this is no phones in class.. if you are caught you are in detention, etc. Of course there should be first and second offense consequences. The kids should be allowed to talk to whomever they like while not in class. Where the hell is their freedom? They certainly work hard enough, more than we EVER had to do (back in the early 70's anyway) and the pressure is WAY ON. So the last day of senior year they can't talk on a cell phone in a lunchroom, but the next day they could go fight in a war? Yeah, IMO, it's seriously heavy handed to limit their freedom. They also have rights. So what, we didn't have cell phones, THEY DO. And the point is? They should be able to make a phone call on their own phone when not in class. Gees.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

74. Kids will still ignore it and work around it. We do here.

Most of my friends and I can text with our phones in our pockets. Believe me, all this will do is piss people off.

[mentalsolstice]

75. Let's be practical

Cell phones are not appropriate in the educational "classroom" setting. However, I support kids carrying cell phones after school. You know...to let their parents know that band practice went longer than usual. So, kid leaves the house in the morning with a cell phone, with a plan paid for by her/his parents. The plan is for after-school communication. Well, where are we?

Flame away!