I agree 100%---------First let me say,I do not think any child under 19 should have a cell phone who still lives with parents unless the child has a job buys their own phone and pays their own phone bill------------
Student Cell Phones Should:
Be Prohibited in K-12 Schools
By Jon Akers, Kentucky Center for School Safety
Let me begin by saying that I am acutely aware
that my position on the issue of allowing
students to have cell phones in their possession
at school, during school hours, is a minority opinion,
at least as far as the general public is concerned.
Nevertheless, this is a long-held opinion for me, and
I still stand rmly by it. In fact, as a veteran educator
of thirty years (twenty- ve of which I served as a
school principal) and, as the current state director
of school safety, I am only rmer in my opinion
after the rapid increase of add-on features to cell
phones in recent years, i.e. cameras, Internet, text-
messaging, games, music, ability to record, etc. In
short, the technological capability of the cell phone
has changed drastically since its inception. My
opinion has not. I should also hasten to add, based
on the countless number of principals with whom I
have had the opportunity to interview in my current
role, my opinion is one that is shared by the vast
majority of school principals in the state. As a matter
of fact, I have yet to speak to any school principal that
is actually in favor of allowing students to have cell
phones in their possession in school during the school
day. Thus, the central question becomes, “Why are
most school principals in Kentucky against students
having cell phones at school while most parents,
students and others in favor of it?” What is at the
crux of this debate and why have cell phones become
so prevalent in our schools? I will attempt to answer
those questions based on my school experiences and
some research that I have done on the topic.
First, in my research regarding student cell
phone use, I have learned that there have been
hundreds of policies developed in states around
the country attempting to control students having cell
phones at school. However, to date, forty-nine states
have either abandoned or deferred the decision over
to their local school districts (an action I consider to
be “passing the buck” rather than to risk making what
would most likely be an unpopular decision). When
handed this decision to make, many districts and/or
schools initially developed strict policies to control
the problem; however, after being met with strong
resistance, many revised those policies to be more
lenient, largely surrendering to student and parental
pressures.
As one quickly discerns when looking into this issue,
few have chosen to take on the considerable challenge
of controlling student cell phones in schools.
A prime example can be seen in our own state where
many schools are struggling with the issue of students
being allowed to have cell phones in school. KRS
158.165 basically leaves the issue of “use of personal
telecommunication devices by a public school
student” to each school district. As a result, there are
widely varied speci cs and technicalities in the school
policies across the state. Some distinguish between
students “possessing” and “using” cell phones. Many
mention “regular school hours”, “regular school days”
and “instructional time”, but fail to de ne the terms.
A few districts allow each school to set the rules for
cell phone use and, of the one-hundred sixty Boards
with cell phone policies, nine speci cally ban the use
of cell phones on school property and eight mention
allowing students who are volunteer re ghters to
possess cell phones while at school. Clearly, there is
very little consensus on what to do about this problem,
which simply serves to fuel the unending debate.
Secondly, principals have expressed extreme
frustration to me regarding the enforcement
of Board policies that attempt to address cell
phone usage in the schools. I have been told that
many parents and students blatantly violate their
Board of Education policies concerning this issue.
Some principals say that despite the policy being
well written and published in several documents
(Board of Education Policy, Student Code of Conduct
and Student Handbooks) many students and parents
simply do not believe it applies to them…therefore,
the principal oftentimes must contend with the wrath
of both the students and parents when enforcing these
policies.
Those policies, generally, are either that:
1) Students are prohibited from having phones in their
possession during the school day; or;
2.) Students are permitted to possess cell phones
during the school day, but the cell phone must remain
in the “off” position, a policy most principals say is
ineffective.
In most cases, when a student breaks the policy, the
cell phone is con scated and returned at the end
of the week to the child’s parent; a second offense
usually results in the phone being kept longer. Even
more frustrating to principals is that these policies
are often compromised when superintendents (or
their designees) are pressured by parents/guardians to
make an exception for a child’s case when he/she has
violated the cell phone policy. As many principals
have told me (and I, too, have experienced) when one
exception to a given rule is made, others perceive
and express that they are entitled to the same special
treatment. Many times when this occurs, such policies
are seriously weakened.
But, still the question remains, “Why, did many
school districts initially respond to the advent of cell
phones with such strict policies?” Well, I can only
reply based on my experience as a principal and
from what I have been told repeatedly by numerous
other principals; that is that when students have cell
phones in their possession during school hours, many
disciplinary problems stem from their abuse. Whether
they are being stolen by other students who may not
have a cell phone or just want a fancier one, used
to phone in bomb threats to the school or to harass
another student, the valuable time of educators is
frequently being used to address cell phone abuse
by some students. Exacerbating the problem are the
features that competitive cell phone companies are
quickly adding to their respective phone services
mentioned above. Even at best, they are a distraction
to students in a learning environment. Indeed, if some
will debate whether cell phone use should be allowed
for someone while driving a motor vehicle, then could
not the argument be made also that it is more dif cult
to compute calculus while listening to an iPod,
something many students are allowed (or either sneak)
to do while in class working on assignments?
1. Bullying or harassing other
students with unwanted voice or
text messages
2. Text-messaging or phoning
friends during class time
3. Cheating (i.e., recording,
sending or receiving test questions
and/or answers)
4. Secretly taking inappropriate
photographs of other students and
distributing them
5. Photographing exam answers to
use during the exam
6. Phoning in bomb threats to the school, which
cannot always be traced
7. Phoning others outside the school to meet at
the school during or after school to witness or
participate in a ght or confrontation
8. Experts have stated that cell phones could be
used to detonate a bomb if it is near or on the
school’s campus.
9. In a true emergency, massive cell phone usage
can overload cellular phone systems, crippling
critical of cial and emergency communication.
10. In larger school districts, gang members have,
reportedly, used cell phones to communicate
with one another during school hours.
11. School administrators and law enforcement
of cials have learned that drug deals have been
made via cell phones during school hours.
12. During school emergencies, massive numbers
of students have called their parents via
cell phones and, as a result, those parents
have bombarded the campuses, thwarting
emergency protocols and procedures.
Thirdly, one of the primary reasons for the wide
prevalence of cell phones in our schools is that
parents are demanding to have immediate access
to their children while they are at school. Parents
are quick to single out school shootings (such as at
Columbine) and the terrorist attack on September 11th
as compelling reasons to have their children constantly
accessible to them via cell phone. Undoubtedly, their
feelings in this regard are understandable, but the fact
is, thankfully, that these occurrences are extremely
rare and the possibility of such a tragedy occurring at
12
Problems
Caused by
Students
with
Phones
any school is miniscule; the likelihood of a student
being able to use a cell phone during such a time,
similarly small. Moreover, if to communicate with
their parents was the only reason that students used
cell phones during school, I and other principals would
not advocate prohibiting them from having them.
Unfortunately, I believe this is far from the case.
Finally, the city schools in New York,
Philadelphia, Detroit and New Orleans, along
with the Milwaukee Public Schools have
banned cell phones due to many of the reasons I
have cited above. The abuse of these communicative
devices by many students has simply ruined their
intended use. (And…don’t even get me started on the
Internet issues, i.e., myspace.com, facebook.com, etc!)
So, what’s the answer? Well, I tend to be rather
conservative when I’m asked to provide a viable
solution to this problem. I say, “Leave the cell
phones at home and bring back pay phones!” We
seem to have survived without cell phones before
their invention. Furthermore, I feel that the current
barrage of illegal and immoral acts committed daily
(on cell phones by students during the school day)
far outweigh the parent’s right to talk (and in some
cases, interfere) with their children during a school
emergency.
In conclusion, school of cials can rest assured that
they have at least one ally in the state that will support
their position if called upon to do so. I have carefully
weighed the pros and
cons on the issue, and I
believe that if we want
academic achievement
to abound in our schools,
we must rst make the
learning environment
as safe and emotionally
stable for all students as
we can. Students having cell phones during the school
day in school does not work toward that end.
As a seasoned school administrator and the executive
director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety, I
rest (what I rmly believe to be) my strong case.
Suggestions for Cell Phone “Situations”
1. Leave things as is. (De nition of some for
“insanity”: Doing the same thing repeatedly but
expecting different results.)
2. Attempt to work with parent groups, chronicling
and explaining all of the negative issues associated
with cell phones, both academically and
behaviorally. (Incidentally, there are still some
parents today who refuse to allow their children to
take a cell phone to school. Perhaps, these parents
could discuss with parent groups how their children
manage to survive during the school day without
these devices.)
3. Have school of cials to review their disciplinary
data to determine the extent to which this problem
detracts from instructional time. Then, if the
case can be made that these devices truly create
a signi cant academic or behavioral distraction,
share it with the local Board and request that they
revisit their current policy to determine if it can be
strengthened.
4. Create speci c policies that address the more
abused features of the cell phones, such as the
camera, etc. (Cite the problem of the inappropriate
abuse of them in locker rooms and restrooms.)
Finally, what have I hoped to accomplish by sharing my
opinion, which just happens to be the opinion of many of
my fellow-principal colleagues? At the very least, my hope
is that:
Ø it will stimulate discussion between all school
leaders and their parent base to look, realistically,
at the serious, negative implications inherent in
student possession of cell phones in schools during
the school day;
Ø school leaders will weigh these issues to determine
the parent willingness to request that these policies
be tightened; and,
Ø that more school districts will stand up and take
the unpopular position of prohibiting their students
from having cell phones during the school day,
except during extreme situations, such as when it
has been determined that a student has a gravely ill
loved one.
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