A few days ago in a local newspaper an article appeared reporting a controversy in a Georgia school system. The school board is contemplating implementing a new rule concerning use of cell phones in the classroom by students. The penalties seemed quite mild to me—confiscation of the phone for a period of three days for the first offense and requires parents to collect the phones. The holding period the next offense is a bit longer; the next, even longer. The article stated that most parents support the rule and the confiscations. Of course, most of the students are against the measure. These are some of the cogent, intelligent remarks made by the students. One young Einstein offered, “That’s stupid.” Another said, “We need the phones in case of emergency.” Uh-huh. Perhaps the emergency necessitating a text message could be “Dude, what’s the answer to No. 11?” or “Whassup?” Or perhaps a little emergency sexting?
What I found most interesting in the article was the support of most parents. It seems to me that they have given over one more facet of parenting to the school system. If they don’t want their children distracted from their educations, why don’t they make and enforce that rule themselves? Why does a kid need a phone in the classroom? If you can convince yourself that your child needs a phone at school, give it with the condition that the phone is to be left in the locker. If the child doesn’t obey the rule, take the phone away. More than likely, the parent is paying for the phone and its service; therefore, it belongs to parent and should be given to the kid with that understanding. Don’t wimp out—enforce your rules. Don’t cede your parental authority to a beleaguered educational system that has been given more than it can handle. Let the teachers educate; don’t make them surrogate parents. As parents, it’s our job to teach ethics, morals, etiquette, and good citizenship.
And if your child has his phone confiscated in school, support the school. Not all rules are made to be broken.
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2 comments:
You are making too much sense! I'm surprised the government hasn't stepped in with "it's" rules! LOL
(give it time)
I think cell phones should be disabled in automobiles! (unless it's in PARK)
I've having a give away. 1000 posts! Swing by and enter...and GOOD LUCK!
I would have loved cell phones when raising my children. As the owner of the phone (and yes I would have made that perfectly clear when it was put in their hands) I easily would have used it as a method of control. I was a heartless woman who told my children not to touch their Halloween candy until I had checked it and when they disobeyed, I took it all out to the dumpster and threw it away with two screaming children walking behind me. Believe me, they never touched their candy after that until it was checked. Don't make the school confiscate their phone, do it yourself!
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