California considers limits/ban on cell phones in schools

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We had pay phones. When is the last time you saw one? I took a photo of one a couple years ago and the next time I was in that area it was gone. My kids do carry phones for my convenience and peace of mind. My dad said several times we would have had them as kids if they were available. Just because our parents didn’t know where we were at all times doesn’t mean they liked it. Each parent is going to do what they feel is best, judging them for it really doesn’t accomplish anything. The schools here reserve the right to confiscate a phone and require the parent to come pick it up. That’s happened exactly one time, said child complied and I backed the school up. Then I grounded her little butt.

We didn't have payphones actually in school not that I remembered ever seeing. Cell phones were uber special and only certain kids had them or they shared them with their siblings and I only saw that at the high school level (early 2000s); before that cell phones were even more rare (90s).

The only way to contact your kid while in school during my childhood was to contact the attendance office who would call the teacher in their classroom when I was in elementary school and maybe middle school.

For high school it was the attendance office who would dispatch someone to the classroom to have you call so and so in the teacher's room or physically go to the attendance office.

If your parent called during lunch or recess then you would be calling your parent when you go back in from recess or lunch because that's when you would find out your parent called.

If you yourself needed to call your parents you could call using your teacher's landline or through the attendance office if you walked in and said you needed to call so and so.

That all being said I don't know if schools have landline phone lines in classrooms anymore. I'm sure they do for the attendance/admin offices though. Also in the new high school that had its first school year last year the teachers do not have assigned classrooms and they move around frequently so I don't know that a landline phone is set up in the rooms.

So I'd say it's not payphones that would present the problem here it's that landlines have gone by the wasteside as cell phones became the way to communicate. That initself is a relatively new thing though in terms of generational change but the technology these days moves at warp speed.

 

[Floridaman999]

I always sent my kids to school with some flint and a carpet so they could send me smoke signals if there was danger. Heck with cell phones. Go old school.

 

[wgeo]

I always sent my kids to school with some flint and a carpet so they could send me smoke signals if there was danger. Heck with cell phones. Go old school.

You're very smart. I tried to send my kids to school with a tin can on a string, but I ran out of string.

 

[wenrob]

We didn't have payphones actually in school not that I remembered ever seeing. Cell phones were uber special and only certain kids had them or they shared them with their siblings and I only saw that at the high school level (early 2000s); before that cell phones were even more rare (90s).

The only way to contact your kid while in school during my childhood was to contact the attendance office who would call the teacher in their classroom when I was in elementary school and maybe middle school.

For high school it was the attendance office who would dispatch someone to the classroom to have you call so and so in the teacher's room or physically go to the attendance office.

If your parent called during lunch or recess then you would be calling your parent when you go back in from recess or lunch because that's when you would find out your parent called.

If you yourself needed to call your parents you could call using your teacher's landline or through the attendance office if you walked in and said you needed to call so and so.

That all being said I don't know if schools have landline phone lines in classrooms anymore. I'm sure they do for the attendance/admin offices though. Also in the new high school that had its first school year last year the teachers do not have assigned classrooms and they move around frequently so I don't know that a landline phone is set up in the rooms.

So I'd say it's not payphones that would present the problem here it's that landlines have gone by the wasteside as cell phones became the way to communicate. That initself is a relatively new thing though in terms of generational change but the technology these days moves at warp speed.

I was actually answering the question in general. “How did we survive without cellphones?” I know I’m a fair bit older than you are and I believe that poster is a little bit older than me. We had pay phones just about everywhere. But come to think of it, right around high school some of us had pagers. My grandpa was a techie and so I had one because, get this, he wanted to be able to get ahold of me. Alas, if I wanted to return his page I needed a phone which usually meant finding a pay phone. I remember it being a PITA more than anything and gave it back.

I have no idea if my kids classrooms have phones or not. On the occasions that I have gone down to the school to get them after the receptionist rolls her eyes at me because I did not text them she sends a student aid to go get them.

 

[shoney]

I am a special Ed teacher and advocate for phone use. It is an
Important part of how teenagers Socialize.... and can be done appropriately. especially important skill for those on the spectrum where socializing is an issue.

The phone is a resource not an enemy. Teaching kids to use them appropriately is key.

I text my son at school and he texts me when necessary

I text parents and they text me. It is an immediate form of communication.

It is a part of all of our lives now and just banning is antiquated thinking and not helpful at all

 

[hereyago]

California is hilarious, lol.

 

[Colleen27]

Good thing that the Assemblyman stated in the article that the intent is for the schools to come up with policies that fit their school

Policies that "limit or ban" use, according to the article That certainly seems like a level of control that would be better left in the hands of school administrators, IMO. Both my girls go to schools with fairly liberal cell phone policies, where discipline is handled on a case-by-case basis. But to me, requiring schools to ban or limit cell phone use makes as much sense as requiring them to ban or limit paper because of kids who pass notes, or limit access to books because of kids like me who tuned the teachers out to read as often as not. The phones aren't the problem. The behaviours are.

Most of the schools do have landlines in every class room now

Wow. Not around me. Our school just approved purchase of a walkie-talkie type system to ensure all of the teachers have the ability to communicate with one another in the event of a lockdown or other emergency because there are no landlines in the rooms and not everyone was comfortable with relying on cell phones as the only connection (we live in a border town and the school is right on the river separating us from Canada; cell service can be VERY spotty, especially if the teacher doesn't live in our town and doesn't have a carrier specifically chosen to work here).

 

[Hikergirl]

Well, there is the school office you can call

And 2000 other parents.
Luckily my kids have never had a true emergency in any of their schools, but I do wonder if they did would the secretary actually stay sitting at her desk to answer calls from concerned parents? I doubt it.
Students and parents are all given notice of lock down drills so that students aren't frantically calling their parents every time it happens.
If there is a lock down that isn't planned I want the students to be able to contact their parents. No way would all of us be able to get in touch with someone at the school let alone speak to our own children and know they are OK.

My kid's school has a policy on cell phones- you are allowed to use them at the individual teacher's discretion. If you are caught using it when you aren't supposed too, it gets taken away and you have to go back to whatever teacher has it and get it back at dismissal.
The only rule that applies all the time is no use of ear buds or head phones, even if they are seen on you, even just walking in the hallway, you get your phone taken away.
Seems to work just fine here.

 

[msjprincess]

Our schools definitely don't have landlines in the classrooms. Which is one of the reasons teachers prefer that you email them. Playing phone tag is a PITA when they have to go down to the office to use the phone.

Only some of the classes have ipads now. In other classes they use their phones to look things up.

When I was a kid we had payphones in the school lobby.

 

[tvguy]

And 2000 other parents.
Luckily my kids have never had a true emergency in any of their schools, but I do wonder if they did would the secretary actually stay sitting at her desk to answer calls from concerned parents? I doubt it.
Students and parents are all given notice of lock down drills so that students aren't frantically calling their parents every time it happens.
If there is a lock down that isn't planned I want the students to be able to contact their parents. No way would all of us be able to get in touch with someone at the school let alone speak to our own children and know they are OK.

My kid's school has a policy on cell phones- you are allowed to use them at the individual teacher's discretion. If you are caught using it when you aren't supposed too, it gets taken away and you have to go back to whatever teacher has it and get it back at dismissal.
The only rule that applies all the time is no use of ear buds or head phones, even if they are seen on you, even just walking in the hallway, you get your phone taken away.
Seems to work just fine here.

The schools here are big on text, phone and e-mail alerts. Monday a co-worker got an alert on a lockdown Monday at his kid's school. I called the Police to see what was going on, and the alerts had actually gone out before the Police were notified!

 

[sam_gordon]

The schools here are big on text, phone and e-mail alerts. Monday a co-worker got an alert on a lockdown Monday at his kid's school. I called the Police to see what was going on, and the alerts had actually gone out before the Police were notified!

The alerts we get are:
* PTA Meetings
* Tryouts for archery team
* Dress down days (middle school)
* Reminder to register for AP Exams (even though I don't have any kids in AP classes)
* Report Cards will be sent home today
* Book fair is extended a day
* Band concert is happening as scheduled
* Sweetheart Dance is tonight
* Schools closed because of weather (THIS one, I want).

We don't (ok, maybe 1 time in last 3-4 years) get notifications of lockdowns.

 

[tvguy]

The alerts we get are:
* PTA Meetings
* Tryouts for archery team
* Dress down days (middle school)
* Reminder to register for AP Exams (even though I don't have any kids in AP classes)
* Report Cards will be sent home today
* Book fair is extended a day
* Band concert is happening as scheduled
* Sweetheart Dance is tonight
* Schools closed because of weather (THIS one, I want).

We don't (ok, maybe 1 time in last 3-4 years) get notifications of lockdowns.

We've signed up here at work for the three big districts in our viewing area and get them all, but only the lock downs, fortunately.

 

[tvguy]

Okay, I have just spent the last 30 minutes trying to find a live feed of the Governor of California in Littleton, California (in Lake County) talking about of all things WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
The Governor's office, State office of Emergency Services, California Channel and the ABC station all planned to broadcast it live using cellular equipment. There is no cell service there. Kind or ironic!
No technology is 100% reliable, so the lesson is, you need various technologies to deal with an emergency.

 

[neverlandsky]

My kids M.S. & H.S. already have no cell phone policies in place where they can only have them during school lunch, before or after school. Ok if phone is out of sight and on silent.

 

[Scifidiner]

I truly believe "smart" phones are making kids dumber.

 

[dotfurio]

I'm not sure what the point of this is. Schools already have policies. I've taught middle school and elementary and cell phone use in class has never been an issue - when I allow it, they can use it. When I don't, they keep it put away or I take it until the end of the day.

ODD and her friends often use their phones in HS for taking photos of assignments and research or notes.

 

[monsterkitty]

I truly believe "smart" phones are making kids dumber.

I like how parents in Silicon Valley limit smart phone use:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/silicon-valley-parents-are-raising-their-kids-tech-free/

 

[Hikergirl]

The schools here are big on text, phone and e-mail alerts. Monday a co-worker got an alert on a lockdown Monday at his kid's school. I called the Police to see what was going on, and the alerts had actually gone out before the Police were notified!

I get text alerts for general things delays and cancellations, or reminders about parent nights and after school activities. I also get daily emails from the high school letting me know the daily news- which includes scheduled lock down.
I can't say what would happen in a true emergency. I have gotten text alerts after the fact (we've had some threats) however I still would rather I be able to speak to my child and know how they are. A text alert isn't going to be able to give me that info or any real information about the situation.
I'm thankful our schools have embraced cell phone use by students.

 

[dish rag]

Bad idea. But it is California.

 

[PollyannaMom]

So I vote for keeping phones but perhaps a national education campaign to reign in use to times and places that are appropriate.

Can I "like" this 37 times?

Same here with my older son - he told us the other night he doesn't like the snooze option on his phone alarm, so instead, apparently he sets 6 or 7 different alarms, spaced out a few minutes apart.

Gotta give him points for creative problem-solving.

The phone is a resource not an enemy. Teaching kids to use them appropriately is key...It is a part of all of our lives now and just banning is antiquated thinking and not helpful at all

I agree. There are appropriate uses for phones in school - texting parents that you need to stay after, looking up a definition or historical reference while reading, taking a picture of assignment instructions (save the trees!)...

We need to educate children for the world they are going to live in.