Posted by
Billy on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 10:44:46 AM
Jon Akers, Director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety, has written an
on-line essay calling on school systems to prohibit students from having cell
phones in their possession during school hours (go to www.kysafeschools.org). He
presents an iron-clad argument to the effect that student cell phones are not
just unnecessary but also contribute to bullying, underachievement, sexual
harassment, numerous disciplinary issues, including cheating, and even criminal
activity. It goes without saying that they are one more distraction to a
generation that is already suffering from distraction overload.
(The above is part of a column written by
John Rosemond. More of the column is below.)
In the course of his research, Akers learned that whereas almost all school
systems initially attempted to prohibit or restrict student use of cell phones,
most have ultimately capitulated to pressure from parents and students. In some
cases, the obvious choice has been made to ignore violations; in others, the
matter has been deferred by state-level bureaucrats to individual schools or
districts.
Regular readers of this column know I don’t believe a child (anyone under age 19
who is still dependent upon parental support) should have a cell phone until
he/she is capable of paying for both the phone and the monthly bills.
The problem of enforcement is complicated by parents who demand instant access
to their children during the school day and therefore will not support attempts
to enforce cell phone restrictions. In this regard, parents often point out the
need for their kids to be able to contact them in the event of a school shooting
or terrorist attack, the likelihood of which is miniscule. Besides, in
situations of those sorts the last thing law enforcement wants is hundreds of
parents racing toward and crowding around a threatened school, thus constituting
a hindrance to emergency operations.
( I am a fan of Mr.
John Rosemond but this is one issue where I don't agree with him. No I don't believe kids should be able to use their cell phones during a normal school day but the news reported after the
Columbine High School massacre - the way parents were able to keep in touch with their kids was by way of cell phone. Also with so many kids walking home from school and with many kids being left alone after school cell phones are a great way for parents to be able to know what their children are up to. Also cell phones might be something to punish your kids by taking away. Read the whole column by John Rosemond right here. )