Blech. I just had to write the most 21st century 'Murican email

[Shoeless]

I also want to point out that it's not "the school's" building. The building belongs to the people. The services that school provides are a legal entitlement of the taxpayer. 

The attitude that the school can do whatever it wants and the parents have no say or right to challenge the status quo is 🐂. 

When the school is able to do a better job than I can do at home, then you can lecture me on what is and is not appropriate dress, eating habits, cellphone usage, etc. 

You cannot keep the kids safe and you cannot educate them adequately. Again, what good reason do I have to send my child to school? What good is happening? 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Shoeless

[Shoeless]

Welcome to the school year! A 7 year old brought a gun on to the bus last Tuesday and it went off. This is a handful of miles from my home. 

https://seguintoday.com/2023/08/31/seguin-isd-bus-driver-recognized-for-heroic-efforts/

 

 

[Heartstrings]

8 minutes ago, Shoeless said:

Welcome to the school year! A 7 year old brought a gun on to the bus last Tuesday and it went off. This is a handful of miles from my home. 

https://seguintoday.com/2023/08/31/seguin-isd-bus-driver-recognized-for-heroic-efforts/

 

 

I wonder if they have a drill for that?  

[Shoeless]

8 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

I wonder if they have a drill for that?  

I can't even blame the school, because this kid was on the bus and not on school grounds. 

I don't know how to fix this sort of thing, but I know the current behavior of doing more of what doesn't work...doesn't work! 

I'm so damn mad for these kids because none of the adults can get their act together and keep them safe. And then everyone wrings their hands about why youth have a mental health crisis and where did it come from?! I know...it's the cellphones! 🙄

Edited September 3, 2023 by Shoeless

[Heartstrings]

Just now, Shoeless said:

I can't even blame the school, because this kid was on the bus and not on school grounds. 

I don't know how to fix this sort of thing, but I know the current behavior of doing more of what doesn't work...doesn't work! 

I'm so damn mad for these kids because none of the adults can get their act together and keep them safe. 

It does seem unreasonable to have the bus driver wand the kids as they get on bus.   Geez.   Even metal detectors at school aren’t enough.  
 

I don’t know how 7 year olds gets a gun.   I mean I know, but I don’t get it.   

[Shoeless]

2 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

It does seem unreasonable to have the bus driver wand the kids as they get on bus.   Geez.   Even metal detectors at school aren’t enough.  
 

I don’t know how 7 year olds gets a gun.   I mean I know, but I don’t get it.   

Thoughts and prayers, right? 😡

[KSera]

@Ali in OR I do want to add to that while my post sounds angry, it’s not directed at you. It’s at the whole messed up country we’ve created for our kids to grow up in (Although I do include people who wave away concerns about gun violence and vote for people who are more concerned with keeping the gun lobby paying them than keeping Americans alive among those I am angry at). 

[wendyroo]

48 minutes ago, Shoeless said:

Welcome to the school year! A 7 year old brought a gun on to the bus last Tuesday and it went off. This is a handful of miles from my home. 

https://seguintoday.com/2023/08/31/seguin-isd-bus-driver-recognized-for-heroic-efforts/

 

 

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

[Terabith]

5 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

That is how it works here.  Because of buses, schools start between 7:30 am (half the elementary schools) and 9 am (middle schools).  The logic behind elementary schools starting earlier is that 1) older kids are wired to go to sleep later and sleep later in the morning and younger kids are more likely to naturally awaken earlier, and 2) younger kids are going to need to be in some kind of after school program anyway.  

[Heartstrings]

15 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

School starts at 7:55 where I am, so 7:25 drop off is pretty normal.  Kids eat breakfast at school while they wait. A lot of kids are on the bus an hour or more before getting dropped off.  This means a 5:30-6 am wake up call.  
 

Yes, a lot of kids are in some sort of after care from 2:30-3:00ish until 5.30-6, parents work till 5 then have to commute.  Usually it’s at a daycare, some schools offer after care for a fee but none of the schools around me do.  Some kids ride the bus to grandmas, or just home to hang out until parents get home.  
 

This all requires really early bedtimes to make that 6 am wake up.  

Edited September 3, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Shoeless]

15 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

Yes, they then are in paid after school care. There are a lot of businesses that cater to this. They come in to the school and offer art lessons, robotics, all sorts of things for after school care, but for a fee. In some places, that is the only music or art exposure the kids will have because there are no art or music teachers at the school anymore. 

There is a daycare here that has bus service to and from school and is open 5 am - 12 am. 😔

I have no idea what the families that can't afford after care do. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Shoeless

[Murphy101]

11 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

Lots of reasons possible but the most obvious and likely is that most parents have to be at work by 8.  Logistic of buses (and is there anywhere that doesn’t have a bus/driver shortages?) means they have to drop off earlier so buses can make a second route.  Elementary schools might have before and after care programs, tutors, extracurriculars, breakfast programs…

[Heartstrings]

3 minutes ago, Shoeless said:

s. They come in to the school and offer art lessons, robotics, all sorts of things for after school care, but for a few

That sounds awesome.  None of that happens where I am.  Kids ride a van to daycare where they play Xbox, or play on the playground, or play with toys.   Crayons and Lego are the closest thing to art lessons or robotics.  

Edited September 3, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Shoeless]

Just now, Heartstrings said:

That sounds awesome.  None of that happens where I am.  Kids ride a van to daycare where they play Xbox, or play on the playground, or play with toys.   

Quality varies, like most things.

Honestly, after a long day of school and precious little recess, I think free play outside would be great. Childhood is very structured, scheduled, and monetized now. 

[Murphy101]

Personally I don’t think kids should start school until age 7 and it should only be from 9am to 3pm with a 1 hour lunch/recess. Preferably lunch is at home.

But like most things, no one’s asking me. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Murphy101

[Shoeless]

10 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

That sounds awesome.  None of that happens where I am.  Kids ride a van to daycare where they play Xbox, or play on the playground, or play with toys.   Crayons and Lego are the closest thing to art lessons or robotics.  

Oh, I'm wrong. The cool robotics and art programs are in a different, wealthier district. 

The district with the gun on the bus has $40 a week afterschool care program for K-5. Includes snack, homework help, "group activities", movies, and "fun!" 

It's probably a bunch of kids piled into the gym with a tv going in one corner, loud music in another corner, and a bunch of kids going bonkers from the noise and stimulation. But that's what you get for $2-3 bucks an hour. 

[wendyroo]

18 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

Lots of reasons possible but the most obvious and likely is that most parents have to be at work by 8.  Logistic of buses (and is there anywhere that doesn’t have a bus/driver shortages?) means they have to drop off earlier so buses can make a second route.  Elementary schools might have before and after care programs, tutors, extracurriculars, breakfast programs…

My public schooler is on the bus for about an hour each way (to a school that is a 2.5 mile drive from our house). So in my experience, a 7:25 drop off means kids are getting on the bus quite a while before most parents need to leave to get to work at 8. Obviously it could be very different in other areas. 

[Melissa in Australia]

My boys are on the bus 1 1/2 hours each way to specialist school. It is 100 km away. They only go 3 days a week 

[Faith-manor]

59 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

Here it is because the rural bus routes are very long, and the bus drivers have to bring kids in and then go get more since there are not enough drivers. It is not uncommon for some kids to get on the bus at 6:00 am with a school day that ends at 3 pm, and then they have to go to aftercare until the bus comes back from the first drop off. Some kids don't get home until 5 pm. It is a helluva long day for little kids. And ya, these kids are seriously stressed out because of it, and the general craptasticness of school in general plus the regular bullying, bomb threats, potential shooters, etc. The high school kid two blocks down the street refers to school as his "P.O.W. Camp".  So while he obviously doesn't have a full understanding of what that actually means in the context of world wars and conflicts, he also says this with deep sadness and obvious fear indicating a level of trauma students should not be legally compelled to endure.

Long, horrible days. Kids should be allowed to unionize and go on strike.

[Murphy101]

3 hours ago, wendyroo said:

My public schooler is on the bus for about an hour each way (to a school that is a 2.5 mile drive from our house). So in my experience, a 7:25 drop off means kids are getting on the bus quite a while before most parents need to leave to get to work at 8. Obviously it could be very different in other areas. 

And that may be the case. I remember my elementary school was a 15 -20 minute walk (across a creek and under an overpass and then across some bare land)  BUT we were all forbidden to make that walk in elementary (coughdiditanywayscoigh) and that meant I had to catch the bus between 6:50-7:10 pending where my pick up was on the route that year. Classes started at 8:30. But the bus obviously took so long b because it made numerous stops before hauling us all to school. And none of that accommodated before or after care back then. (Or now)  We were the original latch key kids after all. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

My oldest’s school bus comes at 6:30 am this year and drops him back off at 4 pm.  School is 8-2 but since the school offers free breakfast and lunch most kids are there at 7:30 to eat breakfast.

I am probably going to have to at least pick him up from school this year because that’s just too long of a bus ride. Which means I will drive 25 minutes one way to pick him up at 2pm and then continue 20 minutes in a different direction to pick up DD at her school at 2:45 and then another 20 minutes home.  But if they were bussed, both would be spending around four hours a day on busses alone.

But we live rurally so longer bus routes to start with and there aren’t nearly enough bus drivers so they have to consolidate routes. I’m glad to be homeschooling youngest this year because I have no idea how we’d manage transportation to a third school.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Mrs Tiggywinkle Again

[Dmmetler]

10 hours ago, Shoeless said:

Oh, I'm wrong. The cool robotics and art programs are in a different, wealthier district. 

The district with the gun on the bus has $40 a week afterschool care program for K-5. Includes snack, homework help, "group activities", movies, and "fun!" 

It's probably a bunch of kids piled into the gym with a tv going in one corner, loud music in another corner, and a bunch of kids going bonkers from the noise and stimulation. But that's what you get for $2-3 bucks an hour. 

My center does after school care for ages 5-12 (K-5th). Parents can send their kid to piano, dance, art, pottery studio, etc...but it's for an extra fee on top of the after care, which gets watching videos in one room, a room for quiet homework/reading (which isn't super quiet in part because of the supervisors constantly telling kids who make any noise whatsoever they're being too loud), or running around in the gym or on the playground. 

I have several little midi controllers/keyboards  that kids can use for quiet practice with headphones, and last year one little girl would come down almost every day, put on the headphones, pull out her book, and read :).  

[Ali in OR]

I will step out of this thread after this post. I start school on Tuesday--much to do, enough stress on its own, and I don't need the added stress here.

Every person I know who works in a school cares deeply about all the kids. We live a very difficult, very stressful, and pretty self-sacrificing life trying to help others. I'm not going to be able to read posts here about how bad I must be at classroom management or how I just don't care enough about school shootings. I'm the one living in my school and seeing what our daily challenges are and I know how much everyone I work with cares about every student and how they are growing and developing. We take precautions to make our schools as safe as possible and yep, that means we have to drill for awful things (once a year, not daily). And it is very sad this is what it's come to--I think everyone voting on gun control should have to take part in a lockdown drill with kindergarteners. But this awfulness doesn't overrule everything else in life.

There is harm that happens to students who are over-connected to their phones. That is what we deal with on a daily basis--not school shootings. Kids who have trouble connecting to real people, kids with very short attention spans who can't focus on a complex topic, kids with anxiety who believe only plugging in can relieve it. Once we've done what we can to make school safe, this to me is the bigger issue I face daily. If you're not in a school trying to educate everybody's kids (not just your own who may have no trouble with using technology appropriately), you don't really know what I'm talking about.

Have a good school year.

[Murphy101]

No one has said you don’t care about your students. People who care don’t always make the right or best choices either. Often because the choice isn’t their’s to make, but a policy they have to follow.

For my part, as I said, I think the schools activity make more attention span problems that contribute the phone problem. But I hear you loud and clear. Anyone who isn’t teaching in the classroom should just shut up and let teachers do whatever.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Murphy101

[Frances]

25 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

That’s a very long-winded way to say nothing.

And your statement is inaccurate and rude.

[Terabith]

Multiple things can be true at once.  It can be true that many or most public school teachers are caring, committed people who care a lot about their students and who pour a ton of their time, energy, and funds into their classroom.  Of course there are some who do not care about anything other than obedience; any profession has people who are not good at their jobs.  It can be true that these caring teachers are trapped in a system that requires them to do things that are not good for students (not enough recess, forcing more writing than kids are developmentally ready for, continual use of chrome books that are pretty terrible for kids but are cheaper than textbooks, administration that makes strongly discourages testing for IEPs).  It can also be true that having phones on their person is both a reasonable accommodation to a society in which we *need to know where our kids' bodies are after a school shooting* and also a source of continual distraction and disruption during the school day and that kids would be better off not having them on their person.  

Competing needs exist, for sure.  

[Murphy101]

6 minutes ago, Frances said:

And your statement is inaccurate and rude.

Sigh. Okay. I’m not seeing how it’s inaccurate. Going off about how much they care about the kids is a nothing argument. It offers nothing to the argument. No one is accusing them of being child haters.  She didn’t address any of the issues of how tech heavy classrooms actually contribute to the very problems she claims of cellphones.  She didn’t address any of the arguable points with anything other than they care about kids and they are in the room and parents aren’t so there.

As terebith noted and I have noted, it’s not an either or scenario about any of these policies.

[Corraleno]

20 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

Sigh. Okay. I’m not seeing how it’s inaccurate. Going off about how much they care about the kids is a nothing argument. It offers nothing to the argument. No one is accusing them of being child haters.  She didn’t address any of the issues of how tech heavy classrooms actually contribute to the very problems she claims of cellphones.  She didn’t address any of the arguable points with anything other than they care about kids and they are in the room and parents aren’t so there.

As terebith noted and I have noted, it’s not an either or scenario about any of these policies.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone here believes that most teachers do care about kids and genuinely want what (they think) is best for them. But good intentions don't outweigh the harm done when what they think is "best for kids" really isn't. And it's pretty ironic for someone to tell a group of parents that if we don't work in schools then we don't know what we're talking about, when the whole reason that most of us don't have kids in school (or at least would prefer not to) is because we do know what goes on in schools! 

It can be true that most teachers care about their students AND that a system that was supposed to educate children has turned into a completely dysfunctional, Kafkaesque bureaucracy focused on artificial test scores, where actual education takes a distant back seat to controlling a warehouse full of bored, depressed, disengaged kids while so-called adults prioritize "protecting" kids from books instead of bullets.

[Frances]

3 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

There is harm that happens to students who are over-connected to their phones. That is what we deal with on a daily basis--not school shootings. Kids who have trouble connecting to real people, kids with very short attention spans who can't focus on a complex topic, kids with anxiety who believe only plugging in can relieve it. Once we've done what we can to make school safe, this to me is the bigger issue I face daily. If you're not in a school trying to educate everybody's kids (not just your own who may have no trouble with using technology appropriately

 

1 hour ago, Murphy101 said:

Sigh. Okay. I’m not seeing how it’s inaccurate. Going off about how much they care about the kids is a nothing argument. It offers nothing to the argument. No one is accusing them of being child haters.  She didn’t address any of the issues of how tech heavy classrooms actually contribute to the very problems she claims of cellphones.  She didn’t address any of the arguable points with anything other than they care about kids and they are in the room and parents aren’t so there.

As terebith noted and I have noted, it’s not an either or scenario about any of these policies.

She provided information about the harm she, as a public school teacher, sees to students who are overly connected to their phones. So it’s inaccurate to claim she said nothing or contributed nothing to the discussion.

[Murphy101]

1 hour ago, Frances said:

 

She provided information about the harm she, as a public school teacher, sees to students who are overly connected to their phones. So it’s inaccurate to claim she said nothing or contributed nothing to the discussion.

I don’t think she really did. She says it causes harm, which I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with, but the disagreement is why target their cellphones when the tech mandated and the policies of the institution itself also have the same harmful effect in the children?

How is notifications on the Chromebook and attachment to the Chromebook one bit healthier or better for the child? I’m certainly not seeing any for elementary aged children. 

[Corraleno]

32 minutes ago, Frances said:

She provided information about the harm she, as a public school teacher, sees to students who are overly connected to their phones.

But hiding the phones, instead of helping kids learn moderation, does nothing to actually address or mitigate that harm, while it does increase the potential for trauma in the event of a shooting. It's incredibly naive to think that just because a preplanned annual drill goes smoothly, that 30 kids could easily and instantly get their backpacks from under their chairs and get their phones out while someone with an AR-15 could spray the classroom with more bullets in 30 seconds than there are students — not to mention the kids in the bathroom or hallway who are nowhere near their backpacks. And, as other posters have mentioned, in many schools kids are forced to leave phones in their lockers or even locked in an office.

There's no reason that teachers couldn't require kids to switch their phones to DND during class, and only require the phone to be put in a backpack if a student violates that. That's a good habit to develop anyway, and a good practice to normalize for everyone everywhere, not just school kids. And FWIW I also think that parents who vote for no-phone policies are abdicating some of their own responsibility to help their kids develop healthy screen habits. Too many people think school shootings are something that only happens to other people, not something that would ever happen at their school to their kid. I mean, that's exactly what that bus driver in TX said after a 7 yr old shot a gun on the school bus — "you just never think it's going to happen to you." 

[Frances]

3 hours ago, Murphy101 said:

I don’t think she really did. She says it causes harm, which I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with, but the disagreement is why target their cellphones when the tech mandated and the policies of the institution itself also have the same harmful effect in the children?

How is notifications on the Chromebook and attachment to the Chromebook one bit healthier or better for the child? I’m certainly not seeing any for elementary aged children. 

She said the majority of work in her class was done without tech, so I’m not sure why she has to address what might be very different tech policies in other schools across the country. It’s not like she has any control over what is done in other schools. She was explaining what she saw and what worked and didn’t work in her school and her classroom.
 

While I certainly don’t like the overuse of Chrome books in so many places, at least in my large school district, there would be no texting or social media allowed on Chromebooks and websites and apps are also very restricted. So most of the most addictive things about phones would not be an issue with Chromebooks. 

[Frances]

3 hours ago, Corraleno said:

But hiding the phones, instead of helping kids learn moderation, does nothing to actually address or mitigate that harm, while it does increase the potential for trauma in the event of a shooting. It's incredibly naive to think that just because a preplanned annual drill goes smoothly, that 30 kids could easily and instantly get their backpacks from under their chairs and get their phones out while someone with an AR-15 could spray the classroom with more bullets in 30 seconds than there are students — not to mention the kids in the bathroom or hallway who are nowhere near their backpacks. And, as other posters have mentioned, in many schools kids are forced to leave phones in their lockers or even locked in an office.

There's no reason that teachers couldn't require kids to switch their phones to DND during class, and only require the phone to be put in a backpack if a student violates that. That's a good habit to develop anyway, and a good practice to normalize for everyone everywhere, not just school kids. And FWIW I also think that parents who vote for no-phone policies are abdicating some of their own responsibility to help their kids develop healthy screen habits. Too many people think school shootings are something that only happens to other people, not something that would ever happen at their school to their kid. I mean, that's exactly what that bus driver in TX said after a 7 yr old shot a gun on the school bus — "you just never think it's going to happen to you." 

I think your idea of requiring kids to switch phones to DND during class is a good one, although I wonder how easy it is for a teacher to check compliance. Couldn’t a student not comply and still feel vibration notifications and thus still be distracted by the phone? I suppose combining DND with phone face down on desk might work, as vibrations would be more noticeable.

But as mentioned in this article, such policies can still take away significant class time and risk escalation, as many students wander in late to class. Although having the same policy throughout entire schools, rather than leaving it to individual teachers, might help.
https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/09/portland-area-school-policies-on-cellphones-all-over-the-map-especially-for-high-schoolers.html

The article also mentions the joint nature of the responsibility for both schools and parents to help educate kids on healthy screen/phone habits.

[Sneezyone]

31 minutes ago, Frances said:

She said the majority of work in her class was done without tech, so I’m not sure why she has to address what might be very different tech policies in other schools across the country. It’s not like she has any control over what is done in other schools. She was explaining what she saw and what worked and didn’t work in her school and her classroom.
 

While I certainly don’t like the overuse of Chrome books in so many places, at least in my large school district, there would be no texting or social media allowed on Chromebooks and websites and apps are also very restricted. So most of the most addictive things about phones would not be an issue with Chromebooks. 

We do have school issued Chromebooks. Teachers post assignments, videos, links, it even handles grading in some cases. Teachers also communicate schedule changes for sports, clubs and other activities through apps that send messages during the day. The apps DS uses most are the ones used to communicate band stuff, that and YouTube which isn’t blocked on their chromebooks either. So, yeah, it’s really hard to justify. Plus there’s this…a prof at UNC continuing to teach after an active shooter alert was issued on campus? It just speaks to the desensitization toward gun violence risks. No one thinks it will happen until it does. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/university-north-carolina-fatal-shooting-students-criticizing_n_64f49cace4b08f6e30e97a5b

I don’t want DS using his phone for frivolous reasons in class and would expect him to be disciplined for it but I’ll be damned if I leave him unable to call or be called in an emergency.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Frances]

11 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

We do have school issues Chromebooks. Teachers post assignments, videos, links, it even handles grading in some cases. Teachers also communicate schedule changes for sports, clubs and other activities through apps that send messages during the day. The apps DS uses most as the ones used to communicate band stuff, that and YouTube which isn’t blocked on their chromebooks either. So, yeah, it’s really hard to justify. Plus the. There’s this…a prof at UNC continuing to teach after an active shooter alert was issued on campus? It just speaks to the desensitization toward gun violence risks. No one thinks it will happen until it does.

So this sounds quite different than how Chromebooks are used in my district in terms of what is allowed and used, especially for younger kids. Do your schools have policies on Chromebook use during class or can students have them out and be using them whenever they desire? If it’s the latter, then of course it would make sense to also allow cell phones to be on and with students at all times. But if as in @Ali in ORclass, Chromebooks are only allowed to be out and used when it is part of the lesson plan, then having phones off (or on DND) and face down on desks or in a backpack (if students bring those to class, I know policies vary greatly on this also) seems more consistent.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Frances

[Sneezyone]

22 minutes ago, Frances said:

So this sounds quite different than how Chromebooks are used in my district in terms of what is allowed and used, especially for younger kids. Do your schools have policies on Chromebook use during class or can students have them out and be using them whenever they desire? If it’s the latter, then of course it would make sense to also allow cell phones to be on and with students at all times. But if as in @Ali in ORclass, Chromebooks are only allowed to be out and used when it is part of the lesson plan, then having phones off (or on DND) and face down on desks or in a backpack (if students bring those to class, I know policies vary greatly on this also) seems more consistent.

It is classroom dependent. Ours is also a tech magnet high school so it’s not necessary in every class but many of them, yes. They bring them to every class and can reasonably expect to be allowed to use them in every class if even just to check their school email. They’ve even toyed with using digital/timed hall passes requested through their devices to limit the number of kids in the hall at any given time.
 

When my DD was a student there, she also found it helpful to snap a pic of the homework on the board/schedule vs writing it down. She’d snap pics of a worked math problem, etc. When I told her about the change this week she expressed relief that she was out. Oldest used to use her oculus headset to do math homework tho. This was my super visual learner. She would stand in her room waiving her hands in the air as she worked problem sets she imported on a virtual whiteboard.🤷🏽‍♀️

Edited September 4, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

On 9/2/2023 at 11:44 AM, Idalou said:

 Little Miah did not have a cell phone on her. Her teacher got a text saying there was a shooter just as the killer approached her and shot through the door, leaving no time for the others to do ANYTHING but hide under a damn table for nearly an hour. Miah saw her friend's body ripped to pieces, covered herself in the child's blood, then crawled over to her teacher's body and took the phone. How lucky she was not to have been seen crawling across the room.

To hell with keeping phones locked away in bags or drawers or lockers. Teach them how to regulate phone use, stress the importance to parents, and have school wide discipline regs for those who use them during class, no matter if it's little Tommy Trouble playing phone games or the most popular football player or the future Valedictorian answering texts. 

People keep mentioning comfort to a parent in such a tragedy. What about the need of a child to tell their parents they love them and are scared. I've read many stories of kids calling during lockdowns just to say goodbye. It reminds me of stories about how loud the Civil War fields were after a battle with agonizing cries of men calling out for their mothers. 

I'm happy there may be schools where kids phones may be kept on a bag by their feet, 2 seconds away.  But please quit acting like it's this way all over, remember that not all school shootings happen in classrooms, that school shooters are often students who know if phones are restricted or not, and that all school doors are locked. For example, in Houston's huge school district, all classroom doors are now mandated to remain open, supposedly so the principal and admin can stealthily pass by to make sure the teachers are following the new ed mandates.

 

To your first point, about the needs of the kids, did you see the front page of UNCs student newspaper on Wed? https://www.npr.org/2023/09/01/1197145404/unc-daily-tar-heel-newspaper-front-page-shooting

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Corraleno]

[Heartstrings]

I can’t help but think that the real reason they don’t want kids to have phones is so we don’t get this sort of info graphic.  The news reports always mention the text messages sent, the “Just know I love you”phone calls.  There is a component of this that is about controlling the narrative after the inevitable.  The calls and texts are the personal interest angle, they are the personal touch that gets consumers hooked. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Heartstrings

[fairfarmhand]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:11 PM, wendyroo said:

Unrelated question, why are elementary students getting dropped off at school at 7:25am? That seems really early. Doesn’t that mean they are done around 2:30pm, and that most of them have to hang out in some type of after care for many more hours?

Yes. But parents work schedules wrap up earlier too. Many people start work at 6-7 am. At least around here. 

[Ting Tang]

I've read almost nothing on this forum to convince me I should return my children to public school this weekend.

😞   

[Sneezyone]

On 9/4/2023 at 5:49 PM, Heartstrings said:

I can’t help but think that the real reason they don’t want kids to have phones is so we don’t get this sort of info graphic.  The news reports always mention the text messages sent, the “Just know I love you”phone calls.  There is a component of this that is about controlling the narrative after the inevitable.  The calls and texts are the personal interest angle, they are the personal touch that gets consumers hooked. 

It's entirely too touchy-feely, too human, to acknowledge that faculty can't (and in some cases won't)...for legit reasons, no judgment, protect all kids. As a parent tho, it's also fully within my purview to say we will NOT abide by rules that prevent access to our child in an emergency. DS brought the school rules home today. DEVICES MUST BE POWERED OFF and be off the body to meet the rules. It's madness. DS said most kids at school were nodding and shrugging it off so he's not alone in following our family's guidance--no haptics, no looking at it in class, ALWAYS on your person and charged. I wrote on the paper my rules: LET ME KNOW IF HE ABUSES THE PRIVILEGE of keeping a device on his person, otherwise...NO.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:29 PM, Ting Tang said:

I've read almost nothing on this forum to convince me I should return my children to public school this weekend.

😞   

TBF - Most teachers in our district see these administrative edicts as so much hogwash. It's the true believers, the older TEACHERS (retirement age) that assaulted a student last year that result in these blanket, stupid, policies. This isn't our norm, and it's why I spoke my piece. In the absence of clear-eyed, moderate voices, districts have nothing else to work with. Every other (save one) voice at the meeting I attended was talking about the after school satan club (it was only launched in response to the 'Good News Club'. WTF!? This is how districts legislate, based on the whims of squeaky wheels who don't, and will never, have more kids in schools.

The priority with our current school board is to deal with screens BEFORE making schools safe.  Our society has chosen to focus on screens, not gun safety, to our eternal shame. I disagree. Maslow, people. MASLOW.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Sneezyone