Mobile phone use in class

I am not against this. But it would be hard to enforce. Some kids use their phones to coordinate transportations and such. But there are plenty of kids who abuse it. During his freshman year, someone was taking pictures of my son without his knowledge and posting them on social media with a fake name. He was just standing at the front of the school waiting to be picked up and someone decided to insult his clothes (which were part of a uniform!). This went on for a few months. The school was unable to determine the culprit.

As a school employee, I have seen phones used a lot in bullying. We have tried things like having kids keep their phones in the office until the end of the day, taking phones that are used on school property, charging “fines” when they are used during school hours. It all leads to drama.

 

Well, here's what they might do in Singapore. Not really recommended - but I bet it's tempting.

Google: "Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, prison, reformatory, military, school and domestic. These practices of caning as punishment were introduced during the period of British colonial rule in Singapore."

Just post a job: "Chief Caning Officer required for school. For mobile phone offenders." You don't have to fill it. Might throw a scare into 'em.

 

Some well-placed jammers might contribute to a solution...

 

that might prevent social media and game use, but I’m not aware of any that prevent you from using your camera. That’s usually the source of the bullying aspect

 

It is? Father of two girls here, I had other experiences. I think the main problems are social media and the deliberate exclusion of someone. But maybe this differs from school to school, and if you are a teacher or something similar your perspective differs from mine anyway.

 

when they can still take pictures and videos, they can simply post them from home later. It’s still reaching social media. Of course, you aren’t wrong either. But jammers at school would just prevent posting during school hours. It wouldn’t prevent pictures and videos being taken and posted later. Unless there’s jammers for that too.

 

...note to myself: getting an incredible amount of jammers to restore peace in my hometown, starting Monday at 0600.... of course, the only one who are doing JAMMING right are these guys here:

 

Aren't jammers illegal almost everywhere?

Also, phones aren't just recreational. Even outside of coordinating transportation, they have a lot of uses. Calendars, notes, etc. Medication. Connecting to hearing aids to enhance their functionality. Banning phones wholesale hurts everyone, especially those who really need them.

 

Interesting. "Hey Google, where are phone jammers still legal? Answer:

"Ukraine. As a result of a government initiative to prevent cheating on tests by students using their mobile phones, this is the one of the few countries in the world in which the use of jammers is legal."

 

I was not 100 percent serious. Still, I can remember a time when life was manageable without those things...

 

Manageable, maybe. Good? Debatable. There was a time when eyeglasses weren't a thing. Having them makes life better/more livable. Same with phones.

 

And the Internet. Phones and Internet have their good sides and problematic sides. Eyeglasses? Only an up-side.

 

Good argument, but eyeglasses did not turn a whole generation to that what is called colloquially "Smombies" where I live - a portmanteau of "Smartphone" and "Zombies"...

 

True. But you take the bad with the good. Sometimes, as with eyeglasses, there is no "bad," so you don't have to. It is what it is....
Gee, I really think this Dudeism thing is working. Thanks, Abide U. Works WAY better than Druidism did, for me ... that just about did me in -- all that sacrificing etc. Too many rituals...

 

Actually, yes!

Glasses means you can read books.

https://fiveminutehistory.com/the-art-of-reading-in-the-victorian-era/

https://www.bustle.com/p/that-one-beloved-louisa-may-alcott-quote-about-books-is-actually-sort-of-tragic-when-you-read-it-in-context-17001089

"XYZ is corrupting the youth" is an old, old story.

 

Old story? Yes. It is.

But still - I can hardly think of any invention that can rival with the impact of smartphones regarding high availability for everyone around the world, the impact on society, on the perception of the user, including the possibility to misuse the invention for sinister purposes (fake news, propaganda) etc.! While nothing of these things mentioned is unheard of, the sheer MASS of these impacts makes it a wholly new dimension. Not even to mention the impact on the attention span of people.

At least, well, in MY world!!

 

These exact arguments, including shortened attention spans, were also brought up during the Victorian era when reading became a pastime that, gasp, essentially anyone could afford.

 

My attention span is too short because of smartphones. What was the topic again!?!