School Taken Nieces phone off her

[di]

Sorry Jackie but I agree with the school.It must be such a nightmare for teachers to try teaching a class when they're all fiddling with their phones.
I'm guessing that they've tried the approach of asking pupils to either leave them at home or switched of during class time and it didn't work....hence having to get stricter and go down the route of confiscating them.
We were actually chatting the other day about children carrying phones and how it supposedly keeps them safe from predators.....how???...if a gang decides they're going to kick the **** of you...are they going to have the courtesy to wait til you've called your mum first or more likely carry on and pocket the phone to boot!
IMHO mobile phones do not help in anyway to protect kids,I'm not saying they shouldn't have them but I hate it when people use the argument that they have them for security purposes.

[HeyWayne]

Of course, a child with a mobile phone is a child with something to steal...

[Incy]

I won't let my son have a phone. I just reckon it's another thing that bullies might want to take off him. His school also has a very strict policy about using them during school time and yes if caught they would lose it until the end of term. The parents were informed at the beginning of the year and encouraged to either not let their kids bring them in or make sure they were clear about the rules of use.

[Bigmallly]

I think all kids should carry attack alarms. I am sure they would be much more effective...............But then by doing that, are we installing the fear of god into them.

[Pumpkin Becki]

I guess you'd have had a near-life experience!

Call me psychotic, but I can't help but think a little bit of peril is character building. We created a thread a while ago all about scars, do you remember how popular it was and how many stories people had to tell about them?
I think wrapping kids in cotton-wool shields them from too many of life's necassary experiences.
Probably an extreme view as I'm sure there's 'protecting children' and 'PROTECTING CHILDREN'. Food for thought I suppose.

Believe me, I don't go in for all this mollycoddling, I used to crack my head open on a regular basis falling off climbing frames onto concrete, and doing gate turns over things that were too low - its made me into the person I am today

I don't have children, so have no personal experience, but I know my mother would be worried sick if I was ever home half an hour late.

I also don't break the rules, I'm the most lawabiding person you could wish to meet. I was labelled 'teachers pet' (and worse) at school, because if they told me to do something, I did it. Jackie's niece had no right to be using (or even looking at) her phone during lessons, and for that she needed to be punished...but...

[Bigmallly]

This issue will never be agreed on as we have people from all walks of life here, live in the city, or live in the country. Have all been brought up different ways with different beliefs & who think their way is the right way. One thing I do maintain is when your child is at school then they have to abide by school rules.

[piskieinboots]

Ah but we weren't overrun by terrorists in your day!

We were Ollie - in those days they were called the IRA

[OllieMartin]

We were Ollie - in those days they were called the IRA

Good point. How about pedophiles? According to what I read in the tabloids, every 3rd person is a pedophile! Apparently, if you're not one, then you're a terrorist!

[piskieinboots]

Of course, a child with a mobile phone is a child with something to steal...

Oh so true

I think all kids should carry attack alarms. I am sure they would be much more effective...............But then by doing that, are we installing the fear of god into them.

I think carrying alarms would teach them the fear of attack long before it ever happened and, of course, it may never happen.

I believe that fear of crime is much more prevalent than actually crime and that fear can seriously destroy peoples lives

[piskieinboots]

...How about pedophiles? According to what I read in the tabloids, every 3rd person is a pedophile! Apparently, if you're not one, then you're a terrorist!

Again, this creates the fear of crime rather than getting on with 'your' life.

World's gone nuts I tell you - nuts

[di]

Becki Love...sorry,I just reread my post.....I wasn't having a dig at you.x
It was more remembering the conversation I had with several mums earlier in the week,....one of them is incredibly down on schools and teachers(what hope does her kid have?).She was saying that if her child wasn't allowed her mobile and she got abducted,she'd be blaming the school(in an incredibly loud and shouty voice).....I just found it totally hideous.

[OllieMartin]

Again, this creates the fear of crime rather than getting on with 'your' life.

World's gone nuts I tell you - nuts

If you've got the time, have a search on YouTube for "Everything is OK". There's a pacifist group who use a loud hailer to mock this climate of fear by using sarcastic commentary like asking people if they're terrorists, or warning people not to make eye-contact with strangers as it spreads swine-flu!

[Pumpkin Becki]

Becki Love...sorry,I just reread my post.....I wasn't having a dig at you.x
It was more remembering the conversation I had with several mums earlier in the week,....one of them is incredibly down on schools and teachers(what hope does her kid have?).She was saying that if her child wasn't allowed her mobile and she got abducted,she'd be blaming the school(in an incredibly loud and shouty voice).....I just found it totally hideous.

Ooh, no Di, I didn't read it like that at all, I was quite enjoying the debate

[Rhona]

Rules is rules.

If we didn't have rules, where would we be?

"Rules help to CONTROL the fun" (Monica from Friends).

I agree that kids should not be messing around with 'phones at school. My BiL is an English teacher and he confiscates them all the time.

I think it's reasonable for the school to say, you broke the rules, your punishment is to have your 'phone taken off you for a couple of days. I would like to think that parents support the school in doing that, mainly because I would hope my child was being taught properly, rather than being allowed to compare ringtones all day.

I also think that teaching a child sensibly about 'stranger danger' without terrifying them, bringing them up with a degree of common sense, and making sure their route to and from school is a reasonable one, with friends if they can etc. is by far more responsible that just giving them a 'phone.

Fine, a 'phone is an add on bit of security, but I think rowing with the school about it sends out the wrong message. The school's just trying to get some teaching done!

[janeyo]

I have been teaching in a lesson when a girl's phone went off. She answered it. It was her mum. They had a conversation and the parent wouldn't come off the phone even when asked to do so by me and after being pointed out that we were in the middle of a lesson. She wanted to know what to cook for tea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The girl refused to hand the phone over, despite there being quite clear rules about such matters. It turned into a nasty interlude which resulted in a 3 day exclusion and the parent having to fetch the phone after a week.

And had it been switched off......... NONE of it would have happened.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr