Update: Listen to Dan defend his position on Gearlog Radio.
When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last May that he was enforcing a total ban on cell phones for students in city public schools, I knew it was a dumb idea and said so here on Gearlog. But after talking to a friend of mine, Tim Johnson, I decided to lay off the rhetoric. Tim is Chair of the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council and knows the players in the city pretty well; he told me not to worry, that there was a pretty big outcry, and that he was sure some sort of compromise would be worked out. That was three months and many frustrating meetings ago. Now Tim and the Council are suing the city to overturn the ban.
An outright ban just doesn't make sense. Of course, no one wants kids talking on phones or text messaging during classes. Then again, we don't want kids passing notes or drawing cartoons in class either, but we still let them carry pencils. (By the way, pencils can be quite dangerous when wielded in anger.) There are plenty of clever workarounds, from installing lockboxes for students to "check" their phones during the day to coating classrooms with paint that blocks cell phone signals. That's all great. But really, every cell phone has an Off button.
This is a fundamental safety issue, which every parent I know understands, whether they live in a big city or small suburb. Kids know that if they take calls during class, teachers will take the phones away. This is about setting reasonable limits. (After all, if we don't start now, when our kids get older they'll be taking calls in restaurants and text messaging while driving. And we don't want that, do we?)
I'm surprised some hip, youth-focused MVNO like Amp'd or Helio hasn't come out and publicly sided with kids (and their credit-card-wielding parents), perhaps by posting an indignant open letter to the mayor, explaining how cell phones are primarily communication and safety devices, not contraband. Not only would they pick up a ton of press, but they'd get a slew of new subscribers.
It's been a while since the mayor has had to worry about how his kids got home from school, but let me share how it works with my family. My stepson Emmet is 12 years old, and he has been riding the city bus to school for the last year. He doesn't leave the house without his cell; we even put a Post-It on the front door to remind him. Emmet calls when school lets out. If traffic is backed up at the Holland Tunnel and making him late, he calls. When he is home safe in the apartment, he calls again. Why would anyone want to prevent that?
Dan Costa is a senior editor at PC Magazine; check back every Thursday for his take on the world of consumer electronics.
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August 3, 2006 10:44 AM
I agree Bloomberg should lift the ban. I really would hate to LoJack my kid, or sneak a GPS device under his lunchbox
August 4, 2006 1:56 AM
i think that that's true, maybe it's just me and i'm not like the other kids who use their cell phones constantly i just use it to call home NOWADAYS IT'S A NECESSITY u have to have one it can save parents the worry for example my school was in lock down one day , cuz there were some crazy weirdos shooting right outside our school if i didn't have a cell phone to warn my little brother, or to tell my mom i was ok my mom would've freaked out and my little bro wouldn't be safe
August 4, 2006 7:39 AM
The problem here is unfortunately you can't legislate responsible behavior. There is something about a ringing phone that compelles people especially kids to answer it no matter what the situation. Installing lockboxes for students to "check" their phones during the day or coating classrooms with paint that blocks cell phone signals is not practical. Who's going to foot the bill for this? It's difficult enough for these schools to purchase books published in this century. Here's what should be done 1. Every student that wants to cary a cell should have to produce a month or two of bills to illustrate that they have not used there phone during school hours. 2. Those caught using there phones get them confiscated and the parent has to calim it. And the student gets put on cell probation Both of these options reward those who are responsible and penalize those who are not. Parents should welcome this since they all tell there children that the cell is only for emergencies right.
August 6, 2006 12:58 PM
I should have mentioned that MKR's second point was already standard policy at my son's middle school. Any phone that is confiscated has to be claimed by a parent. That gives the school a chance to make the point with parents in those rare cases where there is a problem. For the most part, there haven't been any. Presenting bill isn't a bad idea, but I think a simple "you use it you lose it" policy will suffice.
August 9, 2006 5:52 PM
Is it really necessary to have cell phones in schools? The argument from parents that they are a "lifeline to their children," is bogus. Kids are smart; if they don't want to be contacted, they turn their phones off. If they must be contacted in school, they can always be reached. "Public safety" is not the issue. Children cellphone (ab)users are responsible for the problem they alone have created. They, including their supposedly wiser adult counterparts, are unconscious, disrespectful, discourteous and obnoxious. Public transportation and areas; doctors' offices; theaters; restaurants; checkout lines; just about everywhere. In their own dream world walking in the street, or "driving" their cars. Their inanities, everyone's business. Unable to bear silence or be by, or with, themselves for a moment. Totally oblivious to---and inconsiderate of---their neighbors. If parents need a lifeline to their children, cellphones outside of schools would be appropriate. Emanuel Molho
August 9, 2006 6:46 PM
If the kids would use the cells for calling and safety that would be one thing. Already there are case of cheating using texting, and inappropriate camera use in locker rooms. To bad you can't lock down a cellphones' function for kids to just being a phone, but then it wouldn't be cool and the kids wouldn't want them.
August 9, 2006 8:31 PM
Kids do not need phones in school. They have enough distractions already.
August 9, 2006 9:42 PM
Excuse me, but just when did public schools in this country cease using regular land line phones? If somebody needs to contact someone at or from a school, have they ever considered going to the principals office and using them? Emergencies will happen - all too often these days it seems, but there are alternatives to using a cell phone, all day, every day! I agree the simplest, cheapest, and fairest way to address the problems that cell phones are contributing to is to ban the USE of them on school grounds. You use, you lose! If it was a genuine emergency, there wouldn't really be a problem, a little bit of common sense is all that's needed.
August 9, 2006 10:07 PM
Ban them outright, you make them so much more desirable. Reverse psychology, remember? They'll just sneak 'em in for spite. If the kid is mature enough to have phone they should be allowed to use them thoughtfully and wisely. Cell phones off in class/cell phone use zones-zero tolerance. Take away the phone first offense, pick it up in the office-50 bucks fine, no questions asked. You got the money you get back your cell. School's a test track for life. Don't dumb down the populace with blanket rules.
August 10, 2006 10:26 AM
I live in the burbs, much more dangerous than the city as we didn't get all the $$$ from homeland security. Collectively, many of us parents have said no to cell phones, forget the school part! How about you want to talk to someone, just walk over and talk! And pa-leeze, very few kids do things thoughtfully and wisely, these are jr high and high school kids were are talking about here. They are going to do their best to beat what ever rules are in place, because they can. I think Emanuel Molho post said it right in his post Dan. Kids don't need phones in school, period.
August 10, 2006 11:36 AM
I agree that during classes, kids don't need cell phones. My point is that they do often need them both before and after school--to arrange after school plans, check in with parents, and yes, for safety. What are they supposed to do with them during the school day? Leave them under a rock in the playground? There is serious talk about checking phones at the door, but that would be a total mess. Let kids have their phones and make them to keep them off during the day. Let teachers and principals control their classrooms. Problem solved. Oh, and TC, if you think the City got all those Homeland Security dollars, you haven't been following the news. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/31/homeland.grants/index.html
August 10, 2006 9:22 PM
Cell phone are a distraction. Some students play games during class. The phones should be taken at the beginning of the school day and returned at the end of the school day. If necessary students can use the school pay phones or in an emergency ask if they may use an office phone.
August 11, 2006 9:06 AM
Dan, I live a few feet from Picatinny Arsenal, and we got nothing from homeland security to ensure my kids school doesn't get blown off the map. I have been watching, NYC got cut, but less than the burbs that surround it. But, that's not the topic here, it's is cell phones in school. Cell phones are a distraction from what kids need to be doing. Their test grades are showing it! If you city dwellers feel your kids have to have a phone, it should be checked in homeroom. How about a plastic zip lock with the kids name on it, and put in a card board box for storage during the day.
September 30, 2006 4:53 PM
I think cell phones are a distraction during school. Students use them to cheat on tests or play games while their teacher is teaching to them. If a phone goes off during class, the entire class gets distracted and looses their sense of concentration. Its not right to interrupt the teacher during class when your cell phone goes off during school. Your teacher is getting paid to teach important things that you will need when you graduate from school or that you will need in the big world, not listening to all of the stupid gossip that goes on between the friends.
October 10, 2006 6:09 PM
im a student in highschool and i was turning my phone off so it wouldnt ring in class and guess what happens my phone gets taken away. this is rediculis...the schools are being run by control freaks who couldn't control there life and now have to take it out on students. ITS MY EDUCATION AND YET ITS NOT MINE.
May 10, 2007 1:20 PM
I WANT CELL PHONES IN SCHOOL SO SHUT UP YOU STUPID TEACHERS AND LET US HAVE OUR PHONES!!!
May 10, 2007 1:28 PM
Kids should have the freedom to have cell phones in school like adults get to have them when they drive u idiots. why dont you bann that for a change u noobs.
Jay and Silent Bob
May 10, 2007 1:32 PM
ALRIGHT YOU STUPID IDIOTS!!! GET OVER IT WE ARE GOING TO BRING OUR CELL PHONES TO SCHOOL AND USE THEM IN CLASS WHETHER WE GET INTO TROUBLE OR NOT!! U CANT STOP ME!!
November 20, 2007 12:27 PM
dude students should have cell phones in class or at school these days who knows what happen at the school my kids go to they have to go out side with out cameras or a teacher staning out side so if there was an emergency they need a phone to call and tell us or a teacher whats going on and if sdomething does happen and they don't have there cell phone who will know cause they have no way of calling anyone