Speaking of Cell Phones

[minx]

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/7th-grader-brings-school-bus-stop-driver-passes-rcna81736

This is the general article - read another one that said the kid realized the bus driver was having issues because he was the only kid on the bus who doesn't have a phone, so he saw that the bus driver was having issues.
(Mind you, his dad had also taught him how to use a golf cart and drive a tractor, so he knew where the brake pedal was).

Kid said that since he didn't have a phone, he was just looking around and watching the scenery, while others were on their phones.  Lots of kids didn't realize anything was wrong until the bus abruptly stopped.  Rather good pitch for not giving your kid a smart phone I would say.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

That was some wild stuff how it played out. Sometimes the right person in the right place is a kid, right?

Hate to be "that guy" but those goddamn phones need to stay at home with their other toys. I swear to Jack Sparrow that there are people in this world that would move out of the state if the school board banned phones. It's like the second amendment, but for helicopter moms.

And while I'm up here on this soapbox- At what point does the whole world become as you see it from half an arm's length? Do we have any idea how much time kids are spending staring into a screen? Remember that idiom- Can't see the forest through the trees? Even the 4K ones.

[minx]

You are totally not 'that guy'. When the eldest spawn was a freshman in HS, Stafford had a new policy that required cells to be off and stowed during the day. And by stowed, they meant out of visual view. Bottom of your zipped backpack = okay. In the mesh waterbottle pocket = not okay.

If a teacher or staff member saw your phone it was immediately confiscated and sent to the office. You wanted to see it again? Legal guardian had to come during school hours to spring it for you.

I thought the waterbottle pocket thing was a little harsh, but other than that I had no issues.

You know that ish got cut back the following year because parents complained that their darlings needed to use their phones during the day. So first it was that you could use them in the hallway between classes or at lunch (and of course on the bus). Now it's pretty much the same, but you can have them turned on all day, and teachers can allow you to use them in class.

I will grant that there may be a legit reason to use them as part of a lesson, depending on the class itself. For example, in civics a good lesson may be to find sites with fake news and then find a legitimate news source to teach how to cross-reference and decide if something is believable or not. Other than that, I can't think of many other reasons.

Youngest said a lot of kids texted during her classes. Who were they talking with? Mom and dad of course! JFC.

[bobathon]

They should have them so they can call for help when a mass murderer shows up.

[minx]

I know you're being sarcastic, but the reality is that having a cell in that situation can only put you in more danger. If someone's shooting up the place and you try to call, you could give your location out - if you can't leave safely, then you need to hide and keep as quiet as possible. Having your cell ring, a text come in, or the phone itself light up isn't a great way to be discreet.

And so many people call, and nothing happens. Look at that poor girl in Uvalde who kept on calling and asking where the police were even as she was bleeding to death.

Only purpose to have a cell on during the day is to make mommy and daddy think you're safe. And what do you do as a parent when you're calling over and over and your kid isn't answering during an emergency? Not like you can jump in and save them, is there?

[Dave's Not Here Man]

That sounds like a reasonable compromise. We allowed our daughter, who was involved in sports and after-school activities, to take her phone to school on the understanding that it was ONLY for calling US when we needed to be updated on those activities such as cancellations, pick-up times, etc. and they also rode the bus to other schools so that made sense to us that if we were waiting at a field and they got stuck in traffic or whatever, that we wouldn't freak out that the team hadn't arrived on time to the place we were waiting.

Nope. School called (it was her Middle School) and said she got it taken away for using in class and we had to come in to get it back.

[bobathon]

Thank goodness they can confiscate phones. Maybe some day they can extend that tyranny to some 6 year old's pistol.

[minx]

That would be nice, wouldn't it?

At the same time, there has been more than one study correlating cell/screen use to decreased social functioning and physical activity. It also affects brain development.
So kids aren't learning how talk to people face-to-face properly or how to have a real discussion about values. Instead they're on Insta, Snap and the Tok, which totally distorts your world view.

Not saying banning cells would stop mass shootings, but maybe if more kids and parents put them down and lived in the real world, it may help.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I agree. And let's not forget the cyber-bullying shit they do on social media, which has absolutely contributed or been a catalyst for violence against others and against one's self, e.g. self harm and suicide.

As I said-

At what point does the whole world become as you see it from half an arm's length? Do we have any idea how much time kids are spending staring into a screen? Remember that idiom- Can't see the forest through the trees? Even the 4K ones.

Speaking in general terms about society and it's relationship with technology, we were warned.

[bobathon]

We were warned about tv, and that didn't help us.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Is tv not technology?

[Dave's Not Here Man]

You were saying?

www.dw.com/en/guyana-pupil-lit-deadly-school-fire-over-confiscated-phone/a-65714721?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf

[minx]

O-M-G. You're kidding right? I read about that fire and all I could think of were those poor girls who were trapped.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

No, you don't know who, when, where, how, but a lot of times we see the reason why but ignore it. Maybe that's just not our business.

We need to make the WHY the first thing, not the last.