this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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I very much think smartphones do not belong in the classroom.
That said, I also very much think that assault rifles don't belong in schools. And until we can prevent that, we can't really take away the only way for parents to figure out if their kid is dead or just traumatized.
The problem with this position is that your child being a victim of a school shooting is extremely rare. Phones are ubiquitous. You're trading the risk of something that will likely not happen to any one student (and won't really help anything anyway), for a near guaranteed risk of serious damage to many kids education.
I actually have a child, unlike some of the people downvoting you, and I agree with you. I’m not willing to watch my kid’s educational environment destroyed by smartphones all for the sake of some “but muh child” panic. My kid doesn’t even own a smartphone. Anyone want to tell me that I’m somehow risking their life? If there’s a shooter at their school, me knowing what’s happening in real time will not save their life.
As a footnote, the top commenter hinted that if someday we could solve the gun / danger thing, THEN we could remove smartphones. But the reality is that that panic will never be satisfied. There will never come a point when people say “I’m content that there are no dangers to my child during the day.”
Ban fucking phones in class. Maybe it’s just me living through my whole childhood without one just fine, but ffs people don’t even see how addicted to them we’ve become. Kids deserve a chance at at least a few years of life without that.
Flip phones still exist.
Are increasingly unavailable on basically any real phone plan and effectively require a dedicated purchase. Rather than giving the kid yoru old motorola you kept in the drawer.
Also, as 9-11 and other "holy shit" moments taught us, having a wide range of ways to communicate with people when EVERYONE is trying to call or even text people (SMS is a best effort protocol for a reason) is important.
Again, if we actually care about the children? Stop fucking shooting them to death. Maybe then we can figure out why they don't need to be constantly connected to everyone they know.
Yeah a phone that can only calls 9-1-1 is basically a Uvdale special. It's better for the kids to be able to teach the parents
There’sa lot of options, it’s getting more popular, search for feature phones
Ah right, because smartphones don't need to be purchased
A Light Phone or Light phone 2 is capable of doing literally everything you need from a smart phone without the bloat and distraction. It's legitimate with most service providers as well.
There's viable options out there that aren't "flip phones".
Light phones also cost 300-800 (!?!?!) USD and aren't carried by phone providers who give people "a free upgrade" every few years.
Yes, there are the parents who buy their toddler a flagship iphone. The vast majority are just taking the phone they were totally going to recycle that has been living in the junk drawer for years and give it to their kid for emergencies and fortnite.
They can be used on each of the following carrier's: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (except for prepaid plans and Number Share), Ting, Mint, US Mobile.
So, I'm not sure what you mean by providers who give "free upgrades"...
It's cheaper than most smart phones and does everything you need it to do without games and social media.
The vast majority of phone providers (in the US at least, which is where this is pertinent) have heavily subsidized phones if you agree to an N-month contract. And while the price of that can come out worse, it is also a lot easier for underprivileged people to spend an extra few bucks a month for two years than to set aside that money to make the couple hundred dollar purchase (for better or for worse).
And if you are willing to actually talk to a CSR you can often get the price to pay off that phone completely negated. Which IS good if that phone plan is good for you.
To my knowledge, Light does not partner with any of the major carriers so that is not an option. So you are buying those phones, regardless.
The Internet loves to build this strawman of a first grader who has the latest top end iphone. And... some of those do exist. But mostly it is parents getting a phone either "for free" or actually for free because they agree to not leave Verizon or whatever for 2 years and giving the old one to their kid.
Imagine being unable to finance a sub-$100 purchase and having to pay for the entire thing in one go. Will the horrors never stop? Be better, America.
And so do AR-15s.
I mean, you could get social media companies to turn posting off during school hours, that'd sure take the wind out of the sales of most of the most blatant things students do when they pull their phones out in class
Little derps get their news from that shit anyways, let's treat it the same as the 24 hour news cycle crisis and just make the companies stop for the parts of the day where people need most to be focusing on other shit. No airwaves, no airwaves occupying everyone's eyeballs and sending them into doomscroll mode.
Honestly that could be a pretty good gimmick for a new social media company in general, you can write, snap, record, photograph whatever, BUT all posts publish in the morning or evening "editions" and comments are open for 2 hours after (you can go back and comment on old posts), I feel like it could be an artificial scarcity thing, if people only have limited time when they can use the platform in a day, they'll make the most of that time whenever they're able.
Got it. Fuck the "little derps". Their blood makes great gun lube, huh?
ANYTHING to prevent people from actually approaching the real problem of the mass availability of firearms that puts children in a situation where they need to be able to say goodbye to their parents before they are sacrificed to the altar of the AR-15.
Nobody's talking about giving guns the Elizabeth Baathory skincare regime but you chief.
But sure, kids being restricted to call text and messaging during school hours is EXACTLY the same as just asking them to line up against the wall for the shooter.
This wasn't possible 10 years ago so why does it matter today?
Besides, the cops are just going to arrest you if you try to go in, they have to stand outside and let the shooter play themselves out shooting your kids before they'll let anyone in.
You know there were smart phones in 2014 right?
Im 36 and i often forget that the 90s were about 20-30 years ago. I forget im not 20 sometimes, until i throw my back out.
If I had to guess, they meant to say something like 25 years ago.
Or not. Im not them, i dont know.
The 90's were just last decade and there's this exciting new politician running for president called Obama.
Vaccines didn’t exist 200 years ago, so why should we allow them today?
You understand that a lot of communication in that scenario can, at worst, lead to crucial misinformation about what's going on and, at best, is unnecessary, don't you?
Obviously, these shootings happen, but the solution is not to arm each student with a cell phone, just as it sure as hell isn't to arm each teacher with a firearm.
The detrimental effects of cell phone usage in the classroom are well documented and plain as day if you just walk into a high school or middle school lesson. Even with highly engaging teachers and lessons, there are kids who slip through the cracks because nobody can compete with the newest fad app designed to melt a child's brain and possibly drain their parent's bank accounts.
This move addresses a significant issue within our school system. Addressing gun violence in the US is a very complex issue that needs to be tackled through a lot of different fronts. Kids having smart phones in school will not address that issue.
You're right. The solution is fucking gun control. Not isolating those kids out of fear that they might give the cops misinformation and there won't e a safe space to play flappy bird while children are being executed.
So how about you shut the fuck up about how it is more important to isolate the kids than to protect them? Hmm?
I think flip/dumb phones are still allowed with most smartphone bans, are you suggesting this one is different?
I think this is less about isolating kids than it is separating them from distracting and addictive apps.
Also it creates a class distinction in schools - some kids don't have them causing them to be socially isolated
Personally I think the schools should be handing out locked down wifi phones to students without smart phones. But I don't think any part of this is about isolating students.
Lol isolating kids? They're at school... If someone needs to get information out, there are already channels of communication.
Hope you have a better day.
Edit:
The need for gun control in the US is absolutely dire from any and all perspectives of public health, from school shootings to suicide.
The effect smart phones have had on our students is significant and must be addressed as many kids are not learning in the classroom.
Both of these things are true. Both must be addressed.
Would you allow the children to have a cell phone in school so they can say goodbye to their parents before they are shot to death? Seems a fair concession vs the apparent need to prevent the kids from spreading misinformation about a gunman roaming the school.
What's with the fetishization of school shootings in this thread?
This whole argument is weird. Kids don't need smart phones in school. Is your argument that we should let kids have smart phones so they can call their parents if there is ever a school shooting? Do you think every kid should be prepared for imminent death at all times in the classroom? What's the actual argument?
I'm stating that smart phones are a net negative to any learning environment and there are already effective modes of communication within schools.
I was responding to the point being made that smartphones are a detriment during a school shooting due to students sharing misinformation.
At that point, take your kids out of school if you're that worried about them being able to say goodbye.
During the 99.99999999% of the time the school isn't being shot up, the goal is for the kids to learn. Even with as many school shootings as we have now, the odds of your kids being in one is still incredibly small. Way higher than it should be, but ensuring the kids are getting quality education is still the top priority on a day to day basis.