Schools should just be allowed to have cell jammers.
If only. Our school mandates big tech slavery. Use microsoft and google and more or do not graduate.
fellow teenager on hn spotted
Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
21–30 of 228 posts
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#22I'm a little surprised this is newsworthy... this is already the policy at my kid's middle school (NC public schools.) Is it that uncommon? I get that it's probably harder to enforce into the upper grades...
Same here. Our public school here in Menlo Park doesn't allow smartphones to be used at school, and I think even Apple Watches are technically prohibited.
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#23This has to be done by the school, there is not a critical mass of parents able to stop existing momentum.
There is the Wait Until Eighth campaign (though I personally think 9th makes much more sense, given the break between 8th and 9th grades. https://www.waituntil8th.org/
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#24As a former student of a Minnesota district right outside Minneapolis, it's interesting to me that they were allowed at all. When I was in school in the late 90's / early aughts we weren't even supposed to have our Discman or early MP3 players on school property. We all had them of course, but if they were seen they could be confiscated - I think it was largely an empty threat but I never saw anyone push it. Some tea…
This is a weird comment. Did you really think most schools widely police cell phone usage in the year 2023?
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#25I'm a little surprised this is newsworthy... this is already the policy at my kid's middle school (NC public schools.) Is it that uncommon? I get that it's probably harder to enforce into the upper grades...
Just have a jammer on school premises and use mac auth for the wifi in addition to the the metal detectors at the entrance.
Even if fac/staff had a way around this, it would wreak havoc on parents and other visitors. I can't volunteer at my kid's school if it means I would be unreachable by my other kid's school. Or my spouse/doctor/etc.
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#26[flagged]
HNs readership grew up in times when where cellphone usage was limited in schools by nature and also by policy (using them in class certainly was never allowed or tolerated). Jailbreaking my phone had nothing at all to do with school and was never something that could be prevented by school policy.
It also feels like you have extremely out-of-the-norm takes on schooling in general. Most people do not want to end compulsory education and don't see the wider benefit in doing so. I primarily see downsides to it, in fact.
> Teachers should have zero power to “discipline” except to expel students from their classroom.
This sounds like dogma based on bias instead of anything factual. Why shouldn't teachers be able to discipline students?
> Teachers are not the arbiters of truth on how effective you are at producing for society, but we sure treat them like it.
No, we have given teachers a purpose and a responsibility, and we generally give them the room and autonomy and authority to carry that out in the best interests of our children.
This might not be universal, but this is not an issue with schooling fundamentally, but with the specifics of schooling in a particular place and time. I hear plenty of nightmare-ish things about schools in the US, but that doesn't mean schools as a concept are flawed. Plenty of other places manage to have decent schools that actually serve their purpose quite well.
> I forgot that HN actually loves to lick boots!
You're barking up the wrong tree here. Just because we disagree with your bizarre conclusions and unsubstantiated statements of facts has nothing to do with anybody being a bootlicker.
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#27As a former student of a Minnesota district right outside Minneapolis, it's interesting to me that they were allowed at all. When I was in school in the late 90's / early aughts we weren't even supposed to have our Discman or early MP3 players on school property. We all had them of course, but if they were seen they could be confiscated - I think it was largely an empty threat but I never saw anyone push it. Some tea…
This is a weird comment. Did you really think most schools widely police cell phone usage in the year 2023?
I am well aware that they don't police it.
What I am questioning is the why. Why did it stop. Why have the attitudes towards personal technology in schools swung so quickly?
Phones in schools seem like nothing but a distraction.
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a weird comment. Did you really think most schools widely police cell phone usage in the year 2023?
I am well aware that they don't police it. What I am questioning is the why. Why did it stop. Why have the attitudes towards personal technology in schools swung so quickly? Phones in schools seem like nothing but a distraction.
because cellphones became ubiquitous and admins never felt empowered to strictly limit them in schools
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#29I'm a little surprised this is newsworthy... this is already the policy at my kid's middle school (NC public schools.) Is it that uncommon? I get that it's probably harder to enforce into the upper grades...
Just have a jammer on school premises and use mac auth for the wifi in addition to the the metal detectors at the entrance.
Sounds illegal.
Re: Minnesota middle school students 'seem happy' after cellphone ban
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a weird comment. Did you really think most schools widely police cell phone usage in the year 2023?
I am well aware that they don't police it. What I am questioning is the why. Why did it stop. Why have the attitudes towards personal technology in schools swung so quickly? Phones in schools seem like nothing but a distraction.
Smartphones. I like to think they snuck in as a communication device more so than pocket computer. As in, kids and parents wanted to stay connected for emergencies but the software grossly exceeded text or phone call capabilities. I had a Nokia 9930 to reach my folks and rarely used it outside of making calls.