4 ms·

At my kid's school the target is no phones until 8th grade. It seems many people adhere to the guidance, but that is only based on what we see casually, and we'

At my kid's school the target is no phones until 8th grade. It seems many people adhere to the guidance, but that is only based on what we see casually, and we'll see how it looks over the next few years. Some 3rd/4th graders have smart watches which allow comms but not meaningful apps. Not sure it is a great compromise for my family, but interesting to see what results other folks find as we all navigate it.

yamtaddle 4y ago
> At my kid's school the target is no phones until 8th grade. Public or private? I've got a lot of insight into local school districts in my area and a little into local private schools (good ones—not poor-quality evangelical schools for parents who don't want their kids taught about evolution, or something like that) and the public schools have all completely given up on policing phones and wouldn't dare suggest that parents ought not be giving their 3rd graders smartphones, while the private schools both police them more heavily and seem to serve way fewer families inclined to give preteens a smartphone to begin with. Feels like the beginning of an even-greater class divide in education, to me.
- stuart78 4y ago
  Public, but a very small separated section of a larger school district - only one grade school and one high school. So it is basically a public school that feels private. Having attended private school myself, I think the distinction you are making sounds about right.
- thorncorona 4y ago
  It will increase with this 'equity' push in education as schools attempt to get rid of accelerated learning classes as well. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curriculum-guidelines.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curric...
- otoburb 4y ago
  In my kids’ public schools (one ends at grade 5, the other at grade 8), electronic devices found during the school day are confiscated. Not sure about other public schools in our area, but I suspect this type of enforcement is only possible if the majority of families are on board.
duxup 4y ago
My local Middle School sends out what feels like weekly (or more) emails about poor choices with phones at school, using them in the bathroom, etc. My kid doesn't have a phone. But we get inundated with these emails and new plans on what to do and so on. I wish they'd just confiscate them and only return them to the parents, or have some sort of phone not allowed without good reason (and revoke it if someone breaks the rules), but they seem averse to that kind of thing. The new rule is that they have to be powered off during school hours. I'm sure that will be complied well by the same students who already don't care.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  > I wish they'd just confiscate them and only return them to the parents, or have some sort of phone not allowed without good reason (and revoke it if someone breaks the rules), but they seem averse to that kind of thing. A lot of parents will throw a fit if schools try to take them away or ban them, and, contrary to public perception in some circles, public schools really hate upsetting parents. It's part of why private schools tend to have a lot more success enforcing phone-related rules or restrictions, since they can just tell a family to pound sand if they don't like it (they all have waiting lists anyway, if you're not some huge donor they don't need to give a shit what you think if it's not in-line with their approach and mission)

yamtaddle 4y ago

> At my kid's school the target is no phones until 8th grade. Public or private? I've got a lot of insight into local school districts in my area and a little into local private schools (good ones—not poor-quality evangelical schools for parents who don't want their kids taught about evolution, or something like that) and the public schools have all completely given up on policing phones and wouldn't dare suggest that parents ought not be giving their 3rd graders smartphones, while the private schools both police them more heavily and seem to serve way fewer families inclined to give preteens a smartphone to begin with. Feels like the beginning of an even-greater class divide in education, to me.

stuart78 4y ago
Public, but a very small separated section of a larger school district - only one grade school and one high school. So it is basically a public school that feels private. Having attended private school myself, I think the distinction you are making sounds about right.
thorncorona 4y ago
It will increase with this 'equity' push in education as schools attempt to get rid of accelerated learning classes as well. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curriculum-guidelines.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curric...
otoburb 4y ago
In my kids’ public schools (one ends at grade 5, the other at grade 8), electronic devices found during the school day are confiscated. Not sure about other public schools in our area, but I suspect this type of enforcement is only possible if the majority of families are on board.

duxup 4y ago

My local Middle School sends out what feels like weekly (or more) emails about poor choices with phones at school, using them in the bathroom, etc. My kid doesn't have a phone. But we get inundated with these emails and new plans on what to do and so on. I wish they'd just confiscate them and only return them to the parents, or have some sort of phone not allowed without good reason (and revoke it if someone breaks the rules), but they seem averse to that kind of thing. The new rule is that they have to be powered off during school hours. I'm sure that will be complied well by the same students who already don't care.

yamtaddle 4y ago
> I wish they'd just confiscate them and only return them to the parents, or have some sort of phone not allowed without good reason (and revoke it if someone breaks the rules), but they seem averse to that kind of thing. A lot of parents will throw a fit if schools try to take them away or ban them, and, contrary to public perception in some circles, public schools really hate upsetting parents. It's part of why private schools tend to have a lot more success enforcing phone-related rules or restrictions, since they can just tell a family to pound sand if they don't like it (they all have waiting lists anyway, if you're not some huge donor they don't need to give a shit what you think if it's not in-line with their approach and mission)