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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 emergenc

by fumar 3y ago

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.

talldatethrow 3y ago
I know what you mean, but I'd love to hear what kind of emergency communication a child needs to make to an adult, or adult to child. (That isn't accomplished the exact same way via the school staff)
- tjr 3y ago
  I suspect part of it is overall societal changes pertaining to phone usage. When I was an elementary school student, I carried a few coins in the event that I had to call someone on a payphone. (Which happened very rarely.) But today, we have no payphones. Well, almost none. So what else could you do, with no payphone? Perhaps you could find someone else who had a phone that they could let you borrow. In years past, it wouldn't have been that uncommon to walk into a store or other place of business, or walk into your school office, and politely ask if you could use the phone. They might let you, or they might not, but it was a reasonable request. I imagine today that it would come across a lot more suspicious. Why don't you have your own phone? Both infrastructure and ways of thinking have shifted toward assuming that all individual people who might need to make a phone call have their own personal mobile phone. Children being assumed to have their own phone is probably more of a grey area, but even so, things have changed, and there may be no going back.
  - talldatethrow 3y ago
    The kid can own the phone. In silent. In the backpack. Never to be seen on school grounds. And if they need to make a call, they go to the admin building, and explain why, and use the office phone.
    - giantg2 3y ago
      That's the way it used to work - communication goes through the administration. If my parents schedule changed they could call and leave a message with the office for me. If I had an emergency the admin could call them. It's certainly simpler with cell phones though.
      - talldatethrow 3y ago
        Cool. Kids aren't paying attention most of their school day, but at least it's simpler to teach them.
- lazyasciiart 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - talldatethrow 3y ago
    More kids die in their parents car than in schools. Maybe parents should put the phone down and drive.
    - lazyasciiart 3y ago
      ooh, a whatabouter, cool. Maybe schools should focus on providing safe bus and walking routes to school instead of preventing kids from using a phone while sitting safely in a classroom. Now you do another non sequiter!
- MeImCounting 3y ago
  I can think of half a dozen times that I personally needed to use a cellphone to contact a family member about something that was absolutely none of administrations business. I wouldnt want some judgmental old woman knowing about private health or emotional problems. This stance that the administration is responsible, respectful or helpful enough to field private communication through is ridiculous. The other side of that stance is that students deserve no privacy and any personal matters are within the rights of the administration to regulate. Either side of that stance seems ridiculous
  - hparadiz 3y ago
    The concept of 24/7 availability is ridiculous in it's own right. I don't buy the idea that they need them for "emergencies". Smart phones are constant dopamine dispensers. They create a dependency and cause human brains to go into withdrawal when not present. Once the science is laid bare I believe they will become severely curtailed in K-12 environments.
    - MeImCounting 3y ago
      So which is it? That highschoolers dont deserve to have private communication or that or that we can trust school administrators to handle private communication? Its got to be one or the other, or some other reasoning that I have yet to see?

by fumar 3y ago

talldatethrow 3y ago

I know what you mean, but I'd love to hear what kind of emergency communication a child needs to make to an adult, or adult to child. (That isn't accomplished the exact same way via the school staff)

tjr 3y ago
I suspect part of it is overall societal changes pertaining to phone usage. When I was an elementary school student, I carried a few coins in the event that I had to call someone on a payphone. (Which happened very rarely.) But today, we have no payphones. Well, almost none. So what else could you do, with no payphone? Perhaps you could find someone else who had a phone that they could let you borrow. In years past, it wouldn't have been that uncommon to walk into a store or other place of business, or walk into your school office, and politely ask if you could use the phone. They might let you, or they might not, but it was a reasonable request. I imagine today that it would come across a lot more suspicious. Why don't you have your own phone? Both infrastructure and ways of thinking have shifted toward assuming that all individual people who might need to make a phone call have their own personal mobile phone. Children being assumed to have their own phone is probably more of a grey area, but even so, things have changed, and there may be no going back.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  The kid can own the phone. In silent. In the backpack. Never to be seen on school grounds. And if they need to make a call, they go to the admin building, and explain why, and use the office phone.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    That's the way it used to work - communication goes through the administration. If my parents schedule changed they could call and leave a message with the office for me. If I had an emergency the admin could call them. It's certainly simpler with cell phones though.
    - talldatethrow 3y ago
      Cool. Kids aren't paying attention most of their school day, but at least it's simpler to teach them.
lazyasciiart 3y ago
[flagged]
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  More kids die in their parents car than in schools. Maybe parents should put the phone down and drive.
  - lazyasciiart 3y ago
    ooh, a whatabouter, cool. Maybe schools should focus on providing safe bus and walking routes to school instead of preventing kids from using a phone while sitting safely in a classroom. Now you do another non sequiter!
MeImCounting 3y ago
I can think of half a dozen times that I personally needed to use a cellphone to contact a family member about something that was absolutely none of administrations business. I wouldnt want some judgmental old woman knowing about private health or emotional problems. This stance that the administration is responsible, respectful or helpful enough to field private communication through is ridiculous. The other side of that stance is that students deserve no privacy and any personal matters are within the rights of the administration to regulate. Either side of that stance seems ridiculous
- hparadiz 3y ago
  The concept of 24/7 availability is ridiculous in it's own right. I don't buy the idea that they need them for "emergencies". Smart phones are constant dopamine dispensers. They create a dependency and cause human brains to go into withdrawal when not present. Once the science is laid bare I believe they will become severely curtailed in K-12 environments.
  - MeImCounting 3y ago
    So which is it? That highschoolers dont deserve to have private communication or that or that we can trust school administrators to handle private communication? Its got to be one or the other, or some other reasoning that I have yet to see?