The phone problem in a nutshell

From a disciplinary referral:

“Told student to put phone away… Student replied ‘I am on my phone 24-7.'”

Eduhonesty: He was trying to be on that phone 24-7 anyway. The student in question was failing all his classes. You can’t keep track of academics and have a full-time phone life. While I understand the desire to be able to reach kids at all times, I believe more parents should take these phones away. Why pay for a device that’s contributing to your child’s academic failure? We need to stop handing our children distractions. Kids seldom need those phones. I have a phone in the classroom. I have another phone in the small, taupe bag I carry over my shoulder. Students’ friends are carrying phones. In an emergency, no one needs to fear a sudden phone shortage.

Demanding a “B” average or higher to earn phone privileges makes perfect sense. Let’s seize those small metal boxes. Texting clobbers a small minority of students. These students need adults to parent them. Your son or daughter will be mad at you? I guarantee they will. They’ll be outraged. They’ll be so whiny you’ll be going nuts for awhile. If they know better grades are the price of phone privileges, though, they will start trying to earn those “B” grades when they realize that whining won’t work.