I had no idea that I would have such a strong opinion about 'Should Your Kid Have a Cell Phone at School?'  Being the mother of a 5 month old, I'm always conscious of how the present may have an effect on my child in the future.  I do realize the dangers of today's world, but believe children should not have access to a cell phone during class time.  This is an added distraction to the already distracted.  Instead of making the schools try to fight yet another battle, why not lobby the cell phone companies?  With today’s technology, cell phone companies should be able to include a ‘Parental Program’ on each phone.  It could allow parents to enter the emergency phone numbers necessary (i.e. 911, Mom, Dad, Parental Guardian, etc), but block all other numbers until a programmed time (i.e. Final school bell).  This would give students the security lines needed, but hinder all possibilities of electronic test answers and conversations during school hours.  For schools, children can leave the phone in their locker until the end of the day, and won’t care about having to do so.  The only trouble I see with this solution is the protection you’ll have to wear in halls at final bell from the sea of texting kids.

Our school board adopted a policy last year, that if a student is caught with a cell phone on the school premises, that phone is taken up.  Only a parent can pick up that phone.  If a student is caught a 2nd time, the phone is removed, and only a parent can pick up the phone, but it will cost $20 to get the phone this time, and everytime thereafter if the student continues to carry the phone. As a parent of 2 teenagers I told them to leave their phones in their cars.  If they need me during the day, there are phones in the office, or the school will contact me in case of an emergency.  I grew up with "land lines" and still use them.  I feel better when they are driving that they have their phones. (in case of an emergency) I don't want them "chatting" on their phones while driving, but I want them  to have their phones if they need me.  I can say that our school policy has worked especially with my two teenagers.  They know that if they get theirs taken up, they have lost them, and I will not pay a monthly cell phone bill for a phone that is laying in a drawer of the principal's desk.

You must be kidding me when you suggest that life ends for children when they lose the ability to use a cell phone to change plans, protect themselves from danger, in the event of a bus crash, etc etc. Holy crap!  How did those of us who can spell, be gramactically correct, think, make change without a digitial read out and can find not only the US on a map but many other countries survive school in the 50s, 60, and 70s?  Who's in charge here?

They should allow cell phones in schools as they are a necessity for use to and from school. The answer is for the schools to install and use cell phone jammers to prevent cell phone use in classes

I have no children in school at the present time,  but am a Grandmother of 3 small children.  After observing how the world has changed, cell phones MUST be allowed ON THE STUDENT  in each school, not in their locker.  Perhaps it should be off, but only if accessable quickly.

Columbine children were absolutely helped by having their cell phones with them at their difficult time, advising people in what classrooms they were located.

Mom and Dad's of today, PLEASE, don't over-parent your child and in doing so put them at risk.  They must feel secure and know how to be safe if the need arises,  but let THEM grow up with independance!!  So they know how to go out into the world.  Too many rules takes away their overall decision making and ability to think quickly.  

These days a child has to have a cell phone.  When a school goes into a lock down and the child does not get home on time, the only way to find out where the child is and the school is not answering a land line is a cell phone. NO USING in the class room, but NO BAN.

I too have been torn on this issue.  I agree that there should be no cell phones in school, but the problem remains the exceptions.  My daughter (13) has afterschool activities virtually year round.  I like being able to contact her in the event that I need to pick her up early or if there's a change of plans or if there's a change on her end (ie, activity cancellation, location change, etc.).  After school, there isnt always access to the office, or anyone to answer a call, as the office staff leaves and locks up shortly after school lets out for the day.  Basically, I think it rests on the parents to ensure that their child adheres to the rules; 'when you get to school, the phone goes off and goes in your locker' PERIOD.  If they don't comply then they need to understand that there are repercussions on the home front.

Thank you for bringing awareness of the cell phone issue to the forefront in this morning's programming.  As a classroom teacher, I would like to add that cell phones are extremely disruptive in the classroom, and consequences for their misuse often are ineffective. I heard Dr Ruth Peters call for parents to confront their district's to allow cell phone use, but I would like parents to visit their local schools during the day to actually see the misuse in action.  I have had students take inappropriate pictures of themselves and share them with others on their cellphones unbeknownst to that other person.  Pictures have also been taken of classmates and shared on files throughout the school.  I have seen students leave their class to call their parent and cry how unfair a test was when they failed it. During an emergency evacuation drill, students called parents, who then showed up at the school to take their children away overriding all protocal procedures the school was trying to implement. Many students spend their day text messaging each other, and I have even been dared to spy a student text messaging when she claimed she was so good at being sneaky about texting. I have taken phones from students, but to expect the Administrator to call 100 parents (easily within a school day) to come retrieve their child's phone (including a visit with this administrator) has become such an overwhelming task that few Administrators have the time to follow-up on a confiscated phone policy.  
  Cell phones are stolen from lockers, bookbags and off student's desk.  It's a nuisance that must be addressed appropriately in a society that deems this technology a necessity not a priviledge. Help! Allowing students access to their phones at their discretion is not the answer either. Pamala Orr- formerly of Douglas County School District, Castle Rock, Colorado.

I think that kids should be allowed phones in school, but you are really that worried about them using it at inappropriate times..have it programmed for certain usage times.  As a high school student, that small piece of security saved me quite a few times.  I had an older car and had it break down going home down the highway.  No one would help me push it over and I ended up calling my parents and a couple of friends to help me push myself out of danger.  I also have used my phone as a fake phone call while being followed by suspicious boys at my school.  That phone has saved me in some situations that I could not help myself.  No, I was smart enough not to have it on while in classes.  Don't ban cell phones in school, because there are far more dangers in today's schools than there were even ten years ago...even in those small cities and towns like mine.

This is just crazy guys,
Parents today are so caught up with themselves they forgot how to teach there kids how to be self reliant. No, kids do not NEED cell phones, nor do they NEED $100 jeans. This is just the latest in FADS just like when we were kids. The zit faced kid who says he would just die if he didn't have his cell,probably needs to focus more on hygine,and trying to clear up his acne before calling someone before class. Parents do not need instant access to their kids. Give your kids some to grow up. They do not need to cry to you everytime something goes wrong with their lives. Much like a license you have to be responsible enough with your own life to warrant such distractions at a young age.

How did we all survive before cell phones??  I understand that we live in a slightly more dangerous society than when I was growing up in the 80s/90s, but I think we'd all be fine if we left the house with out our phones now and then.  I think that the children's and teen's motivations for wanting to carry a phone are much different than that of the parents wanting them to carry phones.  I think texting and calling friends is their interest, not contacting mom or dad in case of emergency.  I agree with Connie and Renee that there are still ways for parents and students to contact one another through the appropriate channels at the schools instead of allowing cell phones in school.  

Our school district has a policy that students can have cell phones before and after school. If they are caught with a cell phone during school hours it is brought to the pricipal's office and the parent has to pick it up. This policy seems to work. Kids are so busy after school with activities and the times change frequently that they need to be in contact with their parents or caretakers.

My daughter was involved in an automobile accident, and the hospital called me. She did not need a cell phone to take to school.  My girls never needed a cell phone they were given money to call me from a payphone and never spent that money. Why is a cell phone needed for school?

I am a single father with a son in 7th grade, he has had a cell phone for three (3) years. With his mother's and my schedule changing all the time (she is a Visiting Nurse and I am an Aerospace Engineer) and living a few miles away from each other; we need to be able to leave messages (that he can listen to after school), arrange pick-up if he is sick, coordinate car-pooling, after-school care....  I have had "texting" blocked on his phone and purchased a phone "without" the ability to take pictures.  Come on folks, try parenting for a change.  I know it is wrong in this PC world to actually parent vs. being your child's "friend”. Make rules and stick to them.  Use consequences.  Children respond well to rules if enforced.  This child is not our first, the oldest is a IT Engineer and the middle child just graduated from USC (Honors).  Rules and consistency work; Try it.

After seeing the story on " Should cell phones be banned from school?", I felt compelled to view the feedback. Kudos to Connie,Iuka,MS and their cell phone policy.  Dr.Ruth Peters, who was interviewed, sounded like a classic "helicopter" Mom.  We all grew up with pay phones and phones in the school office for emergencies. Parents need to relax a little and stop stressing their children. If they can not acheive this goal, PLEASE teach your children responsible and respectful way to use a cell phone. There is nothing worse than watching someone trying to communicate in person with someone using a cell phone. Children see it and repeat this rude behavior daily. Schools should not have to "police" proper behavior with regards to cell phones or any other behavior. It is parents' reposibility to teach our children proper, respectful, mannerly behavior in schools or in the general public.

Since when did a parents feelings of insecurity come to outweigh the importance of a child's/youth's education and need for autonomy?
A cellphone in a child's pocket is a leash that in my opinion serves to remind the kid that the parent thinks the world in unsafe. Hello, don't we want our children to be cautious but to believe that the vast majority of people in the world are good and honest and available to help (which they are)? Being alive has always been a risk and the key thing a child learns on the way to adulthood is how to avoid risks and to be resourceful, to use one's own brain. If I was raising another child today I would not allow a cell phone until they were 18. Come on parents, give the teachers a break and your kids some rope. Ditch the phones. The world is not that much more unsafe than the old days, we just have a lot more media like NBC sensationalizing and fear mongering.
(PS to MSNBC:you need to explain the "remember me" button better)

Having a cell phone is not necessary for children to have. I have three teenagers and they don't have a cell phone until they are willing to pay for their own. I agree that cell phones are a huge distraction in school. Very few parents do not follow up with consequences when their children use the phone during school. My kids have told me many times that kids use them to cheat on test and use their phones during class all the time. My kids have survived without cell phones. I teach them and we discuss what they need to do in emergency situations. Also another excuse parents use is that their child needs a phone so they can keep track of them when they are out at night. Again there are many times when a parent calls to see if their child is suppose to be where he/she is and they are not. A land line would be much better to follow up with a child and their where abouts. The cell phone is a convenience but not a necessity. Yes, it would be nice to have a cell phone so you can know right away if there is an emergency instead of enduring the wait. What ever policy your school has for cell phones I think that parents should support it. There are times, parents do not teach their kids to follow rules and respect them. They try to find a way around or bend them when the rule is an inconvenience.

Here's my two cents -  Using Cell phones during school is strictly prohibited.  I have also removed the "texting" feature from my childs phone.  However, after having an F1 tornado with winds in excess of 90 miles per hour rip thru our town last Thursday, our "brilliant" school district administrators in Wheaton Illinois, tried letting the Middle School Children out of school 10 minutes early, removed them from the concrete structure of the school and placed them on School busses - surrounded by glass - to try and "beat the storm" before it hit.  

Unfortunately - the storm hit while the children were screaming on their cell phones to there parents last week.  There is nothing more horrible than not knowing where your child is during a time of crisis.  The good news is, no children lost their lives, just are now scared forever.

I understand that times have changed and the kids today need a since of security; we are living in a crazy world and I worry about my 3 granddaughters, the oldest going to the 2nd grade.  I wouldn't want to take away that security, however, education should remain the focus here.   How in the world are these children learning if they are busy text messaging who's talking to who's boyfriend/girlfriend, the ugly outfit so and so has on, who's hot and who's not, etc.  At what point are they paying attention to the teacher?  Maybe if they paid more attention in class more students would be able to locate the US on a map of the world. If there is an emergency while the child is at school the first place the child should go is to the office or school nurse.  If the parent is at work how quickly can they actually deal with the emergency???  What ever happened to phones in the school office or pay phones in the hall?  Instead of purchasing cell phones, buy calling cards (or will the child without a cell phone be ridiculed by their peers).   How often do these parents who insist that cell phones are a necessity take a look at the activity generated on these cell phones?  Is there even a way to check?  I wouldn't know since I've yet to own a cell phone (I'm 53)

If this debate is truly about safety of children on one side and preventing texting of test answers or invasive photos being taken on the other (as it was presented this morning)then there is a possible compromise. My son has a phone called a firefly.  The numbers are pre programmed, it has an emergency feature for 911 and it is controlled by a parental lock.  It does not have text or picture capability and has no number key pad.  I am sure this type of phone could be easily presented in a more appealing package for teenagers if the demand for it were high enough. As a parent, I like to know I can contact my child....but I also don't want my child texting and tossing around so called funny pictures to others while he is in school.

I am the mother of two teenagers who attend public high school.  Many of us parents often laugh about how our parents ever raised us without cell phones.  Yes, both my children do have cell phones and I wouldn't have it any other way.  My oldest, a senior this year drives himself and his sister to school each day.  There have been MANY times the last school year when bomb threats were called into our High School.  My children were able to text message me about what was happening and that they were ok and they were able to text message when they went back to class.

There is nothing wrong with the children carrying their cell phones to school with them.  My children have theirs and they are turned off during the day unless it is an emergency.  

Cell phones can be used (most of them) as GPS devices if something happens to your child (of course they need to be turned on to do that).  I would rather my teenager have the ability to call me and tell me they are working late or running a few minutes late then driving at a high rate of speed to try to make curfew.  

I like the idea of being able to speak to my child if I need to when I need to.

I graduated from high school in 1999 and cell phones were still expensive then and nobody really had them.  We all survived; I waited in the school lobby when I was waiting to be picked up, called from a teachers room or school office when I needed a phone.  Plans didn't change if I couldn't reach a parent and we watched out for one another.  We waited with someone who was waiting for a parent alone or another parent or coach waited with us.  The school was also locked from the outside.  

Just because someone has a cell phone doesn't mean that it will protect them.  There have been instances where someone was on their cell phone and still had harm come to them.  If you really want to know where your child is, you need to attach a device that is there for that sole purpose.  A cell phone will not tell you where your child is.  If they are kidnapped, the cell phone won't be of any use to them anyways.  Kids need to learn to be aware of their environment and the people around them.  Cell phones actually distract them from this because their focus is on the cell phone.  

In our school district cell phones are not allowed.  But, my 13 yr old travels via bus which is approx 16 miles south of our home, I work 25 miles north on the other side of town, she DOES have a cell phone. After seeing how some accidents are handled, some kids are not as aggresive as others therefore they may not be helped. My daughter and I have gone over our rules.  Which are keep the phone out of sight, it's not to be turned on during class, which this is now her 2nd yr going to this school, so far she has made me very proud.  I don't see the cell phone as being a babysitter or something that will keep her out of danger, but just maybe one day I can get to her quicker then her waiting for a bus driver to call 40 some students parents in an emergency.  Thank you  

Dear Jessica from WI - when your child is on the floor, of a school bus during a tornado, screaming for her life,  that our "trusted" school administrators placed our children in, then you can be crtical of whether or not I have the right to know where my child is, and where I could have gotten her from, once she got off the bus ride from H_ll.  

concernedwinfieldcitizen@gmail.com

When I was a child I actually had a parent and not an electronic device!  Really how incompetent are parents today when they are as incapable, as they claim, to raise their own children without cell phones???  Parents did this for millions of years, yet, now we have a generation that isn't able to do it????  Really should these people even have children???

Parents claim that their children must have cell phones because they need to know when their child's after school plans change.  Why would they just let their children do whatever they want after school and wait to be informed about by a child???  When I was a kid, mom's knew what their kids would be doing and where they would be after school before they even left in the morning and those plans didn't just change on the whim of the moment. Back then people were perfectly capable of raising their children and knowing where they were without letting them constantly make and change their own plans.  

All this garbage about kids having three chances to bring them into school is just enabling them.  Think about how disruptive this is in class.  So a school with 1,000 kids in it means that teachers and administrators need to deal with 3,000 disruptions of in the classroom a year!!!   Loud ring tones in the hallway lockers can also disrupt the classroom learning process as well.  

Phones get stolen all the time at school and it is another issue that become the teacher's and administrators end up having to deal with at school.  You end up with a 12 year old in hysterical in tears because a new  $250 cell phone her parents just bought was stolen or lost and she knows her parents are going to freak out about it when she tells them.

Then we have the kids who use their cell phones to call their parents because they forgot their homework for the third time that week and the parents fax or email the homework into the school!!!   Yes. parents enable their children constantly with new technology!

Another way cell phones undermine teachers in the classroom is when students get in trouble they run to a bathroom or someplace and call the parents to give their twisted and distorted  version of a story first.  It gets the parents all worked up against the teacher, the next thing you know the teachers gets paged during class(or their 20 minute lunch) with a screaming  angry parent on the phone. Children quickly learn that if they can get a hold of their parent first with a "good" story that they are more likely to believed then the teachers even for an outright lie.  Some kids have even walked right up to teachers and shoved a cell phone into the teachers face and said, "My Mom wants to talk to you!!!" Yes again, the "in your face " culture of students to teachers has been taken one more step further!

Parents are not going to be too happy with the technology when their child becomes a victim is technological bullying and harassment. It is not difficult for children to secretly audio or video tape other children in embarrassing situations, including the bathroom and locker room and post them online!!! Once something like that gets out it is almost impossible to make it go away!!!  These tapes can be can be manipulated into the most horrible images imaginable!  

Teachers are also the targets for horrible harassment by children with too much technology.  They can capture and manipulate audio and video images of the teachers and post them online as in the situation recently on the news about the "Hot for Teacher" student made video on Utube and Myspace. No one deserved to be harassed like that and the parents are providing the means for children to do it!  Imagine how the child of a teacher feels when they come across their mother being abused like that online!!!  It is just not right!  This is addition to all the places that children and their parents go online and write all sorts of horrible things about teachers on line.

Children also smuggle these devices into the classroom with the intent of "setting a teacher up."  They audio/video tape preplan acting up and misbehavior and post it online or take it to administration and parents claiming that the teacher can not control their classroom and try to get teachers fired or not "asked back" at the end of the school year.  It usually works too!

Today more then ever the "inmates run the asylum" when it comes to our public schools.  Parents insist that they should be able to override school rules and let their children do as they please. Parents enable and often encourage the harassment and abuse of teachers with technology, especially when they "don't like "THAT" teacher, they think it is funny  Teachers have pretty much nothing in the way or rights to protect themselves.  (For all this crap teachers make about $35K a year!)

The abuse and humiliation that teachers endure today from students and parents through the use of technology, on top of all all the other crap from parents, students, politicians, and administrators on a general basis is just not worth it.  To anyone thinking about going into the teaching profession that they may seriously pick another major.  No one need to put up with all this crap!!!

I feel that cell phones should not be in the schools. If they are on the bus or in a friends car then cell phones should be at hand. They don't need a cell phone in class. This Dr Ruth Peters thoughts are way out there. These cell phones that these children have are not just for 911 issues. They use 95% of their phone to text and talk to their friends. The other 5% is for 911 issues. Then she said to work with the schools to take it away if the phone was used in a wrong way an have the parent come in to get it. Then after three times the parents would stop coming to the school to get it. But wait the argument that having a cell phone is most needed. But if the child don't have it cause the parent stop getting it. Is that not putting the child in harms way? make up your mind Dr Peters should have have it or not. If they need a phone to call MOM I am sure that the school office will not prevent then from using it. THEY DONT NEED IT IN THE CLASSROOM!

I have a 15 year old daughter and she goes to a very small high school on the plains, which is an hour away from where I work. My husband is about 30 minutes away from her as well. She does have a cell phone, but it took a long time for us to realize that she might need one. In her school district, she is not allowed to have her phone on her and it must stay in her locker. Do I feel better that she has a phone on her? Sure, due to the after school sports she is in. Do I believe she needs one? Nope, she doesn't. I am like most of the other posters that believe we lived fine without a cellphone for the longest time.

When my daughter was in middle school, she begged and pleaded to have a phone because all of her friends had them. Well, those friends would cheat on tests, text each other in class about people, and basically not listen. I am glad we waited to get her a phone. Helps that our daughter is now in AP classes and those "friends" are not. She pays attention to the teacher and not to the people texting her.

Yes, the lifestyle we lead now is so differnt than it was when we were teenagers, but we had those bad things happen too. Teachers these days are overworked and WAY underpaid that these latest distractions are not necessary. Why is it so important to contact your child in class? I think schools do have land lines, right?

Unfortunately today the kids are running the program
so ask the kids not the so called people in charge.

I am totaly blown away about all the responses hear talk about 'teaching your kids'. Obviously very few parents are teaching there kids much of anything other then how to get their way. But then again I see so many 'grownups' engaging in anything that resembles responsible cell phone use that it's no wonder they do what they do.  These teachers would not be considering banning phones if it were only a few bad apples. What does it say about our culture? Many children are spoiled wrotten, they have an air of entitlement that is appaling. But then again there's only one place they get this from. That's in the home. They don't do what you tell them, they imitate what they see. These teachers aren't lying. Stop living in denial and do something. Dont make the school system parent your kids. S

Our school allows cell phones, but only placed in the locker.  I am a bus driver and no one is allowed to use a cell phone on the buses.  Only if there is an emergency will I allow a student to use one.  There is absolutely no reason to carry on a conversation on a school bus that only takes 1/2 hour to get you home.

Rationalize the fact you can't control your children at home and then go along with the excuses your children give you so they don't have to realize there is a time and a place for play and its not in school.  Lets continue to degrade our education in this country and we will lose everything..

i have a cellphone and i think its awesome!!!! im in 8th grade and i use it a lot...not for texting during class but for talking before and after school. i probably would feel very bored all the time if i didnt have a phone because i am an only child and that is the best way to communicate with my friends AND family...

Children should definately NOT have cell phones in the classroom. I am a retired teacher with 5 grandchildren and three chidren.

I am a senior in high school. I have had personal problems and issues getting rides home. For instance I have early release but I dont have my own car. Well we have pay phones at school and children dont always have change on them and our teachers are really crazy bout us using the phones and having passes to the student center. At times its hard to even goto the nurse! Our teachers have to agree with everything we do. My cell phone is my lifeline. Sometimes I have to text my mom or call her and tell her what the problem is. Where she thinks its necessary for me to check out some teachers would disagree. They think if you aint puking, bleeding, or dying you're ok. Alot of times they are wrong because I have seen children faint or pass out b/c of actions teachers have not taken.

Cell phones are not the problem.  Lack of parenting is the most likely problem. Kids today seem to have a lack of respect for authority (probably because they have none at home). A cell phone is not only a safety thing, but also allows parents to be in touch with their kids when they need to be.  I am sure it is frusterating when you are stuck late in a meeting and have no way to communicate to your child that you will be late.  I agree phones shouldn't be allowed in the classroom, but not allowed on school grounds? Give me a break! Times are changing and communications is one of the fasted growing industries out there! You just have to deal with it!  

There weren't so many computers 20 years ago and yes, everyone survived....Should we do away with those now too?

Have you ever tried to get a message to your child in today's high schools?  Or has your child ever missed a bus and tried to get them to contact you?  My son lets me know when his bus is running late, or doesn't come (often), I leave him messages about his after-school babysitting jobs, etc. Many scary situations have been avoided or diffused by my son's ability to contact me.  Today's schools are different, the world is different, and being able to contact your child during the day is not a parenting failure, it is a necessity for the parent who stays in touch with their child.  Put the phone on vibrate, enforce usage rules in the classroom (yes, I think for the money and effort I put into the public school system the admin CAN handle this)or make teachers and communication much more accessible to the students and parents than they are right now.  My son has never misused his responsibility with his phone- isn't that the point here, teaching responsibility?  Stop punishing the good kids- a popular technique used by school admin. to reduce THEIR responsibility!  I am a supporter of the public schools and my son is an excellent student and citizen, and I maintain the right to equip him as I see fit. And I don't believe for a minute that cell phones cause poor grades, behavior, etc.- that's just silly.  These things are a product of general indulgence, not of allowing our children to use tools!  

Wow, Dan, You're a jerk. Instead of debating, you've elected to take the easy non-intellectual way out. "you disagree with me, therefore I am not talking to you". That's pretty cheap, Dan. Go take a debate class and then perhaps you'll have a shred of credibility, you've lost yours as far as I'm concerned. Frankly, I'm surprised you had the guts to post that. Oh, and you go ahead and let the parents of the kids that were in Columbine, Heritage, Rocori, Red Lake, Platte Canyon, Weston, etc. etc. that they aren't allowed to talk to their children. If teens are disrupting class, it seems to me parents should parent. When did the schools start raising our children for us?!!!

When I was in high school I didn't have a cellphone and they were banned when I was. I was a sophomore in high school when columbine happened and even after they were still banned. Kids do not need cellphones in school they aren't a necessity. Schools tend to have emergency plans if something were to happen and cellphone use usually gets in the way of that, causing confusion with amongst the parents, children and school as to how to properly execute those emergency plans. In college I did have a cellphone and even there it became a hassle, often interrupting lectures or libraries. It is the same in high school, as a parent if you think that your child isn't able to tamper and chaneg cellphone blocks or erase call history, you should think again. As well as if you think your child is not using that cellphone in class, think again. They are simply novelties that your 16 doesn't need as well as a distraction. Try teaching them some responsibility or invest in an Amigo that calls only Mom, Dad, Hospital, and 911.

Cell phones seem to be the new villain, but the problem that most people have with them is age-old.  Texting in class is no different than the epic-length notes that were passed around the class room in my day…only faster.  Blaming the phone instead of the child/teen is another example of misplaced responsibility.  The one, really valid issue relates to inappropriate photos that are taken of the user or his/her classmates.  And blaming the phone for “in-your-face” confrontations is ridiculous.  A whining child and a bullying parent will get in a teacher’s face regardless of the communication method; and this is really a problem with recognition of a teacher’s authority, not that the parent is on the phone.

However, I still believe that cell phones should not be banned from the campus.  My son is in the 6th grade and carries a cell phone to school.  He understands that the phone is to remain in his pocket, unused, until school is out.  Teach a child to follow rules, even with the choice to do otherwise, and you have taught him responsibility.  Remove all options except the “acceptable”, and you have taught him to walk on a leash.  

With today’s bomb threats and school shootings, we do not send our children to the same schools that we went to.  Sure, we managed to grow up without cell phones.  Most of us grew up without computers and the internet.  And yet, where are you right now?

As a mother who had a daughter in high school and worked 20 minutes away, if my daughter had to stay after school for any reason by the time she could get to a pay phone, I was already on my way.  As I used my lunch hour to pick her up and take her home, it was so very frustrating to be waiting and not know why she was there.  The best thing that happened for the two of us was, her cell phone. I believe that anytime outside of the classroom, the student should be able to use it if needed. If the students are using it during the classroom, as far as I am concerned, the teacher is not checking his or her students.  By the way, I work for a school district.

No to cellphones at school. It creates jealousy and more bills. Conserve electricity. Don't talk to strangers. Don't cheat on tests. Don't gossip. Don't throw friend's cell phone in toilet. Do not throw cellphone. Do not drop cell phone. Do not hide answers to tests in cell phones. and on and on and on

In my day, it was calculators that weren't allowed in school...

A phone is just a tool. Communicating is good, even just chatting with friends. Of course, the school should enforce no use during class, just like the kids shouldn't be listening to their ipod during class. But an all-out ban on the school grounds seems over the top.

I grew up without cellphones, but I don't leave the house without it now. Why should the kids be forced to go without a device their parents can't live without?

As a teacher, I cannot stand the cell phones.  All schools have true emergency systems in place (especially following Columbine).  Kids are not using these phones in class for "emergencies", they are using them to chat, or to call mom/dad for a ride home.

Kids have lost the need for responsibility due to parents who give, give, give...but do not teach the responsibility.

Cell phones:  NO
Parental Control:  PLEASE

I'm a 19 year old college student, and I can truthfully say I survived without a cell phone. Emergencies? What emergency in school would cause a parent to call their children. Parents can just as easily contact the school office. I've been in school recently PA systems are just as useful as a cellular phone, which students can find much more accomadating using them during class time for activities that are indeed not calling their mommies to check in.. There are many more reasons why cell phones should not be allowed in school. I can see a student possibly needing a cell phone at lunch and after school, I agree with leaving cell phones at the office desk and picking them up for lunch and then after school if a student insists on bringing a cell phone.

I can see a point in having a cell phone at any other time ( other than driving ). However at school a cell phone is more of a distraction and another way for unnecessary communication. If a shooter decided to come into a school, I'm positive they wouldn't have succeeded because a student didn't have his or her cell phone on him. There is no excuse.

Oh Jan, if you work for a school district you must understand that cell phones should not be seen or heard during the school day. If teachers are mandated to be the cell phone police during instruction time, how much instruction is likely to take place??? It's a big, giant DUH. No cell phones at school.

As a parent of a 14 yr old boy, I agree that cell phones have no place in our schools.  Along with the temptation to cheat (texting test information to friends, sending text pics of test and info on pop quizzes, etc), students feel it unbearable to leave their cell phones silent for more than half a second.  Some schools have advised students that cell phones are permitted in their lockers only.  What purpose does that serve? Another temptation-stealing? What good does a phone do if it's in their locker?  They might as well leave it at home. My son has a cell phone, and as parents, we require that the phone remain home during school. And guess what? Thats just the way it is. We make the rules- not excuses!
Although we live in a world of technological advances, the reason for safety and the ability to communicate readily, is just a bunch of excuses.  There are always alternatives. Messages with school faculty, the use of public payphones or school office phones have worked all the way through and up to, the increase of cell phone usage. Why is this not good enough now?

Along with  a student ban on cell phones, teachers should be restricted to cell phones usage in the classroom as well.  I hear on a daily basis the number of children, including those in my son's school, that teachers use their phones daily, in class, for personal phones calls.  Their job is to teach, not to give reading and writing exercises, just to be able to blab on a personal call for 30 minutes of a 45 minute class. If phones are to be banned, they should be banned for students as well as teachers. Classrooms can be fitted, if not already, with interom devices, web cams, etc if the need arises. The "safety" issue does not fly with me as a justification for children to have them in school.

Hmm, it's tough on the teachers, but times are different now than when 'we were in school'. and now there is the possibility that someone else's kid is bringing a gun to school.

So I say keep the cell but limit use to emergency only by using a prepaid card system.

In this day and age, the art of connecting people faster and easier is accelerating and will continue to do so. It astounds me that letting a child have a cell phone causes so many issues. I believe children should be allowed to have cell phones in school.

The argument of "I didn't have one and I did fine" is ludicrous. Students are now expected to do more comprehensive research due to the Internet, create Excel spreadsheet documents for science class, and much more. These students are required to do much more than what the educational system demanded 30 years ago. In the current education system, status quo is not acceptable.

To ensure students do not create mischief in school, the school districts should standardize the cell phone of the students. The districts should negotiate with the cell carriers to specify a specific plan and specific phone. In turn, the parents should only purchase those standardized phones for their child. In addition, phone access maybe specified per school policy. In addition, the school can mandate only certain features be allowed for the phone such as text messages and phone calls. To combat stolen phones, the school can use its purchasing power to secure insurance for each and every phone.

For teachers, it well understood that the society is changing. I sympathize with you and your job's degree of difficulty. I think the easiest method to dealing with cell phones is to have a standard cell phone and have every student place their cell phone on their desk at the beginning of the class period. As you take roll, you can check to ensure every cell phone is off.   Also, students will not be allowed to touch their cell phones again for the remainder of the class period.

I don't think there is a silver bullet solution, but I think through discussion and dialog will a reasonable answer come through.

I have already raised two children to adult, and am raising my youngest two (9 and 7).  My 9 year old 4th-grader has friends in his class who already have cell phones "so they can stay in touch with Mom".  Yes, I live in Yuppie Central, and it shows.  My children will NOT have cell phones until they can prove to me that they are necessary.  Instead, I teach them to be polite, helpful, friendly, and careful.  I teach them to think about the consequences of their actions, and to accept responsibility, just as I did the two older ones.  And my children are well behaved without being artificial or brainless, which proves that limiting television and spending actual human time with them works!

BY the way, you in Winfield, Illinois?  How did a screaming child on a cell phone tell you how to find her?  And did you find her, or did the bus bring her home?  You never really covered that.  I'm just really curious, because people talk about cell phones being GPS signals, although they forget to mention that the phone has to have some modifications done on it before it works that way.  It also requires a particular bit of software to be installed before it can be used as a tracking device.  You never mentioned when you voided your warranty and insurance on your child's cell phone to use it as an internet tracking device, and being from Kansas, I would almost bet money that the Internet was down during the storm!  Vent your panic on someone else, we prefer to actually parent our children, not baby them.

As a teacher, I can attest to the fact that high school children are "text" messaging each other all day long.  When they are pretending to read or finish an assignment, they are texting.  In one high school in Florida, the entire accountability testing had to be re-given because students were texting the answers to each other.  
I didn't have a telephone in my purse or pocket when I attended school and these young people do not need one, either.  Our school does have a policy of first offense (ringing or being caught texting) phone taken up and given back at the end of the day.  Second offense, is to call parents and the parent picks up the telephone.  Some schools don't allow telephones AT ALL and that's the best common sense solution to the prob lem.  If a student needs to call home, he or she may go to a pay phone or to the office.  

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