There was basically a cell phone/ipod raid on my old middle school yesterday. Okay, not really. The Department of Education set up metal detectors for everyone entering the school, and they found:
404 cellphones, 69 iPods, 23 other electronic devices, two knives and one imitation gun.
All of which they took. It should be noted that there are a couple of different programs in the school, some good and some not so. Still, 404 cellphones is A LOT. The Department of Education is pretty stupid for doing that at M. S. 54. Parents have to go to school to pick up the cellphones no sooner than Tuesday. That’s a lot of parents.
There was talk of this possibly happening last year when the Department of Education first started these “random” metal detector set-ups around different schools in the city. I even wrote an article about it!
As I explain in the article, I that these rules are stupid in schools where just about everyone has a cellphone. A good compromise would be to only allow certain phones, like phones that don’t have a camera or internet access. Or use one of those blocking devices that they’re starting to use in movie theaters. Then, no problem. If the phones don’t work in school, then the kids can’t use them in school.
At Beacon (my high school) there’s basically a don’t-tell policy. Pretty much every kid has an electronic of some sort on them. During class, you never see them. Oh, unless my math teacher trades one temporarily to students to ensure she gets her loaned pencil back. Or if my science teacher needs an extra stopwatch. (Both of these things happen.)
I almost got my phone taken a couple of weeks ago. School had JUST ended and the building was emptying out. I had forgotten that for history we had to stay to watch the U.N. Head of Peacekeeping Operations give a speech after school. But how do I tell my parents? I go into a deserted stairway, I call them, tell them quickly I’ll be late so they don’t worry and- BUT NO! A teacher stops me, takes the phone and says “You can’t have cell phones in school, blah blah blah, if I see it again I’ll take it, blah blah blah” and gives it back. Now, most of the teachers aren’t like him. But the teachers who are are making a huge fuss over almost nothing.
My school basically has a don’t-tell policy as well. Earlier this year, some teachers didn’t mind if you listened to an MP3 player while doing a test, sheets etc. Then, the administration benned all electronic devices from the classroom. Now it is basically the same thing. If you bring it out in class and a teacher sees it, it is theirs.