Should Cell Phone Jammers be allowed in Schools


cat daddy

cat daddy

Active Member
Cellphone jamming principal forced to retreat at B.C. high school
Device illegal in Canada, students point out
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | 9:30 AM PT CBC News

The battle between students and teachers over the use of cellphones in schools reached new heights in B.C. when a school principal installed an electronic jamming device to stop the ring tones, the chatter and the text messaging.

Steve Gray, the principal in Port Hardy Secondary School on the north coast of Vancouver Island, was frustrated that a cellphone ban in his school wasn't working.

"We banned them a couple of years ago and that doesn't seem to have stopped the problem," Gray told CBC News on Monday.

"When there are cellphones in use, there is a constant background of 'Please put your cellphone away. Please give me your cellphone,'" Gray told CBC News.

So about a month ago he went online and bought a device from China to jam the signals.

Electronic warfare
Last week the device, which Gray described as a little box with four antennas, arrived from China, and he plugged it into the wall in the school library.

"I thought we'd do a little experiment and see what happens," he said.

"It was astonishing how it worked.… Two-thirds of the school instantly shut down for cellphone use. The teachers were very happy. Students were wondering what was going on," he said.

"Many students said, 'Yeah, you have done the right thing,'" said Gray.

Many others, however, were irate, and on Thursday a group of students refused to return to class after lunch, claiming their rights had been taken away, said Grey.

The students informed the principal the jamming device was illegal in Canada, and Grey had to pull the plug.

Now he's back to the frustration of an ineffective cellphone ban.

"It's not easy to enforce, because, you know a cellphone in your pocket, it's impossible to know it's there, and it's always on, always ready to be used," he said.

Full Story
 
um they haven't tried suspension? Cell phones weren't in yet when I was in high school, we had pagers, I got one when I was 15. But if you were caught with one and/or it ringing, vibrating, or going off that was maybe 3-5 days easily. I've seen folks get suspended for them after random locker searches so I made sure I always left mines in my car.
 



Until parents stop giving in to their kids things will not change. I wish my son would try to protest because he couldn't use a cell phone @ school. I'm kicking his azz for that.
 
THey got Phones in the Office incase of an emergency. So whats da purpose of a cell phone being used during school time? Theres nuthing a student or parent can say to protest that.....




~__________~
 
When my oldest child gets of age and she starts going home and not after care she will get a cell phone but it will be one of those emergency ones with mom,dad, police. If some ish pop off while getting off the bus to go home then she can hit me or her mother up. A regular cell is a no no.
 
Smoke said:
THey got Phones in the Office incase of an emergency. So whats da purpose of a cell phone being used during school time? Theres nuthing a student or parent can say to protest that.....
Click to expand...

Dude, that is always my arguement when talking to people about why kids don't need cell phones with them at school. Phones in the office and most adults working in the school have personal cell phones. If there is a major emergency that requires a call to 911, I'm sure there's enough adults @ the school that can make that call on a landline or cell phone.
 
cat daddy said:
Dude, that is always my arguement when talking to people about why kids don't need cell phones with them at school. Phones in the office and most adults working in the school have personal cell phones. If there is a major emergency that requires a call to 911, I'm sure there's enough adults @ the school that can make that call on a landline or cell phone.
Click to expand...

You are most correct. Cell phones here are not banned, but they are required to be turned off during the school day. Frankly, I think they should be required to be shut-off and in lockers/vehicles during the day.

Yes, I say suspend the violators: twice in-school, third time to alternative school requiring a physical appearance of a parent for a conference at the school to inform that parent that the student is banned from carrying the device for the rest of the school year. If that is violated, the student is expelled.
 
Well one thing I know for sure, the no phones in school polict doesn't work. It is not a realistic policy, and schools need to realistic and find a middle ground. As a teacher, I like the jammers, and I wouldn't mind if they had one in my school even though it jams my phone. Yet in the school I teach now, some of these teachers will have conversations in front of their kids......its sad, and if we had a jammer, they would want to revolt. Plus part of the issue is liability. By saying no cell phones, schools can't be held accountable for lost or stolen phones.

Someone ask why searches and taking the phones doesn't work, and the answer is simple.....parents. They rant and support their childrenn, even if having the phone is a violation of school rules. Many times I have taken phones, and it is the parent calling/texting the kid. Yet, they are upset when the phone is lost or stolen and we respond and tell them that we have no liability because phone are not allowed in school.

There are schools that have policies that work. They allow kids to use the phone as long as they are not in a class. They can text, but not talk, in the hallways, lunch room, etc.
 
dacontinent said:
Yes, I say suspend the violators: twice in-school, third time to alternative school requiring a physical appearance of a parent for a conference at the school to inform that parent that the student is banned from carrying the device for the rest of the school year. If that is violated, the student is expelled.
Click to expand...

I can tell you don't work in education. If they tried to enforce a rule like this, all schools would be alternative schools, and you would have to expell 90% of your students.
 
Suge said:
I can tell you don't work in education. If they tried to enforce a rule like this, all schools would be alternative schools, and you would have to expell 90% of your students.
Click to expand...

You are correct about me not working in education...But I have 6 schools local to me that do not allow cell phones inside a school building during school hours and the second offense will result in your expulsion.

All 6 of them are private schools. All 6 have it stated as such in their student handbooks, which are signed-off on as part of the annual contract. The tuition for those students must still be paid by the parents - which has been challenged in the courts and upheld.

It works as long as the policy has enough teeth and the executives have enough guts to execute it consistently across the board.
 
Private schools.....different world. But I cantell you this much, that school may have that as a policy, but I doubt they enforce it to the letter. Plus, how big are these school. Size plays a major role too.
 
My school has an electronic device policy. It states that electronic devices may only be used before school, during lunch, and after school. If an electronic device (cell phone, PSP, IPod, etc.) is seen or heard during the instructional day, teachers/staff are authorized to confiscate them and turn them in to an assistant principal.

Once there, they will be held for 1 week, and there is a $15 charge to return the device. The device may only be returned ON A FRIDAY to a parent/guardian....NOT the student.....Wait, retract that. I JUST read an email where our policy has changed slightly due to ineffectiveness. It now may only be returned 2 Fridays after it is confiscated and the fee is now $20.
 
I like that policy, it is practical and realistic. I like the fee to have the phone returned and the penalty or waiting until Friday is fair and practical. I would eliminate the parent having to come pick up the phone since I am charging the fee, but I may try and use a version of this.....
 



Suge said:
I like that policy, it is practical and realistic. I like the fee to have the phone returned and the penalty or waiting until Friday is fair and practical. I would eliminate the parent having to come pick up the phone since I am charging the fee, but I may try and use a version of this.....
Click to expand...

To be honest, the parent part is written in, and I remember they stuck to it from the start. But over time, after a few complaints, they backed off a bit. But habitual offenders may be required to have a parent pick the device up.
 
s phi s said:
My school has an electronic device policy. It states that electronic devices may only be used before school, during lunch, and after school. If an electronic device (cell phone, PSP, IPod, etc.) is seen or heard during the instructional day, teachers/staff are authorized to confiscate them and turn them in to an assistant principal.

Once there, they will be held for 1 week, and there is a $15 charge to return the device. The device may only be returned ON A FRIDAY to a parent/guardian....NOT the student.....Wait, retract that. I JUST read an email where our policy has changed slightly due to ineffectiveness. It now may only be returned 2 Fridays after it is confiscated and the fee is now $20.
Click to expand...

With as many potential violators that are usually in a school, that probably turned into a quick revenue stream!

It forces the correct behavior on both sides. If parents want their children to have cell phones, they must learn the apprpriate times to call. I know a lot of my coworkers' kids will call them throughout the day....

I don't think there is anything wrong with allowing cell phones, but only under a controlled policy.

With the policy S Phi S has, I bet those kids leave their stuff at home now... and keep those cell phone put up until the designated times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top