Search Results for: blog teacher cell phone use at school

The Whopping Family Cell Phone Bill

Cell phones as we know them are only a few decades old, and yet it is hard to think about living without them, despite the fact that humankind survived centuries without cell phones. It isn’t unusual these days to be spending $250 or more a month for your family cell phones. In some families, the cell phone expense may be the second highest monthly bill, after the mortgage or the rent. Doing without other things, from eating out to dental care (in some cases) in order to afford cell phones has become the norm. How did things get so crazy? … Continue reading →

Texting Your Child While in School

During a particularly difficult time for my daughter, she sent me a text one day from school. She needed to tell me something. I responded, she responded, I responded…it turned into a 20 minute “texting” conversation. All of this was while she was in a class. I felt a twinge of guilt. Should I really be texting my daughter while she is in school? I’m sure most parents would say no. But the circumstances wouldn’t allow me to say, “We’ll talk about it later.” The reality is that she may not have been ready to discuss what she was. Now … Continue reading →

Review: The Phonetic Zoo

Ever since my daughter was in Kindergarten she has struggled with spelling. We had a few good years due to a great curriculum and active hands on word studies. However, as she hit the junior high level she was no longer interested in spelling games yet still lacked spelling skills. She is a very intelligent girl but spelling is not her forte. I thought that she would simply have to live out the rest of her life as a poor speller. After all, I know plenty of people who have resigned themselves to be poor spellers. My daughter, now in … Continue reading →

Parents and Teachers Need to Work Together to Stop Bullying

The Dr. Phil season has barely kicked off and already I am seeing him tackle a lot of teen issues. The biggest one on his plate is bullying. He has already done a couple of shows on teen bullying and is now starting an anti-bullying campaign. Like Dr. Phil, I too believe this is a serious issue. With technological advances in our society, bullying has been taken to a whole new degree. As I have said before, the bullying has to stop. One of the things that I feel would greatly help to stop bullying is if parents and teachers … Continue reading →

Should You Teach Your Child to Read Before They Go To School?

Should you teach your child to read before they go to school? It’s a question that people often have differing opinions about. My mother taught me to read when I was four years old. As far as I can see it was one of the best and most loving things she did and she did plenty of other loving things. So when my son was four it seemed only natural to teach him to read. We started over with a combination of phonetics and flash cards. By the time he went to school he could already read well. Fortunately his … Continue reading →

Why Schools Are Banning Hoodies

It’s not what you think. Schools are not banning the popular hooded sweatshirts because they are sloppy-looking or they promote gang violence. Rather, school administrators in Kansas have put the kibosh on hoodies with large pockets because an inordinate amount of students have been using the sweatshirt’s “kangaroo pocket” to text others during class. According to reports, cell phone and other PDA abuse by students has forced administrators to revamp the school dress code. Students attending Kansas’ Andale Elementary and St. Mark’s Charter School can still wear sweatshirts, but the fleece tops cannot feature hoods or front pockets. The change … Continue reading →

Does Your Teen Drive to School?

My parents allowed my brothers and I to share a single vehicle while we were in high school. Three teens (and one tween, who insisted on tagging along) sharing one car–definitely not a pretty situation. Still, that one car provided my parents with freedom some moms and dads only dream of. Not only did we use the car to get to and from school (thus, giving my parents a break from taxi duty), but it also transported us to all of our extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, the car did not escape our teen years without sustaining serious damage (all my older … Continue reading →

Brooklyn Schools Hand out Cell Phones

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In my previous article, I discussed how the cell phone debate continues with students and now has involved teachers and administrators. While most schools are debating whether or not to allow students to carry cell phones at school, one area is debating giving students cell phones as an incentive. A pilot program in Brooklyn is designed where schools actually give students cell phones as a reward for good grades, attendance, and good behavior. The program is taking place in three of Brooklyn’s middle schools and four of its charter schools. About 2500 students will be receiving cell phones equipped with … Continue reading →

Teacher Cell Phone Use at School

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Schools go through cycles of problems and debates. Centuries ago the debate surrounded issues about where and if students should be able to smoke at school and if girls could wear pants. Many of today’s debates deal with the use of technology. Cell phones being the major question. Parents, students, teachers, and school administrators all have opinions on either why or why not children should be allowed to have cell phones at school. However, the debate is not only limited to the children. Teachers and administrators are now seeing debates among themselves. School principals are witnessing more and more cell … Continue reading →

Calling a Teacher at Home

In an article written earlier, I recapped a news story about a student who called the school director’s house to question why school did not close for snow. The less than happy wife of the director returned the call and angrily commented that the boy should not have called their house. My husband and I are both in the education field. We do receive calls from parents at our house. Because we are both in elementary education, we rarely receive calls from students. I can understand the wife’s frustrations with people calling the house about work issues. I am sure … Continue reading →