Lee County School District asking for possible cell phone bans in the classroom for students is causing mixed thoughts from parents.
Is it a crucial lifeline? Or a distraction? Lee County Schools wants to know what the community thinks about cell phones in the classroom.
And parents have mixed thoughts.
“My thoughts are kind of mixed,” the mother of a high school student Erin McDaniel said. “I think that for safety reasons, it's a good idea. Just in case.”
Many schools across Florida are banning cell phones. But some, like Erin Field a mother of two elementary students, think it is a good idea.”
“In terms of emergencies, there is plenty of personnel and staff,” Field said. “As a mother of a cellphone-less child, when after school changes during school, guess what? The school has a phone and she calls me from the school phone.”
When it comes to emergencies, McDaniel wants her son to call her. She said it has happened in the past.
“My son had somebody accidentally hit the button or whatever it is in his classroom for a lockdown, and he called me in a panic and thought there was a shooting and teachers were crying,” she said.
And because he had his phone he was able to call her, and they found the lockdown was false.
But she understands that his phone is a distraction.
“it would get on my nerves if I was a teacher because they're on their phones a lot when they're trying to teach them,” McDaniel said. “And nobody can do two things at once. The brain doesn't work that way. So, I would say if I were a teacher, I wouldn't care for them having their phones out during class.”
The Lee County School Board discussed allowing students to have their phones at school, as long as they are turned off and stored in backpacks.
Which has parents like Erin Field say that is a no-brainer. She sees phones as a distraction in the classroom. And 86% of school principals in Lee County agree, based on a recent study.
But now the board wants to hear from you. There is a survey that has been sent out to parents and students. Asking questions like:
- Do you believe the use of wireless communication devices during the school day negatively affects learning and socialization?
- Which of the following would most likely be improved by the restriction of wireless communication device use during the school day?
- Do you believe there is an advantage to students using their wireless communication devices during the school day?
- I agree with the restriction of wireless communication device use during the instructional day, as long as students can access their wireless communication devices (from their backpacks) in case of an emergency.
Once you submit your responses to the online survey, the school board will review the answers. They plan to come up with a decision to review at their next meeting on February 4, 2005.
From there they plan to finalize a decision in March.