Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Cell phone angst

One of my administrators just came to my door *during Benchmark testing* to check and see that one of my 7th graders was present. Her mother had called the school, worried that she didn't make it here today. Now, you might think, "OK, this child has 25 absences in the first semester alone, and her mom is making sure she didn't skip out on school again." But that is not the case. Mom knows about the absences. It's just that her daughter forgot to text her this morning to say, "I'm at school." Really? Where did you think she would end up? And, incidentally, she could send that text from anywhere! After all, her boyfriend can drive. (Did I mention that she's in 7th grade?)

I think this mom is worried about the wrong things. No wonder the child didn't seem to understand why I had to take her phone when it went off in my class a few weeks ago. (It was her boyfriend texting her from HIS class at the high school.)

This article, Buy a phone, become a baby, pretty much sums up my opinion on parents, kids, and cell phones. My (hypothetical) child will not have one for as long as I can hold out.

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