Today's post is to all those who use their phones for the internet...basically, everyone. You might wonder why I would make such a strong statement? It's because I am watching it take our students down first-hand in the classroom. What do I mean?
Nearly every high school student in this country has a phone. It is a status symbol of sorts and a "must have" among today's youth. I wouldn't mind students having phones if they were actually using them for a good purpose; research, writing, mathematical calculations, watching scientific experiments. Instead, they are on SnapChat, TikTok, FaceTime, YouTube videos and porn sites. Yes, all this during class time and sadly, during instructional time. I had a parent argue her son needed his phone so that if she needed to get in touch with him, he had it. He was sent to the principal's for watching porn in class.
Parents, I get that the phone is today's answer to yesterday's babysitting by television (you can't do that either today due to content). However, during class time, it is expected your children will learn. They don't. I have students in high school counting on their fingers in an Algebra 2 class or using a calculator that does everything that pops up the answers. Oh, and there are downloadable apps that all the student needs to do is take a picture of the problem and it solves it for them. They just copy. In my day, it was memorizing the math facts and using a slide rule. Most likely, you don't even know what a slide rule is.
Parents, I have students today who cannot write a 5-7 sentence paragraph or quote sources. When I was a junior in high school, I distinctly remember having to write a 10 page paper. This required going to the library, looking up the information and writing down quotes on 3 X 5 cards along with the citation. The majority of today's students cannot read at grade level, and in fact, YouTube has taken the place of teachers reading to them.
Parents, you students now have a great time-waster and distraction -- it is the cell phone in the classroom. Try and take it away and it becomes a very serious thing; in fact, I was threatened by a student who did not want his phone taken.
[
As we continue down this path, I wonder what it will be like in 40 years from now; when all these kids who are given a free pass in the classroom will be in the work force? I am thankful because I'm certain I will be dead. I do not want to see what our world will be like with these kids at the helm.
And so parents, this is a stern warning to you...the question used to be, do you know where your kids are? Even if your kids are in school, they can do, see and get everything with little repercussion from the administrative powers that be. I would ask you instead, do you know what your kids are doing?
We are educators, not glorified babysitters. We are NOT the problem. We are doing our best with what we are given. You need to do your job. Check --- who are your kids hanging out with after school? Do they come home high? A word of warning -- pot today can be laced with Fentanyl -- the gateway to heroin. What web sites is your child perusing? Perhaps you need to remove internet from the home and take your child to the library to do homework? Or better yet, spend time with your child, helping them with their homework.
We have children failing in our schools today only to hear from parents, "What are you doing?" Fortunately, I don't scare easily. Instead, I would ask parents, "What are you NOT doing?"
