School / education stuff

[In2ition]

Do you see any evidence of this in your classrooms in college?

[Nodack]

I have heard a lot of people from both sides of the isle talk about this and both sides tend to agree that it’s a real problem.

[Nodack]

6 Ways Schools Are Managing Students’ Cellphone Use
https://www.edweek.org/technology/6-way ... se/2024/04
A flurry of school districts across the country are tightening cellphone restrictions, because they believe students’ misuse of the devices has negatively affected their behavior and ability to learn.
In 2015, 66 percent of schools in the United States prohibited non-academic use of cellphones during school hours, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By 2020, that percentage had jumped to 77 percent.
Many educators blame students’ cellphone use for being the top distraction in schools and classrooms. The constant use of the devices has also been linked to students’ worsening mental health.…

Kids are using phones in class, even when it’s against the rules. Should schools ban them all day?
https://apnews.com/article/school-cell- ... b15cb71d36

Cell Phones and School Safety
https://schoolsecurity.org/trends/cell- ... n-schools/

Should Cell Phones Be Allowed in School? Pros and Cons
https://blog.urbansitter.com/should-cel ... -and-cons/

[Cap]

I don't have any kids over the age of 6 so this hasn't become a thing for my family yet. But I do get the sense that smartphones in K-12 classrooms have become a big problem and distraction for a lot of kids. Don't know if a blanket ban is the answer, but it does seem like teens aren't old enough to resist the call of the phone in their pocket if they're supposed to be studying.

Doesn’t seem like it will accomplish much. If kids want to be on social media they will, even if they have to wait for the end of the school day.

Now if a kid starts playing with his phone during class when he should be paying attention? Straight to the principal’s office. But there’s no point in trying to regulate their free time in that manner.

[Mori Chu]

Do you see any evidence of this in your classrooms in college?

I don't teach any more; I went back to the software industry into a regular software developer job about 5 years ago. Having a more normal 9-5 is way better for me with four little kids. Conveniently it also happens to pay better.

Back when I was teaching, I did sometimes see students on smartphones. But those are college students, adults, and I felt they could make choices for themselves. In college, attendance is often optional, so if they're there at all (phone or no phone), it's better than if they ditch. But I might feel differently if I'd taught in K-12.

[Mori Chu]

Here's another article about some (local to me) schools banning smartphones.

[Nodack]

I like that.

[Mori Chu]

I'm surprised these kind of statements aren't a bigger deal. If Trump got elected and actually did this, it would be complete chaos and an utter disaster for our educational system, as well as exposing millions of kids to a bunch of diseases unnecessarily. Is this really the GOP's educational position? Cut all funding for schools that ask for basic vaccines that are completely safe and have been standard for decades?

[Nodack]

Nobody does more to help Harris’s campaign than Trump.

[TOO]

I'm surprised these kind of statements aren't a bigger deal. If Trump got elected and actually did this, it would be complete chaos and an utter disaster for our educational system, as well as exposing millions of kids to a bunch of diseases unnecessarily. Is this really the GOP's educational position? Cut all funding for schools that ask for basic vaccines that are completely safe and have been standard for decades?

Same guy that hired Education hater Betsy Devos to run the Education department, who is surprised.

[Nodack]

Trump wanted to be a hero and announce to his followers that they should get the Covid vaccine that he was personally responsible for. They booed him. It’s pretty much the only thing his followers weren’t willing to do for him. He has learned his lesson. Be anti vaccine and you will get praise from your followers.

[Nodack]

“Ok students. Open up your Koran, I mean Bible to Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 3.”

Oklahoma schools in revolt over Bible mandate
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/ ... and-state/
Educators in Oklahoma are refusing a state order to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans, setting up an inevitable showdown with the start of the school year just weeks away.

“To date, schools have been advised by legal counsel (School Board Association and State Attorney General) to not follow the guidance because it goes against current Oklahoma State Law,” said Lee Northcutt, superintendent of Caddo Public Schools, in an email.

Schools are skeptical of Walters’s intentions, especially since religious texts were already included in lesson plans without the compulsory measure.

[ShadowHawke]

How about dealing with the real problems in the school system:

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com ... 49273.html

[Mori Chu]

THE PEDOS! Why won't anybody stop the pedos?

In all seriousness, I certainly support cracking down on and fully punishing any such people, especially in the K-12 system. IMO public education faces all sorts of big challenges, largely a deep lack of funding and inability to keep schools and equipment modern and to hire/retain good teachers.

[Nodack]

The GOP has been working hard to defund public schooling. Private schools with vouchers is their goal.

[Mori Chu]

The GOP has been working hard to defund public schooling. Private schools with vouchers is their goal.

Yeah. Blech. One of my least favorite GOP issues, on a long list of gripes.

[Kryptonic]

It’s all about the money and less about doing what’s right for all kids.

[Nodack]

GOP nominee to run North Carolina schools advocated pro-Trump military coup in January 6 video
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/politics ... index.html
CNN
—
Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee to run K-12 public education in North Carolina, filmed a video after attending the January 6 riot at the US Capitol urging then-President Donald Trump to put “the Constitution to the side” and use the military to stay in power.

In a deleted Facebook livestream she filmed from her hotel room, Morrow called for mass arrests of anyone who helped certify the 2020 election. “And if the police won’t do it and the Department of Justice won’t do it, then he will have to enact the Insurrection Act,” said Morrow. “In which case the Insurrection Act completely puts the Constitution to the side and says, now the military rules all.”

[Mori Chu]

Interesting.