Jamming cell-phone signals on school campuses…
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Loading ...This article from British Columbia refers to a high school principal who bought a cell phone signal jammer from an online dealer in China in order to thwart students from using their phones at school in violation of district policy. First off, hats off to the resourcefulness of the principal in this situation – even though what he did was later deemed unlawful. He was probably fed up with abuse and misuse of cell phones on his campus, and his decision may have been prompted by cases that severely compromised the learning environment he was trying to create. It’s disheartening, though, that it came to this – that educational efforts, deterrent strategies, formal policies in place, and vigilant monitoring and sanctioning did not decrease the problem enough. I’m not sure of the extent to which they were implemented. Students are going to use cell phones at school if there is not a complete prohibition against it (and likely even still unless the accompanying penalties are heavy). Secondly, maybe we can reduce the amount of texting students do between each other during the school day. That said, we’re finding that parents are often contributing to the problem. Parents are so used to reaching their children easily and quickly through cell phones. This convenience is extremely valued, and even if you request them to relay messages through the school front office, it probably is not going to happen. This is further reason why parents should perhaps formally agree to a policy at the beginning of the school year detailing the penalties their child will face if caught using their phone on campus – and maybe that will dissuade them from contributing to the problem. Better yet – and as we’ve mentioned in a previous post – make it so the parents are meaningfully inconvenienced when their child breaks the rules.
