What Have We Done?????

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?

All these years later and I remember her as if I last saw her yesterday. The good teachers are leaving the field. That leaves those that show videos and AI.

Just saying.

---

I was already hooked to electronics before, most folk even knew what was already in play.

My Mother said she had everyone in the theater laughing, because she freaked out when watching "Jumping Jack Flash", in a theater. She said she jumped up and screaming, "That is it!" That is what my daughter does." That is how she talks to people around the globe, with a computer screen.

She said she had tried to explain it to so many of her friends, and they could not understand how it worked. So she was so happy to be able to give them methinks to relate to.

It started with the radio, took hold with the TV, and took control with the internet (World Wide Web). We were not blind sided. We chose to reject the knowledge we were given.

---

Easy solution. How Not To Raise I-Pad children?

Don't be I-Pad parents.

The internet can be an amazing, useful, and beneficial tool, if you learn how to use it, instead of allowing it to use you.

[FlickerOfLight]

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?

All these years later and I remember her as if I last saw her yesterday. The good teachers are leaving the field. That leaves those that show videos and AI.

Just saying.

---

I was already hooked to electronics before, most folk even knew what was already in play.

My Mother said she had everyone in the theater laughing, because she freaked out when watching "Jumping Jack Flash",  in a theater. She said she jumped up and screaming, "That is it!" That is what my daughter does." That is how she talks to people around the globe, with a computer screen.

She said she had tried to explain it to so many of her friends, and they could not understand how it worked. So she was so happy to be able to give them methinks to relate to.

It started with the radio, took hold with the TV, and took control with the internet (World Wide Web). We were not blind sided. We chose to reject the knowledge we were given.

---

Easy solution. How Not To Raise I-Pad children?

Don't be I-Pad parents.

The internet can be an amazing, useful, and beneficial tool, if you learn how to use it, instead of allowing it to use you.

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?

All these years later and I remember her as if I last saw her yesterday. The good teachers are leaving the field. That leaves those that show videos and AI.

Just saying.

---

I was already hooked to electronics before, most folk even knew what was already in play.

My Mother said she had everyone in the theater laughing, because she freaked out when watching "Jumping Jack Flash",  in a theater. She said she jumped up and screaming, "That is it!" That is what my daughter does." That is how she talks to people around the globe, with a computer screen.

She said she had tried to explain it to so many of her friends, and they could not understand how it worked. So she was so happy to be able to give them methinks to relate to.

It started with the radio, took hold with the TV, and took control with the internet (World Wide Web). We were not blind sided. We chose to reject the knowledge we were given.

---

Easy solution. How Not To Raise I-Pad children?

Don't be I-Pad parents.

The internet can be an amazing, useful, and beneficial tool, if you learn how to use it, instead of allowing it to use you.

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

And I fear that the generations to come will never know that life instilled experience.

[FlickerOfLight]

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?

All these years later and I remember her as if I last saw her yesterday. The good teachers are leaving the field. That leaves those that show videos and AI.

Just saying.

---

I was already hooked to electronics before, most folk even knew what was already in play.

My Mother said she had everyone in the theater laughing, because she freaked out when watching "Jumping Jack Flash",  in a theater. She said she jumped up and screaming, "That is it!" That is what my daughter does." That is how she talks to people around the globe, with a computer screen.

She said she had tried to explain it to so many of her friends, and they could not understand how it worked. So she was so happy to be able to give them methinks to relate to.

It started with the radio, took hold with the TV, and took control with the internet (World Wide Web). We were not blind sided. We chose to reject the knowledge we were given.

---

Easy solution. How Not To Raise I-Pad children?

Don't be I-Pad parents.

The internet can be an amazing, useful, and beneficial tool, if you learn how to use it, instead of allowing it to use you.

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

And I fear that the generations to come will never know that life instilled experience.

I was going to say, 'they don't make em like that anymore,' but I knew it would sound rude to some. But, it's what my first thought was.
That woman had such an impact on my life. We had a piece of staind glass in our family home for decades that she made us. I owe the pursuit of my gift to that woman; bc she was the first to notice it.

I could go on forever about that woman. 

[SomeJackleg]

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?

All these years later and I remember her as if I last saw her yesterday. The good teachers are leaving the field. That leaves those that show videos and AI.

Just saying.

---

I was already hooked to electronics before, most folk even knew what was already in play.

My Mother said she had everyone in the theater laughing, because she freaked out when watching "Jumping Jack Flash",  in a theater. She said she jumped up and screaming, "That is it!" That is what my daughter does." That is how she talks to people around the globe, with a computer screen.

She said she had tried to explain it to so many of her friends, and they could not understand how it worked. So she was so happy to be able to give them methinks to relate to.

It started with the radio, took hold with the TV, and took control with the internet (World Wide Web). We were not blind sided. We chose to reject the knowledge we were given.

---

Easy solution. How Not To Raise I-Pad children?

Don't be I-Pad parents.

The internet can be an amazing, useful, and beneficial tool, if you learn how to use it, instead of allowing it to use you.

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

Miss Stidum, very pretty young blond haired woman who paid a whole lot of nice attention to a very hyperactive 6 year old who was put on ritalin, and stood with my parents to get the school to write a letter to take me off of it. she said i wasn't the same happy kid i was before, and was always depressed after being prescribed.

ETA: meant to click nightskye's reply button, but after seeing reading flicker's figured i'd let it stand.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

And I fear that the generations to come will never know that life instilled experience.

The most amazing thing about my first grade teacher is that she had the amazing skill to be able to make you think that everything you did, you did well because it was natural, not because you were special.

Looking back, it is not unusual that so many of us did well in life.

I am embarrassed with how much I achieved in life, when I look at so many others, and how they excelled. I could name names, I won't. They would be quite familiar to some of us old folk, and very easy to look up.

I hate to think about how much the future generations will lose, when human teachers are erased and AI takes over.

[FlickerOfLight]

Ms. O'Hare!

42 years later and I can still see her face. Much much love and appreciation to that woman.

And I fear that the generations to come will never know that life instilled experience.

The most amazing thing about my first grade teacher is that she had the amazing skill to be able to make you think that everything you did, you did well because it was natural, not because you were special.

Looking back, it is not unusual that so many of us did well in life.

I am embarrassed with how much I achieved in life, when I look at so many others, and how they excelled. I could name names, I won't. They would be quite familiar to some of us old folk, and very easy to look up.

I hate to think about how much the future generations will lose, when human teachers are erased and AI takes over.

I know what you mean. I grew up side by side to some very successful individuals. Hell, even "power couples" from school who went on to be very high achievers. Some are even millionaire's. I grew up with a dude that runs one of the most infamous jui jitsu dojos in Hawaii. 

Like you, I'm embarrassed when I think of comparison, and think, 'weren't you the dude that always ate your crayons? No you're a billionaire, you say?'

And vastly different types of successes.

No lie,  even our damn druggie friends, some of them are doing things that are mind blowing; with honest businesses. A guy I use to get weed for runs one of the biggest fishing equipment companies in the world. 
I won't name names either.
But we can build, create, survive. Gen X$

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I know what you mean. I grew up side by side to some very successful individuals. Hell, even "power couples" from school who went on to be very high achievers. Some are even millionaire's. I grew up with a dude that runs one of the most infamous jui jitsu dojos in Hawaii. 

Like you, I'm embarrassed when I think of comparison, and think, 'weren't you the dude that always ate your crayons? No you're a billionaire, you say?'

And vastly different types of successes.

No lie,  even our damn druggie friends, some of them are doing things that are mind blowing; with honest businesses. A guy I use to get weed for runs one of the biggest fishing equipment companies in the world. 
I won't name names either.
But we can build, create, survive. Gen X$

I grew up understanding that you got nothing for free. I learned that success started with desire, but ended with doing.

I have 5 brothers. When they were kids they would cut every lawn in a 10 mile radius.

They showed up on Fridays requesting payment. Of course everyone balked at paying for a service they did not request. But paid, with the understanding that it would never happen again. Except it did. Every two weeks my brothers would show up requesting payment for services rendered.

Some of the folk would complain to my parents, and they would tell them, "Just don't pay them." They were neighbors, and my brothers were really good kids all in all. So as pissed as they claimed to be, they paid them, and my brothers continued to cut their lawns.This was country, so we are not taking about postage stamp lots. 

In other words. They learned at an early age, how to work the system.

I was all brains, so I found the academic way out. Unfortunately, it was also the least lucrative way out of the system.

[FlickerOfLight]

I know what you mean. I grew up side by side to some very successful individuals. Hell, even "power couples" from school who went on to be very high achievers. Some are even millionaire's. I grew up with a dude that runs one of the most infamous jui jitsu dojos in Hawaii. 

Like you, I'm embarrassed when I think of comparison, and think, 'weren't you the dude that always ate your crayons? No you're a billionaire, you say?'

And vastly different types of successes.

No lie,  even our damn druggie friends, some of them are doing things that are mind blowing; with honest businesses. A guy I use to get weed for runs one of the biggest fishing equipment companies in the world. 
I won't name names either.
But we can build, create, survive. Gen X$

I grew up understanding that you got nothing for free. I learned that success started with desire, but ended with doing.

I have 5 brothers. When they were kids they would cut every lawn in a 10 mile radius.

They showed up on Fridays requesting payment. Of course everyone balked at paying for a service they did not request. But paid, with the understanding that it would never happen again. Except it did. Every two weeks my brothers would show up requesting payment for services rendered.

Some of the folk would complain to my parents, and they would tell them, "Just don't pay them." They were neighbors, and my brothers were really good kids all in all. So as pissed as they claimed to be, they paid them, and my brothers continued to cut their lawns.This was country, so we are not taking about postage stamp lots. 

In other words. They learned at an early age, how to work the system.

I was all brains, so I found the academic way out. Unfortunately, it was also the least lucrative way out of the system.

I was, and am, a bit different. I learned differently than most people. It took a certain (patient) teacher to teach me. Certain things took a little longer with me. And I asked about lot of questions. Some teachers didn't like that. The ones who were patient and understanding of me I did very well for them and learned a lot. The few "less patient" teachers who gave me a hard time, I gave them a hard time back, and gave them no effort, and pretty much made their lives a living hell. The ones who understood and answered my unique questions and treated me like a human being I was an angel for them, and excelled.

I learned to manipulate a system that was designed to manipulate me. I learned very early on that if you're up to no good, and trying to manipulate me in any way shape or form, I may not be able to prove what their up to, but I sure can rattle their cage enough to where they just don't want to deal with me, so I get "excused" a lot. 

I did learn to earn my money, my keep, and my respect, and how to live life on my own terms, as well as being as free from needing the guberments help or interference. I leaned to rely on myself.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Mrs. Horton, she was also my baby sister's first grade teacher. I grew up with her kids (still stay in touch with her daughter) and she is still kicking and still beautiful. Her husband was my junior high school principal, sadly he passed last year. Dang, I started first grade 51 years ago. Time sure does fly!

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Mrs. Horton, she was also my baby sister's first grade teacher. I grew up with her kids (still stay in touch with her daughter) and she is still kicking and still beautiful. Her husband was my junior high school principal, sadly he passed last year. Dang, I started first grade 51 years ago. Time sure does fly!

I grew up in a small backwoods town. The principal and the teachers, got passed down to my siblings also. That meant that they knew my parents well. In fact they had them on speed dial.

Many believe that our education systen started to fail when they took prayer out of the schools. I agree. Once children no longer had to pray that their parents didn't find out they had gotten the strap at school, everything started going to Hell in a hand basket.

[Ninurta]

I can recall my kindergarten teacher. Miss Hahn. We didn't have "Ms.'s" in those days. The concept had not yet been invented.

I am, and have always been, an under-achiever. I'm good with that. All through school, every teacher I had, and a lot of other folks, had high hopes for me - told me that with what I had to work with, I could do anything, be anything, that I wanted.

So I did... but what I wanted didn't rise to their expectations. Still, it was what I wanted. I just never had, and still don't have, the ambition to compete with the Joneses. I give no shits what the Joneses have or what they do. That's their life to look after, not mine. Nor do I have any urge at all to allow them to look after mine. It's MY life to look after, not theirs.

Never wanted to be rich. Rich folks worry too damned much about their money, and who they think is going to try to take it from them next. I figured that the best defense against that sort of worry was to never amass a fortune to begin with. Why lose sleep over a pile of paper? You're not going to be able to take it with you in the end anyhow, so really what value does it have to worry over?

In high school, I took an electronics technician course for a couple of years in trade school. It was mostly vacuum tubes in those days. Transistors existed, but were not all that prevalent, and certainly not to be found in the millions on a wafer the size of your fingernail.

A few years after that, I went to a community college and took courses in electronics engineering to build on the tech courses from high school. Never did anything commercially with either track. All I did with it was to build and repair my own stuff, and repair stuff occasionally for other folks that needed it, never charged 'em for it, so I never made any money at it. It was more of a hobby.

When my son was coming up, cell phones became a thing. It was the days before "smart" phones. The wife at the time wanted to get him one, and I set my foot down. Told her a young-'un had to learn to crawl before they learned to walk. I wanted him to learn how to live in the real world before an electronic one took over his life. That way, if the electronics ever failed, he'd have something to fall back on, wouldn't be lost like the rest of the world.

Instead, I took him on walks in the woods, taught him what he could and couldn't eat there, what he had to watch out for, what the dangers were... and the joys of it. Now he's doing all right for himself. Sure, he finally fell into the smart phone hole as an adult, but the things of childhood have not left him. While he's become "successful" as a manager at a big company you've all heard of, he took that success and plowed it into a fairly large patch of land mostly wooded, with a few acres suitable for farming, too. Instead of getting everything at the grocery store to feed his brood, he supplements it with hunting, fishing, and farming... and the occasional bit of hunting-gathering. He can do that, and if it all falls down tomorrow, he'll still be able to hit the ground running.

He's also built himself a forge. If he needs something, he can often make it himself rather than being forced to buy it or trade for it. Not only can he save a few bucks NOW by doing for himself, but if it all collapses in the future, he's got a basis to get what other folks won't be able to, by making it himself. Lately he's been building his own guns for hunting - a muzzle loader rifle, for one example, and an AR-15 for another. Diversity pays off. If brass ammo gets too scarce, he can always still make his own powder, caps, and shot for the muzzle loader... so he and his will always be able to eat, at least.

I reckon you could say he's got a foot in each of two worlds.More than knowing how to make it in both, he PRACTICES it, to keep his skills honed for whatever comes.

Being glued to a screen destroys both your eyes and your ability to survive without that screen. I gave him the best start I could to cope with whatever comes.

.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

If we stop and take an honest look at our society, we will have to face the fact that there was not much chance that our children would not end up on this path.

We did this.

[FlickerOfLight]

If we stop and take an honest look at our society, we will have to face the fact that there was not much chance that our children would end up on this path.

We did this.

This is another one of my "oh wells." Warned and warned of the dangers of social media, handing small children ipads and phones and letting it raise your child, the rise in teen mental health problems, along with the astronomical spike in teen suicides, and now teens involved in murder and all sorts of extremely* violent crimes.

The data was there ten years ago.

Again, no one listened. 

I have also noticed in what appears to be a rise in psychopathy. Watch how many legitimate pshycopaths we will have once gen alpha grows up. 

The system has failed. 

Or worked perfectly...


Ps. take a look at what China's education system is teaching them. Things like masculinity and femeninity, as well as actual life skills. They teach there young boys hand to hand combat. They teach them all to be disciplines\d and respectful. China is actually teaching their kids valuable life skills. As well as military style readiness. Match that up with our youth and what they are being taught in the west. Those gen alpha Chinese kids will grow up to be warriors, while our young will be a total shit show. If hand to hand war were to ever come our way in the future those young Chinese kids are going to wipe the floor with ours. Meanwhile their psyop weapon called tik tok will continue to groom our youth into brain dead marshmallows. (but hey, keep on tik tok'n)

Brutal smack in the face....but its the truth!

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

If we stop and take an honest look at our society, we will have to face the fact that there was not much chance that our children would end up on this path.

We did this.

This is another one of my "oh wells." Warned and warned of the dangers of social media, handing small children ipads and phones and letting it raise your child, the rise in teen mental health problems, along with the astronomical spike in teen suicides, and now teens involved in murder and all sorts of extremely* violent crimes.

The data was there ten years ago.

Again, no one listened. 

I have also noticed in what appears to be a rise in psychopathy. Watch how many legitimate pshycopaths we will have once gen alpha grows up. 

The system has failed. 

Or worked perfectly...


Ps. take a look at what China's education system is teaching them. Things like masculinity and femeninity, as well as actual life skills. They teach there young boys hand to hand combat. They teach them all to be disciplines\d and respectful. China is actually teaching their kids valuable life skills. As well as military style readiness. Match that up with our youth and what they are being taught in the west. Those gen alpha Chinese kids will grow up to be warriors, while our young will be a total shit show. If hand to hand war were to ever come our way in the future those young Chinese kids are going to wipe the floor with ours. Meanwhile their psyop weapon called tik tok will continue to groom our youth into brain dead marshmallows. (but hey, keep on tik tok'n)

Brutal smack in the face....but its the truth!

I too do not believe this is by accident. We have known for over half a century that the plan was always to take American down from within. Why we continue to follow the yellow brick road to the land of collapse and the land of 1984, is a conundrum for me. Why know we what is happening, yet we continue to ignore the signs, that something wicked this way comes.

I pray these kids pull a rabbit out of their hat, and find a way to fix this mess we have left them.

[Bally002]

If we stop and take an honest look at our society, we will have to face the fact that there was not much chance that our children would end up on this path.

We did this.

This is another one of my "oh wells." Warned and warned of the dangers of social media, handing small children ipads and phones and letting it raise your child, the rise in teen mental health problems, along with the astronomical spike in teen suicides, and now teens involved in murder and all sorts of extremely* violent crimes.

The data was there ten years ago.

Again, no one listened. 

I have also noticed in what appears to be a rise in psychopathy. Watch how many legitimate pshycopaths we will have once gen alpha grows up. 

The system has failed. 

Or worked perfectly...


Ps. take a look at what China's education system is teaching them. Things like masculinity and femeninity, as well as actual life skills. They teach there young boys hand to hand combat. They teach them all to be disciplines\d and respectful. China is actually teaching their kids valuable life skills. As well as military style readiness. Match that up with our youth and what they are being taught in the west. Those gen alpha Chinese kids will grow up to be warriors, while our young will be a total shit show. If hand to hand war were to ever come our way in the future those young Chinese kids are going to wipe the floor with ours. Meanwhile their psyop weapon called tik tok will continue to groom our youth into brain dead marshmallows. (but hey, keep on tik tok'n)

Brutal smack in the face....but its the truth!

I too do not believe this is by accident. We have known for over half a century that the plan was always to take American down from within. Why we continue to follow the yellow brick road to the land of collapse and the land of 1984, is a conundrum for me. Why know we what is happening, yet we continue to ignore the signs, that something wicked this way comes.

I pray these kids pull a rabbit out of their hat, and find a way to fix this mess we have left them.

Nek Minnut - "Neurolink".  

Seriously though, I remember all the names of my teachers, instructors and those outside education who imparted day to day living skills and homecrafts.  Even those I failed in their expectations but that is a fault of mine.

I left my children here with the same expectations.  If they fail or tend to go down another path now.  It is not my fault.  Even as they are adults now we care (true love and I) picking up the pieces now and then.  In their past we made sure that their homework and assignments were complete be them C or D results but as long as the became good people and had life abilities we are happy.  

Sure, there were Iphones, laptops etc as they grew but there was a time and a place.  I see parents or guardians suppling very young ones with Ipads now.  Meanwhile the parents are on their own media.  The household may be quiet until the Ipad battery runs out.  It's like a pacifier I guess. But...

And there is a but in this case  My grandson, who is 2 going on 3.  Has an Ipad as well as an assortment of toys (educational and the like) that I never did have.  Here's the clincher in this 'experiment'?  He plays numbers, shapes and spelling games.  So I thought.  It's past that.  Nothing nasty.    Show him any shape or prism and he will name them and spell them.  "parallelogram" is an example.  I was lucky to spell 'cat' at that age. Knows all the colors and spells them.  Knows all the planets in order of the solar system.  And spells them.  (Uranus?) I kid you not.  Can speak quite fluently and spells out peoples names.  Knows his sums and I'm like "TF".

His mother (our daughter), single, lives in an old rented place, struggles etc.  He's learning via the Ipad? Constantly doing puzzles in Math, Science etc.

So in this aspect I'm not horrified just flabbergasted.  He stays with us occasionally to give mum a break.  Learns some outdoor stuff here on the farm. 

I used the word 'experiment' light heartedly in this reply.  Name of his first teacher = 'Ipad'.

Kind regards,

Bally)

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Nothing more dangerous than an angry, broke, young man.

I have said for a long time that there is nothing more dangerous than an angry, broke, person that feels they have never had anything, and that they have nothing to lose.

Short version. A little less than 8 minutes.


a longer version, about 1 hour.

[727Sky]

https://lists.theepochtimes.com/links/0s...3EtrRiUhPY

(nimito/Shutterstock)

By Marina Zhang
5/6/2024
Updated:
5/11/2024


0:00



7:33

Banning cellphones in schools improved academics, reduced bullying, and reduced students’ need for counseling, a 73-page Norwegian paper found.
Girls benefited the most from the policies.
“Banning smartphones significantly decreases the health care take-up for psychological symptoms and diseases among girls,” Sara Sofie Abrahamsson, a postdoctoral researcher and the paper’s sole author, wrote in the abstract. Post-ban bullying among both genders decreases.”

The paper followed data from recent decades, mainly focusing on 2010 to 2018.
The researcher observed no negative impact from introducing such a policy.
“The phones are an absolute distraction. Even if a kid has the phone in their pocket during class, if the phone is on vibrate every time it vibrates, which is constantly, their mind automatically shifts away from what the teacher is teaching to the phone,” Tom Kersting, a psychotherapist who was a school counselor for 25 years, told The Epoch Times in agreement with the report’s findings.

As a proponent of banning phones in schools, Mr. Kersting suspected that Norway would see improvements in students’ academics, mental health, and social and emotional skills.
Major Findings
There are no national guidelines on smartphone use in Norway. Instead, schools make their own decisions on whether to allow smartphones.
Therefore, Ms. Abrahamsson used a survey to collect data from Norwegian middle schools on smartphone use and whether and when they had introduced any smartphone regulations.
These data were then matched to a school’s data, including student grades set by teachers and external exams, student GPAs, student visits to psychologists and general practitioners, and measurements for bullying.
Ms. Abrahamsson’s four major findings were as follows:

1. The number of psychological consultations was reduced by 60 percent in female students.
   
2. The incidence of bullying for both girls and boys lowered.
   
3. Girls made gains in GPA and externally graded mathematics tests.
   
4. Girls were more likely to attend an academic high school track.
   

The author found that the stricter the smartphone policy, the greater the improvement among female students. Stricter schools forbade students from bringing phones to school or required students to hand in their phones before the start of class.
Girls from low socioeconomic backgrounds showed the most improvement.
However, smartphone bans did not affect boys’ mental health and GPA.
“These findings are consistent with other research that has shown associations between smartphone use—specifically social media use and this type of outcome,” Kate Blocker, a social psychologist with a doctorate in experimental psychology and the director of research atChildren and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, told The Epoch Times.
However, she said that it is not guaranteed that the Norwegian findings are generalizable to other Western countries.
Smartphone Bans in the United States
A 2024 survey by America’s National Parents Union found that only 32 percent of parents support schools banning students from using their phones, though 43 percent reported that their child’s school had such a policy.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2019–2020 school year, over 76 percent of schools prohibited nonacademic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours.
Several school districts have introduced more stringent phone policies that have received growing support from teachers, students, and parents alike.
Bill Wilson, the superintendent of Brush School District in Colorado, who has a doctorate in education, introduced a change to the district’s cellphone policy in 2021.
While the district always had a policy prohibiting cellphone use during school hours, there were no consequences for violating this policy. So in 2021, a policy was implemented: Unexempted students caught using phones would have to get their parents to come to the school to remove the phone.
Mr. Wilson told The Epoch Times that when a phone-banning policy was first suggested, many parents came to hearings with the fear that schools wanted “to control their kid and take away their kid’s ability to contact them if something happened in the school day,“ implying that ”the schools are doing something inappropriate by not giving their kids their rights.”
The school policy was later amended so students could have their phones, but they had to be in their backpacks. Furthermore, students with medical conditions or certain obligations that required smartphone monitoring could check their phones in the school office.
Gradually, parents warmed up to such a policy.
“The more conversations we have, even with those who are vehemently opposed initially, the more they begin to realize that we’re on the same team,“ he said. ”We’re trying to help navigate what has become a very challenging situation successfully in the best interest of kids and the learning environment.”
Mr. Wilson said teachers and students were among the first groups to appreciate such a policy.
“[Students] were thankful to not have that distraction, and that pressure and that worry about whether somebody was going to make a comment about their clothes or take a picture of them or multiple pictures of them while they’re talking, and wait until they get a silly one and make a meme out of it,” Mr. Wilson said.
In schools that have implemented cellphone restrictions, teachers have also begun reporting that their students are more engaged in and out of class. Students have become more social and interact with each other, and disciplinary actions have been reduced.
With schools moving toward digitalized learning, Ms. Blocker cautioned that teachers and administrators should be critical when “evaluating the goals and outcomes of technology use in classrooms.”
She said that “the reality is, when technology isn’t introduced thoughtfully, it doesn’t always live up to the hype. Not every new tool will revolutionize how we teach and learn, especially if there isn’t careful integration that is aligned with a clear pedagogical purpose.”
Mr. Wilson sees smartphone bans at schools across the United States gradually becoming the norm.
In 2023, Florida became the first state to enact a statewide ban on phones and social media during class time.
The state’s Orange County also enacted a phone ban during school hours, with some teachers reporting a remarkable change in student behavior and classroom engagement.
Ohio, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Kansas have since passed bills to control phone use in schools. Several school districts, including those in Maryland, California, Virginia, and Connecticut, have also implemented phone bans.
“It’s happening more, and I think it’s becoming more restrictive. From no use during the school day, and then everybody has their own slice on whether students can have them,” Mr. Wilson said.

[Bally002]

'True Love' knows that the cell phone is banned at bed time.  

Bally)

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

[quote="727Sky" pid="17741" dateline="1715668898"]

It is too late to put that genie back into the bottle.

We have fallen so deep into the matrix that reality bends at the simple post of a meme.

The deception of illusion, leads us into delusion, and traps us in a world that we willfully accept as reality.