School principal jammed student cellphones
p2pnet news view | Mobiles:- Steve Gray (right), principal of Port Hardy Senior Secondary school in Port Hardy on Vancouver Island got so fed up with pupils and their cellphone calls he installed a jamming device.
But, “some of the students went to work and discovered the move was illegal,” says The Province.
Two or three cellphones were, “landing in his office every day from students who could not resist using them in the classroom, against school rules,”" says the story, going on:
“Sometimes, a student will text a student two chairs over. It creates a lot of classroom-management issues for teachers, that didn’t used to be there,” he said.
“So, says the story, Gray went online and, using school funds, forked out $115 US for a machine to scramble cellphone signals.
But, “Peace in the 340-student school was short-lived,” says the story, adding:
“Students gradually figured out there was a cellphone jammer and that’s why they weren’t getting service,” said Gray.
“Once it was pointed out it was illegal, I pulled the plug.”
(Thanks, Marc)
The Province – Cellphone backlash: Port Hardy principal’s jammer illegal, March 31, 2009
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March 31st, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Imagine if there was a Cell Jammer at that Montreal Daswon College?
When that person went into Dawson and started shooting students, it was the students cell calls to 911 that got the cops there so fast.
Now g*d forbid this should ever happen to that high school. But, what if…
March 31st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Students shouldn’t be allowed to use cellphones in school anyways. Hell, in my day it was passing notes under the desk with the answers on it, now a days it’s texting. I can see the use of a cellphone in case of emergency, wherein a parent contacts you or you contact your parent when you are going to the hospital, but just everyday use, NO!!
I made the mistake of letting my niece use my old cellphone when she went to school, and I warned her that it was for emergency use only, but she ignored me and ran up an 1842.00 cell bill. I was furious and took the phone away from her and even then she tried to blame my wife, who had a cell but was using it after eight p.m. at night to call me if she was at the store looking for something. I showed her the bill and she had to admit that all the charges were on her head.
Be that as it may, cellphones should not be allowed on in school, they can use them during breaks or lunch periods if need be, but if they use them in class then they should be taken away by the school staff who then inform the parents that their kids are misusing their right to have a phone especially if they are texting answers to each other.
March 31st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
@ Logan, “Students shouldn’t be allowed to use cellphones in school anyways. Hell, in my day… ”
However, this is what it is now. Progression, the future, advancement, technology. Its today, and not 20-years ago.
This is part of their argument.
But yes, abuse it & lose it as you stated. Same like that note the teacher took off of you/us
But I don’t think the school should be “banning” technology, or using technological counter-measures in the fashion described above. Today its a safety risk. Going back to the first comment above, this could have lost lives in certain situations where speed is crucial.
March 31st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Students using a cell phone in class is an interesting issue. I see two sides to the coin, and neither requires this level of discipline.
1. students passing grades. Students who text frequently in class do not pay attention to the class (for obvious reasons). It stands to reason that a student failing a few classes because of his cell phone use will probably realize relatively quickly that it’s not a good idea to use the cell phone in the classroom. The parents can discipline in this regard as well (a student of this age certainly isn’t buying *their own* cell phone!)
2. Disruptions in class are bad, regardless of who is disrupting or how. A student texting someone is not disruptive (it’s certainly counterproductive, but it is quite quiet). A student laughing about their texts, having a ringer or loud vibrator or flashing lights to let them know they got a new text message, or bothering other students in the classroom with their messages is disruptive, and you don’t need a special cell phone rule to deal with that issue.
3. For the student receiving a text message, if they aren’t disturbing the classroom (see #2), then they should be able to choose for themselves whether to accept the message or not. They have a simple option if it’s distracting to them: turn the damn thing off!
4. For tests or exams, I can understand it being against the rules to have a cell phone. It’s justified. If it’s the only place where they are completely forbidden, you probably won’t have as many rule-breakers to begin with. But for the rest, it’s fairly easy to spot someone using their cell phone. It’s not really possible to be discreet enough about it to avoid being caught cheating.
5. Back on the compliance issue. My brother is in a high school right now where the students are not allowed to have a cell phone even between classes or at lunch, or anywhere on campus even when they’re not in class. That sort of rule just makes the school seem like a jail to kids. What do you expect to come of it? Lax off on the strictness a bit, and you might get better compliance rates.
That said, it’s really the school’s choice whether to allow cell phones or not. I’m just trying to point in the right direction
.
DISCLAIMER: I neither own nor operate a cell phone at this time. I am a college student, not a high school student, so some of the aforementioned issues may or may not apply in both situations. I tried to consider high school only, however, so take it with a grain of salt.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
There’s no reason for students to have their cellphones on in class, period.
The purpose for going to school is to learn.
Effective learning demands the students are focused and paying proper attention. Teachers, in an effort to optimize that attention, have always had to limit anything they feel interferes with that – chewing gum, talking, daydreaming, etc. Though, as kids, we may have “satyrized” our teachers because of their actions in this regard, we know that they are obligated to DEMAND YOUR ATTENTION.
Cellphones have a massive capacity to distract not only the student using it, but the rest of the class, and also increases the students’ resources for “cheating”. To just dismiss this knowledge as being “ignorant of the new world” is clueless, and ignores the responsibility we have to help the young develop certain positive behavioural skills that are becoming scarcer all the time.
When in school, students are not “on their own time”.
Incoming calls can only be a class nuisance.
Talking audibly, so everyone else hears it (as most people strangely do), only stops the class from hearing the properly, or just stops the class.
Multiply any problems by the number of phones on the go.
What about the students’ perception of behaviour for the future (real world)?
It’s not cool to cause everyone else to have to “tune out” your phone conversations.
Most people don’t want to be hearing your business, your profanity, or your voice.
It’s not exactly okay (or very smart) to use a cellphone everywhere you go, while doing everything you do, even though it appears to some people to be the general concensus.
How many examples of cellphone use scenarios do we already criticize as “rude” or “dangerous” now?
Shouldn’t we be encouraging the young to harmonize themselves and their use of technology with society, while they’re still young enough to see the logic?
Students need to be compelled to turn off the phones in class.
Maybe that would teach them the world won’t end before they catch up to their messages.
Maybe then, they’ll grow up not using them while they’re driving, or holding people up at the checkout line, or imposing their business on everyone else on the bus…
March 31st, 2009 at 5:18 pm
oh come on what about recording lessons etc. Not to play down any of the above excellent rebuttals but I have had friends record important lessons for me using their mp3 players when I was ill bak in high school. If they had not recorded those lessons for me (without the teachers permiss i might add) I wouldn’t have been prepared to hand in the assignment the following day. Which would in fact have created more work for the instructor because they would either a) have to re-teach it to me or b) have to give me an extension while other students would also demand the same date for submission.
It does go the other way they are distracting and that is all I will give the principal on this 1. The power of technology to enhance learning should outway the distraction argument in my opinion (assuming the ones who do use their phones at the bare minimum turn off the ringer).
March 31st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Oh, come on, guys. Many cellphone users are nothing but a permanent pain in the a***. There’s nothing more irritating than somebody next to you texting, twitting, or even worse talking (with his CAPS LOCKED VOICE ON, of course). Kudos, Sir Gray!
@ Reader’s Write: Of course you can use your cellphone recording function although the signal is being jammed. And btw – there are way more reasonable means than cellphones against gunmen running mad in schools. How about weapons for every student, or banning computer games…
April 1st, 2009 at 9:26 am
“outway” the distraction? Passed the class did you?
April 1st, 2009 at 9:35 am
english not first language get over yourself.
April 1st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
??? Sorry, didn’t intend to offend anybody! All I meant was to point out, that principal Gray used a jammer. A jammer “just” jams in- and outgoing phone (radio) signals, so you cannot chitchat and twitter while the jammer is on. All other funcions on your cellphone – at least mine – are working. And no. English isn’t my first language. Peace.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:02 am
Put them away while you’re in class, kids. Some of us get by just fine without a cell phone at all. I think you can tolerate not using yours for an hour.