Texting in schools provides distraction
Dealing with many cell phone
issues each day, Associate Principal Tim Mommaerts is well acquainted with text messaging in
the school.
Purple Sage: How do you
think texting disrupts a learning
environment?
Tim Mommaerts: Well, we are
in an academic environment at
school, learning. When we are
at school in classes, it’s hard to
be able to be focused on a text
at the same time as trying to be
focused on learning, and if people
are texting back and forth, like
during a class or texting people
in other classrooms, that could
be a distraction to the learning
environment. Our number one
job to the community is to help
students learn, so texting just
for ‘What are you doing tonight?
What are you doing tomorrow?’
is something that we have to
help students learn how to plan
time to focus and when it’s
time for them to do their own
thing. That’s part of our job [as
a school district] is to improve
academic success as well
as understand maybe a little
bit of respect as well as self
responsibility.
PS: Why are these rules
implemented at our school? To
keep phones out or to avoid
distraction?
TM: The number one reason
we don’t want cell phones to
be used on school days is to
avoid disruptions. Not only can
it be a disruption to the person
using it but especially if there’s
a phone ringing or conversations
going on, it’s a disruption to
anybody else around. Another
factor is the camera that’s on the
phones. I mean that’s something
where it could really be used to
the conference. Some [schools]
have changed their rules at lunch
times meaning no one can ever
talk on their phone, but accessing
some of the other applications,
there’s been some leniency there
outside the classroom. But during
class time, [all the schools in the
conference] have the same rule.
PS: Are you opposed to having
leniency on the rules regarding
cell phones at lunch in our school?
TM: I think what we have in
place right now is working. We
do allow students to access their
cell phones after getting teacher
permission with a good reason
to access it. … I think that works
for people. Plus with our open
campus for a lot of students
and lunch and things, there’s
plenty of time where people
can access their phones, so not
being a closed campus situation,
I don’t think it’s very limited.
With our open campus, there is
ample opportunity, as well
It’s a matter of teaching
as being able to go to the
office or talk to a teacher
students to use their
and access it the same with
information appropriately.
permission.
PS: Do you carry your cell
-- Associate Principal
phone during the day?
Tim Mommaerts
TM:
I
have
to
for
communications or if there
on to them during the day, and if is an emergency. If I’m over in the
it’s longer than the day, they go in science hallway and they need
the school safe.
me to come to the office right
PS: Could teachers look at what’s away if something happens, I
on the phone? The material?
have to keep my phone with me
TM: If it’s related to an issue going as an administrator during the
on at school, I would be able to school day.
look at it. [It] depends on what was PS:
How
do
you
think
going on. If there is information communication in a social aspect
that we have regarding safety or has changed since texting has
something related to safety where become more prevalent?
a student might be harmed, I can TM: In my position, unfortunately,
look at it then. If it’s not related, I often deal with the negative
or there’s no suspicion of some effects that happen. Obviously,
shenanigans going on, then I there’s probably a lot of
can’t look at it. … However, when advantages, many applications
I have found a lost phone, we will for phones that could develop in
contact where it says Mom or positive ways. In my position, I
Dad, if nobody comes to claim it. get pulled into where messaging
PS: How do our rules with has led to name-calling or other
texting
and issues. … I do see both sides
cell phones right now. Maybe if I wasn’t
compare to in this position, I would see it
other schools? more positively. … It’s a matter
TM:
Up of teaching students to use their
until
this information appropriately.
year … they PS: Where did the ‘keep until
were
fairly June’ rule come from?
c o n s i s t e n t TM: Mr. Kersten got it from
with the other another school that adopted that
schools
in rule the year before we did.
“
•72.2 percent of wireless users have paid •More text messages are sent per phone
for SMS packages. This equates to 203 million Americans.
•57 percent of wireless users 13+ are
considered regular text message users.
•There has been a 107 percent increase
in text message use in the USA in the past
year.
•2.5 billion text messages are sent
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The use of texting has grown
exponentially in recent years and
while this means of communication
is useful, it brings up many legal
issues if it is abused.
In
an
Associate
Principals’ Conference
Associate
Principal
Tim
Mommaerts
attended,
these
legal hot topics were
dicussed.
Searches
of
students’
cell
phones were brought
up in a case where
officials “accessed [a]
student’s
voicemail
and text messages and
conducted an instant
message conversation
with the student’s
brother
without
identifying themselves
as being anyone other than the
primary user of the telephone.” The
student’s parents sued the school for
his “federal and state constitutional
right to be free from unreasonable
searches and seizures.” The school
was not charged with issues of taking
the student’s phone but of searching
through the material contained on it
“because they had no reason to suspect
that such a search would reveal that
”
Texting statistics across the country
each day in the USA.
Legal texting issues discussed
someone’s detriment depending
on what kind of photos are being
taken during the school day. It’s a
concern. Cell phones have now
advanced, and students are using
them to cheat. But it doesn’t even
touch the surface on what they
could be used for with other
facets of our school, meaning
that students carrying their cell
phones with them in private areas,
locker rooms, bathrooms, some
pretty incriminating photos can
be taken there. I’m even nervous
about [saying that] because I
don’t want to give anybody ideas
… That could lead to breaking the
law. … It’s mainly a disruption.
PS: Where do the phones go that
you get during the day?
TM: A teacher brings them down
to us, usually puts them in our
mailboxes and I will hold them
here at my desk until the end of
the day, and then students will
have to come see me. … We hold
than phone calls. The average text messages used per month is 357 compared to
204 cell phone calls.
•138 million Americans have sent a
text message in the past three months.
All statistics provided by:
http://www.textmessageblog.mobi/2009/02/19/textmessage-statistics-usa/
the student himself was violating
another school policy.” However,
this requirement to search a phone
is lenient, up to an administrator’s
discretion.
A
probable
cause
could be anything
from
wandering
eyes followed by
a text message in
class to suspicious
conversations
regarding
illegal
materials.
Legal
incidents involving
texting
seem
to be growing.
A
“sexting”
incident, a newly
evolved crime
involving
sending nude
photos
via
picture messaging, was brought
about by a group of minors accused of
disorderly conduct. The photos may
have ended up on over 150 phones
of students in Waukesha West High
School. After school administration
became aware of this crime, they got
involved, calling parents of students
in the school. This crime is gaining
national attention and numerous
schools are getting involved.
Dangers of distracted driving
Photo collage by Emilia Cedron
hey, r u coming 2nite?
idk, prolly, y?
txting unnecessarily
Teenagers and young
adults
everywhere
communicate
daily
through many means
of communication. An
innocent text message
may be a convenient
way to make a plan,
change a time or inform
someone, but placed
in the wrong situation,
a text message can be
fatal. School Liaison
Officer Dustin Lybeck
commented:
Purple Sage: Texting
while driving, is it not yet
illegal in WI?
Officer Dustin Lybeck:
The thing is, it’s not
against the law to text
while driving. Say you
would get in an accident
while texting. You could
still receive a citation for
inattentive driving, so
is it illegal to text while
driving? If you get in an
accident, yeah. ... Really
a law against inattentive
driving covers texting
while driving.
PS: Since texting has
become more prevalent,
do you find it the result
of more citations or
crashes?
DL: Texting and just
cell phones in general
takes
away
from
driving.
You’re
not
paying attention to other
drivers, to things in the
road, things that might
come in the road. So
yeah, cell phones in
general, talking, texting
or just reading them,
it’s taking your attention
away from the road. ...
It’s unfortunately the
reason for a lot more
accidents.
PS: Do you deal with
cell phone issues at the
school?
DL: Now it seems that
social networking sites
are taking over. People
would rather harass over
Facebook,
MySpace,
things like that. ... No
cell phones [is a] good
idea in school.
PS:
Do
you
see
more
planned
harassment
because
of clearer means of
communication?
DL: It used to be
more
face-to-face,
but now people just
think they can hide
behind their means of
communication, think
they can just delete it.
But as a victim, many
keep those messages,
save them or print them
out.
Texting policies in other schools inconsistent with those of our district, students say
Talking to students from several schools in Wisconsin, their schools’
policies on text messaging and cell phones are compared.
“Our school’s policy is pretty strict. You’re not allowed to have your
phone in our school at all. It’s all supposed to be in your locker, turned
off for the duration of the school day. If you’re caught using your phone,
it’s supposed to be confiscated until a parent can pick it up from the
main office. Of course, this isn’t enforced very well. Lots of teachers
don’t care if you text during down time in class. But if you get caught by
someone who does care, your phone gets confiscated, and either you
have to get it from the teacher at the end of the hour or a parent has to
come to the main office to pick it up. It depends on the teacher.”
Senior Abbie Reetz
D.C. Everest High School
The Purple Sage • March 24, 2010
“Plenty of students text in school. There is just simply too little supervision to fully enforce it. Plenty of guys sneak into the bathroom quick between periods to check texts simply pull it out of their pocket when the
teachers write on the board...[If a student is caught using his cell phone]
the first offense is the phone being held for two days, second is a week,
and beyond that I don’t know if it’s all that specific.”
Junior Ben McCormick
Marquette University High School
“Cell phones aren’t allowed to be anywhere but off in your locker or car.
If a phone rings in class, the teacher takes it, some hear them vibrate,
some don’t. If it’s taken, it goes to the office and you have to get it, after
school. If it happens so many times, your parents have to come get it but
many teachers don’t enforce this.”
Junior Amy Hasenberg
Wausau East High School
“New policy this year: Cell phones must not be on students at all times
unless they are off. Absolutely no one with a cell phone follows
that rule.”
Junior Paras Bansal
Marquette University High School
“Fort Atkinson has a rule that cell phones are not allowed, except
before school, after school and at lunch. If they are used during class
the teacher is supposed to take it away for the day. I like it. I rarely text
in class anymore because I know I can just wait until lunch (where the
best service in the school is), although I know that with other kids, it is
becoming a problem. ... We all know that if we abuse the freedom to
use it during lunch, it’ll end up that they will be banned at all times.”
Senior Cassie Rains
Fort Atkinson High School
Spread by Olivia Knier, Graphics by Laura Meeker
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