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In the Hollywood classic Back to the Future, Marty McFly travels back to a simpler time and fends off his mother’s romantic advances. Our cover story last week told a similar story of a high school principal who’s trying to turn back the clock by locking up students’ cellphones (“Their Own Devices,” WW, Oct. 2). OK, maybe the stories aren’t that similar. But a word to the class of 2028: Check out Back to the Future. It’s an old movie but it’s pretty good. Moving on, here’s what our readers had to say:
WiseTangerine33, via Reddit: “I have a student at Grant. This year at Back to School night, every teacher mentioned how happy they are with the phone free campus and the huge increase in engagement during class from the students.
“As for the parents? Still complaining about it in the school Facebook group.”
joy_tallent, via Instagram: “Such a good idea. Hope more schools do it! Need to get a message to your kid? Call the office as has been done for decades.”
Robert Reitenour, via Facebook: “In today’s world with so many, many, many school shootings, I think this is a recipe for even bigger disasters.”
John Donnerberg, via wweek.com: “Phones were not near the problem before COVID. They became a necessary evil to save teachers’ jobs and some semblance of an education for this entire generation of kids. The kids also have developed tech and research skills that would make most adults envious, if not worried for their own jobs. There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle, but common sense policies about use in the classroom should be established and enforced. The current system at Grant isn’t realistic considering that only 50% of students comply, but at least it’s the start of a needed conversation.”
tenfoot1, via Reddit: “I have a student at Grant as well—while he agrees that he enjoys the effect this policy has had among the student population, I agree with his assessment that this is generally piss-poor implementation, as has been the case with all cell phone policies at PPS.
“The underlying contradiction in this policy is that it has the unintended consequence of requiring every student to bring a cell phone to school every day to be ceremoniously locked for its duration. Students will be searched if they fail to do so, and this is not something any of them wish to endure.
“Believe it or not, there exist high school students who exercise the self-control to put their devices and earbuds away during school hours. I have seen them with my own eyes. And this policy is punishment for this group of individuals.
“As a side note, Principal McGee needs to stop making the laughable claim that this policy is somehow going to end drug deals or bullying. This activity will simply move outside school hours or IRL.”
WheeblesWobble, via Reddit: “In the olden days, I’d get in trouble for reading an interesting book instead of watching a boring lecture.”
A VOTE FOR YONDR
I loved the article about Yondr at Grant and can testify that it is an amazing tool to get kids to engage in their school community more. We are a small private middle and high school in Northeast Portland and have implemented the pouches since 2018. From Day One the difference was significant. Definitely a louder lunch period and lots and lots of board and card game playing! We initially got a lot of pushback about safety, but honestly not one safety issue ever materialized.
Thanks for your article. Julie Dieringer Administrative Assistant Pacific Crest Community School
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