A Couple Rants

I have a couple rants that I need to get off my chest. The first is a local issue and the second is more of a national issue.

The first thing I must comment about (before I explode) is the MPS cell phone policy. Having taught in MPS for the past 3 years, I have firsthand experience with the problems that he school district has with cell phones in the schools. As a teacher, I took the stance of "if it is not seen nor heard, I have no problem with you having a cell phone." I found it hard to not allow students to carry cell phones when I had one in my own pocket.

There were two problems with this. The first is the kids still used the phones. When this happened would "send them to the office" so they could be dealt with. I wasn't about to confiscate something that is worshiped by an angry teenager from an angry teenager. The second problem was that the administration at my school did not support me. I would refer a student, and nothing (and I mean nothing) would happen to the student. They would be back the next day...phone in hand.

Now MPS has decided to "get tough". I think it is a fantastic idea. While I agree that students should be able to have cell phones in school, it is unfortunate that some people ruined it for everyone. There are legitimate reasons for a student to carry a cell phone...epsecially a high schooler. They may stay after school and need a ride. They may decide to go to a friend's house or the mall or something after school.

Unfortunately you can't tell the kid to leave the phone in their locker, since lockers in MPS aren't the safest places in the world. So, the only fair and logical step is to have an all-out ban. It sucks, but what else can you do?

Well, MPS decided that they can amend their "all or none" rule (which they chose "none") to add "exceptions" to the rule. BIG MISTAKE. All of a sudden everyone will have reason for "exception". The number of students with medical conditions or other things is going to skyrocket!

Here is my problem with exceptions. If you are going to have a rule, you must stick to it 100%. If a student has a medical issue, you make sure the parent can access the school and the student can access the parent...without needing a cell phone. Medical conditions and emergencies occurred before the invention of cell phones, and we all got along fine. If you needed to make a call, you went to the office. If a parent needed to contact their kid, they called the school.

What a concept!!

Anyways, here is my bottom line. Keep the damn things in your pockets kids! 99% of the time you will not be hassled if you don't advertise you have a phone.


Well, that was long. I will save my other rant for later, but as a preview, it has something to do with a legislator claiming they would have rather had New Orleans hit by a terrorist attack rather than a hurricane, suggesting that aid would be quicker to come if the damage came from terrorists.

Well, in case I don't get back to it, just remember that there is still a huge hole in the ground in downtown Manhattan nearly 5 1/2 years after a terrorist attack.