Teach me...

At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking chemistry and all of them had an "A" so far. These four friends were so confident, that the weekend before finals, they decided to visit some friends and have a big party. They had a great time, but after all the hearty partying; they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided that after the final they would explain to their professor why they missed it. They said that they visited friends but on the way back they had a flat tire. As a result, they missed the final. The professor agreed they could make up the final the next day. The guys were excited and relieved. They studied that night for the exam. The Professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet. They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points. Cool, they thought! Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy.... then they turned the page. On the second page was written.... For 95 points: Which tire? _____ Can you blame him? There's been much debate about banning cell phones in schools. Is it a sign of the times that parents need to be able to have contact with their children at all times during the day (what's the school secretary for anyway)? The fact that some parents have been interviewed and actually stated that kids today (I'm not talking about college students.. kids in middle school) need their cells as a tool to 'manage' their lives and busy schedules astounds me. But then I have a nine year old who hasn't been signed up for classes, activities and sports evey day of the week. Maybe some of our children are over loaded with obligations, classes, sports and have forgotten how to actually play. It's gotten to the point where you find kids that are burning out from too much stress. They're being groomed to become corporate drones? Is is fair to expect teachers to teach in an environment where they have to constantly compete with gadgets for the kids attention? Was it any different back when I was in school, after the invention of the wheel and the calculator? You know, before the arrival of palms, ipods, blackberrys and laptops, back in the days of the good old commodore 64.. yup.. and big old boom boxes. Oh.. and a quarter to call your parents if you needed to reach them. I've been wondering where to draw the line. Should they be allowed to bring them to school with the condition they be left in the students' lockers to be used before, after and between classes? Can we truly expect parents to forgo the security blanket their child's cell phone has seemingly become? Do they actually think children don't lie about their location when called? That they will always answer the phone when Mom or Dad calls? That it's a magical device that surrounds the child and envelops them in a stronger than kevlar protective bubble akin to the slipperiest of slimes that predators can't latch onto? Who teaches the child to use the cell phone in a constructive and responsible manner? The parent who can't go to a meeting at work and put their cell phone on vibrate or silent because they can't possibly miss a call, no matter how mundane? In my line of work, I'm 'on call' 24/7 (unless I'm on vacation - and they would still find me) so I can be reached in the event of a disaster or an emergency, but I have sufficient respect for the people I do business with to mute the damn phone when in a conference, a meeting or a presentation. If it 'hummms' I'm intelligent enough to look at the caller display, get up and leave the room quietly if I need to take the call. Are the teachers of today given any support in how to deal with this? After incidents like school shootings, parents feel safer knowing their children have a cell phone handy. But can cell phones and their use actually help or hinder in the event of an actual emergency? I'm one of the people responsible for emergency preparedness and emergency response for my employer. And knowing there might be active use of cell phones during an emergency is a mixed blessing. Yes, it can alert the authorities in a more timely fashion, but their increased use in an emergency situation can cause serious problems for the personnel charged with intervening and crisis management. They can overload the network in the event of a tragedy (9/11, Columbine, etc...) thus hampering communication capabilities. A cell phone could actually detonate a bomb during a bomb scare. They can hamper rumour control and may leak information that needs to remain hushed during the intervention portion of a crisis. Timely emergency response can be hindered when parents flock to the location of an emergency. So, what's the solution? Does it make your kids safer during school hours? Should they be allowed in the classroom? Any thoughts? "Most people are willing to pay more to be amused than to be educated." -Robert C. Savage Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!