TDSB to vote on allowing cellphone use in classrooms

[someone]

Technology is constantly changing. The ability to learn isn't.

I could not agree more. In five years no one is going to care how much he can use today’s technology to socialize. Those who can learn will be able to pick up the newer technologies anyway. However, it is the ability to learn that really pays off in any kind of a professional job.

That being said, I can understand where Horsecock is coming from. When I was a teenager and PCs where new, I wasted hours learning stuff about them that is now completely useless (e.g. details of Dos, various types of Basic, the file name hierarchy, later how various parts of the internet that now longer exist worked, etc. etc.) all of which is completely useless now. However, at the time I thought it was going to really help me in the future, sort of like he does. In the end, the only thing I really got form that was the experience of learning. However, I am doubtful that someone could say they same thing about smart phones.

 

[The Bandit]

The phones should be placed on the teachers desk when entering the classroom, they can be picked up at the end of class. Does the teacher run the classroom or do the students?
Do you you see some of the kids in the morning...they're walking zombies. There's a difference between important calls/texts, and just BS one's. They have their cellphone on during the night and get texts in the middle of the night...guess what, turn it off when you go to bed, you can get the message when you turn it on in the morning(that's what I do).

I saw a commercial tonight for a Sony Playstation phone...now more for the teacher to deal with, they already have the problem of not being able to discipline the students.

How are the students going to learn right if the teachers don't have any control and aren't allowed to discipline? Russell Peters skit is so true....when he talks about his father and discipline.
These days some kids step all over their parents because they have their rights and can't be touched...where's the strap! =)

It's complete BS, if I was in trouble in school I would hear it even more when I got home....but not today, the student and parent would report the teacher.

 

[basketcase]

@basketcase: that is why there are exams. You can't be an engineer if you spend all your time on facebook. The wheat will always seperate itself from the chaff. Every student has the right to pass and every student has the right to fail. It is up to them to use the technology responsibly.

Exactly the problem. Students need to be taught to use technology responsibly and part of that is learning when to shut them off.

 

[my name Peggy]

"The wheat will always seperate itself from the chaff. Every student has the right to pass and every student has the right to fail. It is up to them to use the technology responsibly You can't be an engineer if you spend all your time on facebook."

And America is making 1 usable loaf of bread for every 100 lbs of flour.

The gap that kids keep falling through is widening enormously and are abusing their 'right to learn' even without technology and this is the point you keep missing. Nobody is denying its relevance in the world, but you keep failing to realize what is occuring in reality... Jobs in America aren't being taken over by the American teenager, they're being taken ever by the kids in India and China, you know, the ones that ACTUALLY are succeeding in school?? So while America is coming up with a few cool ideas, they're being employed with people overseas, which is setting our economy into the shitter. So It's YOU who is becoming redundant and that is the most fundamental flaw in your case for it thus far. Right now we have a bunch of stupid kids that know how to use technology. Over there, they have SMART kids who are just as proficient in technology. Ill take Who's Winning in the Game of Life for $1000 please Alex. Answer: NOT US
...Rather than reward shitty performance and hand kids a bunch of technology to abuse even further, they need to buckle down and catch up with the rest of the world academically first and start taking their life more seriously.
Once they have improved their learning fundamentals as a whole, I have no problem implementating it into the curriculum for a more dynamic learning experience. But if we keep turning a blind eye to the real cause of failure in our society(lack of authority, apathy for education, taking the easy way out of life) then any state of the art whatever they have is pointless in the bigger picture.

 

[my name Peggy]

Like I said BEFORE, I taught overseas and reported on the difference, 3 of my friends are teachers & my mother has been teaching for 17 years, so yeah I think I have a pretty good idea of the education system and why we're lagging behind so much. Teachers see children 6-7 hours a day, more than most parents see their own kids, making them basically parents with no power. I strongly advise you read up on educational policy or go on any education forum (thecanadianteacher.org) & read the countless horror stories of teachers fighting with parents, admin the principle & the gov. to no avail bc the system is no longer on their side and how teachers a pressured to pass even failing students bc they dont want to 'hurt their feelings' and increase the failure/'drop out' rate. You will take back that snarky, overly simplistic 'babysitter comment' and get an understanding of how the Cdn education system is failing these kids miserably and the BS teachers go through from these kids who have lost all respect bc parents are too busy/lazy/strssed to raise their kids properly and we're left with the burden.
I used the States as a statistical reference to show how the 'Greatest nation in the world' is 25th in the world in overall academic performance (the other statistics are in the other post)-Canada is not fairing much better and increasingly performing poorer by the years. Is this not enough fact for you, or do you prefer to just hypothesize and project your false ideologies??

The point isn't that there aren't ANY smart kids, of course there are so that's a pretty weak argument on your side. The point is that the number of kids statistically failing the most fundamental of subjects, are functionally illiterate(Statistics Canada report 42% of Cdns are semi-illiterate even into college and beyond) & have lowered standards for success bc we keep lowering the bar for them to make it easier to pass is exponential and the real the issue at hand here.
Therefore, when I drew the comparision between how our kids are performing overall and how others overseas are performing, it was to show where we stand in the world as of TODAY as a FACT and where we are headed if our nation refuses to start taking education more seriously.

You have continually tried to throw the same weak arguments into this post, by claiming our ignorance and our 'stick in the mud' views of where the world is headed, when it is you who doesn't see the larger picture at hand. We all recognize the importance of having technology in our lives and how it can eclipse you if you don't stay on up to date (I'm only 24, I understand social media, networking and how it can benefit your career, as I incorporate into my own life and work and continually educate myself). That's still not the point. The point is because technology IS so prevalent and accessible, it has been dumbed down to the point even your blind grandma can whiz around on her I Pad in a breeze. And it will only get even EASIER to use, thus why we need something extra to make us stand out. Countries like China, India, North Korea, Finland & the Czech Republic for Christ sakes get this better than we do and are kicking our asses in every single subject AND they are tech savvy. This is the real problem.
So, like I stated for the 3rd time now, it simply isn't enought to hand our children the latest piece of technology, when they haven't earned that right yet. And like I ALSO STATED before, they are more than entitled to that right once they start taking their education more seriously and demontrate they can be mature and responsible with it, not 'sexting', listening to music in class and watching cat videos on Youtube then telling you to 'Fuck Off' when they refuse to put it away (and YES, that is what they're doing with it in class right now! We know!!!)

 

[my name Peggy]

Pot meet kettle. It's whiners like you who make excuses for poor behaviour, lack of work ethic, shirking personal accountability and turning a blind eye, then feel we should reward crap performance by incorporating tools they haven't yet earned the right to use that is the problem.

I believe that technology is beneficial and necessary in the classroom or do you need to re-read the 5 posts where I explicitly stated that? Technology can't aid you in simple reading comprehension apparently.

Oh but let's just blame the parents bc teens don't have a mind of their own right?? Funny how you think teens are so smart, yet not smart enough to know simple manners on their own. Who's the whiner now?

Also the fact you told me I bought into a policy that I abhorred only shows how little you know. Stop speculating-again.

The hilarious thing is that you're trying to pin us against you in an attempt to make youself seem smarter, when if you read anything that ppl are saying, it's that we AGREE that technology is a useful tool in the class. Is this bc you are bored or just refuse to hear anybody else in your own attempt at self-importance while using the same catch phrases over and over again bc you have nothing else?
-Get out of the 20th century!
-Kids are taking your jobs!
-Get out of the 20th century!
-Kids are taking your jobs!

Thanks we heard you.

Your points against me of blaming the parents and the Harris policy I hated on why kids are failing are 1) overly simplifying the problem when you refuse to accept teens are just as responsible for themselves and 2) making a case for yourself on an inaccurate projection of myself based on a stance I never took bc you haven't any other argument against me.

You unwittingly admitted this yourself when you aknowledged kids are failing in class and are being outpaced by the rest of the world in education and careers...Oh, but there you were thinking they were 'collaborating' all this time. Silly you.

 

[red]

Easy solution that you can't see:

1. Make parent's accountable for their children's behavior

2. Give the children the tools they need to be successful.

3. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

.

you forgot to add- make the teacher's responsible as well.