Saturday, March 13, 2010

APS cell phone survey results.

According to the cell phone survey recently conducted by the leadership of the APS, link,

We now know (assuming the figures are accurate) two facts.

36% of survey participants identified themselves as "staff".

80% of survey participants thought it was OK for "staff" members to take cell phones away from kids who are using them in violation of a rule they will describe as "stupid".

What we don't know, is what percent of staff members will actually take phones away from kids, shouldering a burden that is not insubstantial.

My guess is, it will be very few.
The rule will be left to others to enforce.

And once again, we will reinforce the belief in students that
just because something is against the rules, doesn't mean you
can't go ahead and do it anyway, and without consequence.

Don't forget that according to Supt Winston Brooks,
students who deliberately disobey adults,
are committing the least serious of misdemeanors.

You cannot just simply pass a rule,
knowing that it will not be enforced.

If it isn't a hill you're ready to die on,
don't make it against rules you are obligated to enforce.

Remember sagging? It used to be against school board policy. The kids did it anyway, they still do, and school board policy was relaxed to accommodate the push back from students.

Students ended up determining the policy.

Because the leadership of the APS wrote a policy
they would back up.

This is not about sagging. It is not about cell phones.

It is about negligently allowing, or knowingly permitting,
prohibited behavior and about the damage that does.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also, some APS teachers have shouldered the burden of paying for a replacement phone when it came up missing, after being turned in to the office.

Anonymous said...

I for one will not enforce any rule on my campus. The referral fairy always runs away with the referral.

I will not enforce the "dress code" or no kids in the hall, or no I pods,
or no jet cards. I'm finished being APS's fall quy. They hang us out to dry on a regular basis.

No more chances APS. You can make all the rules you want. I see nothing.