Spring Break
Giving out cell phones as academic incentives may become a reality
Andrew Zaleski
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Opinion
Are any other freshmen feeling a slight nostalgia for their senior year of high school? The work was easy, you had absolutely zero responsibility and the only things that mattered were parties and senior week. It was a good life. But do you remember how annoying teachers could be when they accosted you in hallways and stairwells if they managed to catch you sneaking a quick text message?
"Put that phone away, young man, you're not supposed to be using cell phones in the five minute interim between classes in which you are doing absolutely no work and don't need to be paying attention to a teacher."
Yeah -- that annoying teacher.
I can't say I really miss that aspect of my high school education. However, for teenage students in New York City, being weary of cell phone-hating teachers may be the least of their worries relatively soon. The city is currently toying around with the idea of distributing cell phones to students as a means to foster better work ethics and elevated student-set standards. Through the proposed program, minority and lower-income students would receive cell phones through their respective schools. Assuming this goes off without a hitch, the schools themselves will then set up a program by which automated, achievement-promoting text messages will be sent to student cell phones.
Can you imagine? The annoying teacher model gets completely flipped on its head: "Excuse me, young man, where is your cell phone? Why aren't you reading inspirational text messages? Do you want to go to the principal's office?"
If only. Apparently, the students would be required to leave the phones at home during the school day.
In addition to the text messaging, government and education officials are suggesting other ideas to help promote academic achievement. Talk about using celebrity endorsement has emerged (get an "A" and get a call from Jay-Z) along with rumors of paying students for high achievement with respect to their grades, attendance (being on time to school or actually showing up to school) and completion of assignments.
"Put that phone away, young man, you're not supposed to be using cell phones in the five minute interim between classes in which you are doing absolutely no work and don't need to be paying attention to a teacher."
Yeah -- that annoying teacher.
I can't say I really miss that aspect of my high school education. However, for teenage students in New York City, being weary of cell phone-hating teachers may be the least of their worries relatively soon. The city is currently toying around with the idea of distributing cell phones to students as a means to foster better work ethics and elevated student-set standards. Through the proposed program, minority and lower-income students would receive cell phones through their respective schools. Assuming this goes off without a hitch, the schools themselves will then set up a program by which automated, achievement-promoting text messages will be sent to student cell phones.
Can you imagine? The annoying teacher model gets completely flipped on its head: "Excuse me, young man, where is your cell phone? Why aren't you reading inspirational text messages? Do you want to go to the principal's office?"
If only. Apparently, the students would be required to leave the phones at home during the school day.
In addition to the text messaging, government and education officials are suggesting other ideas to help promote academic achievement. Talk about using celebrity endorsement has emerged (get an "A" and get a call from Jay-Z) along with rumors of paying students for high achievement with respect to their grades, attendance (being on time to school or actually showing up to school) and completion of assignments.
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cathrob
Cathy Robertson
posted 12/31/08 @ 5:10 PM EST
I think it's brilliant -- as someone doing research on how to bring disconnected young people back to school in D.C., I've been thinking about this problem, which your article doesn't mention: the main reason kids drop out of or fail out of school is that they are really poor, and they have parents who are too stressed to care whether they go to school or not, they often have trouble getting to school, or are sometimes in danger (or hungry or homeless) with no one to help them. (Continued…)
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