- Cellphones nowadays are considered an essential item that must not be far from a person’s reach. It could be used for media applications, surfing the net, text and calls; and even a parent’s tool to track their children given the new technologies attached to these devices such as specialized apps and GPS systems.
- Thesis Statement: While it may be the case that cellphones can be used as distractions to students in their studies and a minor key to eliminating abductions, the technology in cellphones nowadays not only secure students from crimes, but also present substantial alternatives for learning mediums in classes. Schools could impose policies and negotiations that would ensure these phones would be used only for urgent instances and not for disruptions and crimes.
- Bringing cellphones to school fosters several issues, such as harassment, distractions, bullying, and it is also not as effective to use in terms of stopping abductions.
- Cellphone use in schools fosters health and development risk, as well as disruptions such as sexting, harassment, bullying, and study disruptions.
- Abductions are still likely to happen despite bringing phones to school as victims may not be able to use it on duress, or could not connect to the authorities.
- However, it is undeniable that cellphones nowadays are capable of aiding authorities to stop and solve abduction cases with the technologies and applications available in the market.
- Cellphones nowadays are capable of GPS Tracking and applications, which provides accurate location maps and directions for students and parents to use.
- Several abduction cases have already been thwarted thanks to the use of the technologies available with cellphones used today by students.
- Several actions and negotiations can be done to divert the possible disruptive capacity of cellphones in the school setting and turn it into a benefit.
- Schools nowadays enable their students and teachers to negotiate the boundaries in which cellphones and other electronic devices are used inside the learning environment
- Cellphone technologies could be used to present classes and promote interactivity to ensure students would use their cellphones productively.
- Conclusion
Although there have been cases wherein students have been abducted even if they have their cellphones, it is still an excellent precaution to have them keep these cellphones while in school so that they may be able to use it in any kind of emergency.
Works Cited
Banjoko, Kimberly. "$1.5 million donated to child safety program to service public housing families." New York Community Media Alliance , 20 August 2009.Web. 28 November 2012 <http://www.indypressny.org/nycma/voices/387/briefs/briefs_3/>.
Bartlett, Greg. "GPS Helps College Students Remain Safe." Rocky Mountain Tracking: Daily GPS News, 8 September 2010. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2010/09/08/gps-helps-college-students-remain-safe/>.
Charles, Anita. "Cell Phones: Rule-Setting, Rule Breaking, and Relationships in Classrooms." American Secondary Education 40.3 (2012): 4-16. Web. 22 November, 2012.
Diamantes, Thomas. "Recent Court Rulings Regarding Student Use of Cell Phones in Today's Schools." Education 131.2 (2010): 404-406. Web. 22 November 2012.
Engel, George and Tim Green. "Cell Phones in the Classroom: Are We Dialling Up Disaster?" Techtrends 55.2 (2011): 39-45. Web. 22 November 2012.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. Cellphones: Technology, Exposures, Health Effects. Report. North Haven: Environment and Human Health, Inc., 2012. Print.
Falcon, Gabe. "Raw Data: Kidnapping Statistics." CNN Anderson Cooper Blog 360, 15 January 2007. Web. 3 December 2012 <http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2007/01/raw-data-kidnapping-statistics.html>.
Foss, Khristen. "Cell Phone Saves Abducted Ohio College Student." Rocky Mountain Tracking: Daily GPS News, 23 November 2011. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2011/11/23/cell-phone-saves-abducted-ohio-college-student/>.
KXAN. "App adds to student safety on campus." KXAN, 22 July 2012. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/app-adds-to-student-safety-on-campus>.
Leary, Mal. "Maine likely to consider cellphone location bill." Maine Sun Journal, 23 September 2012. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2012/09/23/maine-likely-consider-cellphone-location-bill/1255287>.
Lenhart, Amanda, et al. "Teens and Mobile Phones." Pew Internet and American Life Project, 10 April 2010. Web . 30 November 2012 <http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones/Chapter-5.aspx?view=all>.
Obringer, John and Kent Coffey. "Cell phones in American High Schools: A National Survey." Journal of Technology Studies 33.1 (2007): 41-47. Web. 22 November, 2012.
Students Need Cellphones to Deter Abductions
Cellphones nowadays are considered an important item that must not be far from a person’s reach. It could be used for media applications, surfing the net, text and calls; and even a parent’s tool to track their children given the new technologies attached to these devices such as specialized apps and GPS systems. While the benefits of cellphones could actually be used in such manner, some schools prohibit cellphones as they see it as a distraction in school work. However, it is undeniable a cellphone could be useful, not just with school work but also for stopping crimes and student abductions. Nowadays, several cases of abductions have been done around the country, which has yet to be resolved as students are left helpless without a means to communicate and trace their locations since they are forbidden to bring their phones to school. While it may be the case that cellphones can be used as distractions to students in their studies and a minor key to eliminating abductions, the technology in cellphones nowadays not only secure students from crimes but also present great alternatives for learning mediums in classes. Schools could impose policies and negotiations that would ensure these phones would be used only for important instances and not for disruptions and crimes.
With the interactivity of cellphone nowadays, the argument of teachers and some concerned parents regarding the capacity of cellphones to distract students form school work is warranted. According to the 2012 report of the Environment and Human Health Inc, young children and teenagers who possess cellphones are highly at risk with RF radiation that may affect their health and development. In this end, it is visible that if phones at brought to school; additional radio-frequency exposure would be exposed to other students since students would be exposed to other RF exposure from other phones from their fellow students. Aside from this, many schools see cellphones as a huge distraction for students, not just for those who own cellphones, but for others. School owners and administrators also note that cellphones in school may also incite drug and gang problems. Others have also noted the increase of “sexting” from the student’s phones as some of these images are forwarded to the community, which may also begin conflict within the school. Cell phones also foster harassment and bullying, as some students would send messages or images to other students and harass them through it. Most students whose parents with low educational attainment are usually the targets of these types of harassments in school through cell phone messaging, and it still increases each year . As a result of this, several school districts have already banned cell phone use, much to the ire of parents. In New York, Department of Education had noted that students must not bring their electronic devices in schools and they would be confiscated once they are seen with one .
Aside from New York, there have also been court cases that dealt with student’s use of their cellphones that proves the fear of educators that it could be used for crimes, and other distracting conflicts. In one case, a student’s phone was confiscated by the teacher since it rang during class. The student was suspended for a day for violating the policies of the school, and the parents had to get the phone themselves from the administrators. However, when the phone is not returned, the parents sued the administrators and called that the suspension should not have been awarded to the student. The district court dismissed the parent’s lawsuit, but still reviewed the in-school suspension. The case was then brought to the US Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit to resolve the lawsuit. According to the school who took the student’s phone, the in-school suspension actually helped the student get her grades and attendance as if it was another regular class. The court agreed to the school, and thus made the case a waste of time for both parties. In another case, the New York City Schools banned bringing cellphones to school unless the principal himself orders to bring these phones to school. Parents saw this as a violation of their constitutional rights, given that these phones would enable them to check their children’s safety while in school. The court did not listen to the protests as they believe that it is up to the teachers to discern if such a ban is required for their students when it comes to their cellphones. There was also another case wherein a student was caught texting to a fellow student for marijuana. These cases showcase that bringing cellphones to school incite far complicated distractions that may affect school activity, the main fear of educators .
The argument of parents that students must bring their phones in case of emergencies and security concerns could also be refuted. In a report done by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, at least 800,000 children and teenagers are reported to be abducted each year. Estimating the number of abductions each day, it is estimated that the numbers of abductions reach up to 2,000 cases each day. The NCMEC noted that 203,000 of these cases are kidnapped by their family members, which are usually parents who have not been given custody of their children or relatives who want to take custody of the child. At least 58,200 of these cases are reported to be done from non-family members; from kidnappers, crime groups to syndicates. While the abduction numbers are high, only a few of these cases are reported local and national news reports given the style of the abduction. According to the NCMEC, only 115 children have been reported to be victims of the “traditional” kidnapping or abduction. Although the national government strives hard to stop these instances, it is undeniable that any form of security precaution would not easily work in the current social context .
In some of these unresolved cases of abductions, student abductions have cases wherein students indeed brought their phones with them to school. However, given the current ruling that phones are to be placed on silent or off while in school, students tend to find their phones useless and forget they are off while in an empergency. Some abduction cases were also reported to have students using their phones to call the emergency, but it was never utilized properly by the authorities. In 2008, a 17 year old student was able to call UK’s 999 hotline while she is being abducted and harassed by the abductor. However, the authorities were unable to reach immediately due to system malfunction. According to the court handling the case, the victim tried to call 999 and hoped the police would be able to listen to the conversation happening between her and her abductor. However, it was reported that the 999 system was cut off, and the emergency system discarded her call entirely. The next day, the body was found dead with visible evidences of rape and her phone was found in a recycling plant. The police was not able to use the phone’s signal to trace the call while it was still connected and could have prevented her death . This example, and many others, show that bringing cellphones would still not be enough to thwart the growing cases of unresolved abductions considering that the police itself could not follow up and improve its reaction time in these types of instances.
Although cellphones can be considered a boon in terms of school work and preventing abductions, it is undeniable that cellphones nowadays are becoming safety precautions for its users. Cellphones nowadays are capable of GPS tracking, enabling the user to know where he is in the map and use the signal to call an emergency code. It is very common nowadays to see cellphones having this tracking system installed with their system, providing the most accurate location signal required. Parents have argued that cellphones are important for students in schools given the high rates of murders and abductions reported in the news. With cellphones; they could track their children through GPS technology and programs that can detect these signals. In addition to this, GPS capacities of cellphones could help students once they break free from their captors to know where they are located. On a normal instance, GPS systems are used as navigational systems to enable the person to know where he or she is going in an unfamiliar destination. In terms of emergencies, it could also be used in a similar manner .
Aside from GPS technology, applications are now available for smartphones to ensure that safety is at student’s reach. In Texas, parents and students are advised to put safety apps to safeguard them while outdoors or while on campuse. An app known as StreetSafe is currently endorsed in the state, which enables users to have their personal security and emergency source in their mobile phones. With StreetSafe, it is noted that it could be used by students in case they feel unsafe. The student would only need to press the green button in the application and a Safety Advisor would be connected to ensure the student gets home safely. For instances of emergencies, a red button is available in the app, which would connect into a call for 911 and track the phone through GPS. It is noted that the statistics of student abductions increases because 911 calls are done late and the students do not have precautions to secure their locations while in campus, thus the need to install these precautions to protect students. StreetSafe also offers tips to students to ensure they remain safe while in campus or going home .
Law-enforcers and concerned groups nowdays already see the benefit of mobile phones in stopping abduction cases and other crimes involving children. In New York, for example, the Citywide Council of Presidents of the NYC Housing Authority donated $1.5 million to the country’s America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Ready Inc. group, which would provide cellphone-based protection to beneficiaries for children and recovery efforts. The donation is expected to cover 30,000 families from the city’s public housing complexes, who are unable to produce phones that can be used for their safety. According to the president of the Council, Reginald Bowman noted that the increasing rates of yearly child abductions in the country is staggering as it already reached 800,000 children each year. He noted that it is crucial to find and develop ways to protect the children as they are the most important resource of any country, losing them may be detrimental to society. With the AMBER Ready program, the cellphones sustained to the 30,000 families under the program could be their direct line to law enforcement agencies that can thwart abductions. According to the members of the AMBER program, who have experienced having their young love-ones targeted through abduction, see the system as a tool to reduce the number of abductions around the country. The Department of Justice also notes that the AMBER Ready program could also ensure that abduction cases can be resolved easily given the nature of mobile phones at present, containing technologies to track locations and record phone calls or text.
States are also seeing the benefits of cellphones to prevent increasing cases of student abductions in their regions. In one report for the Maine Sun Journal, eight states have already adopted their own versions of the “Kelsey’s Law”, which was named after a Kansas teenager whose body was located four days after being abducted in June 2007. The law covers fast transfer of information to local police agencies to locate the victims before any danger can befall on them. With the law in place, cellphone companies are now required to provide location signals of the victim’s cellphone in cases of emergency. Maine is currently thinking of approving the Kelsey’s Law in its own territory given the nature of the problem. It is already noted in Federal Law that cellphone companies are to give information to local police, but there is still the restriction given to police as to how much information they can get from cellphone companies. Under the Kelsey’s law mandates additional access and immediate transfer from cellphone companies to the law enforcement without the need for a court order. Several cases have already been affected by cellphone company reluctance to provide the information needed to law enforcers information .
The benefits of having cellphones while in school have already seen results in terms of deterring abduction cases around the country. In Ohio, a 29 year old student from Southern State Community College was saved from abduction in the campus’ parking by fellow 29 year old student. According to reports, the victim showed up in class on November 16 without knowing that the suspect was already waiting for her. The victim was then forced by the suspect to his pickup truck and drove off from the College. The campus’ parking lot surveillance system saw the abduction, as noted by Lt. Randy McElfresh of the Ohio State Police, which also aided in notifying authorities of the crime. While the suspect tried to escape from the campus; the victim used her phone to dial 911, which was equipped with GPS tracking capacities. The police were able to follow the suspect through the GPS, and enabled the police to talk to the victim in hiding the phone until they find the chance to confront the suspect. The location, thanks to the GPS system was pointed accurately and enabled the police to chase the suspect. The chase ensued up to the off-roads of Ohio, but the pickup truck got stuck and thus leading the police to do the arrest. The Ohio police cites this case as an example to advocate buying phones with GPS systems. While many tend to note that they do not wish to be tracked by other interested parties, the police note that having the GPS system would help in times of emergency. If the victim given in the case had her GPS off for her phone, finding the victim alive would have been a stroke of luck. The police also noted that this technology, along many others, should be used by people, not just by students, as this may enable authorities to track the location and save these users from emergencies .
The capacity of cell phones in thwarting and eliminating cases of abductions is crucial given the increasing number of child and teen abductions while in schools or while they are outside their homes. However, given the argument of educators that cellphones would foster disruptions in classes is also crucial as some students may find themselves no longer listening to the lessons and use these phones for other uses. Several actions and negotiations can be done to divert the possible disruptive capacity of cellphones in the school setting and turn it into a benefit. In the study done by Anita Charles, her study noted that schools nowadays enable their students and teachers to negotiate the boundaries in which cellphones and other electronic devices are used inside the learning environment. These boundaries also set rules when it comes to how students will be punished should they break these rules. While there have been cases wherein students tend to hide their devices while in school, some would often put them on vibrate just in case there is an emergency. In this end, students are allowed to keep their phones as it would not directly disrupt the class. An indirect or direct agreement between teachers and students could also foster self-control skils to students as they could be capable of making their own boundaries as to cellphone use, considering that texting is rude while in class. If the student really needs to use the phone, teachers would enable them to use it under the bounds that it is done properly by the student .
It is also notable that as cellphone capacity and technology changes, so does the need to change the current school policies on cellphones. With cellphones nowadays capable of storing files, copying notes, and streaming educational material for class; schools could no longer use the old policies regarding cellphone use. Cellphones, as much as conservative schools could see, is now a growing culture that can no longer be banned easily. An updated policy could be exercised by schools to enforce cellphone regulations that would be acceptable to any party. Enabling cellphone use for teachers while in their classes can also foster student safety as they could contact their students and check if they are back in their dormitories or homes. Should school administrators really see the importance of limiting cellphone use of students while in classes, they could utilize fast-moving technology to counteract signals from student’s phones to prevent them from texting or calling while in class. Changing and updating the phone policy in schools would foster continuous learning without banning cellphones in their campuses .
Aside from developing new policies and agreements with students, administrators and educators can utilize cellphone’s new technologies to present more entertaining and interactive classes that will catch the attention of the student, as well as improve student-teacher relations. Students can use their cellphones to respond to polls or surveys that could help students understand given data and statistics on various issues. Teachers can also use these response systems from their mobile devices to assess where students are failing or where they are improving. Students can also use their phones as a means to research the various libraries available online through electronic databases and journals. With the increasing number of electronic data available online, students can use these updated information when it comes to their class discussions on any given topic without the need to spend time in the library.
Cellphones can also be a great alternative should the student require a computer or an easy-to-browse library is not present. E-books and e-quizzes are also available online and can also be browsed and answered in today’s phones, which can both save money and time for both students and teachers. Students can even use their cellphones as a mean s to understand math concepts as several tutorials are available online. Cellphones are also a great way to create a class wiki that would enable both student and teachers to create pages on the topics discussed in class, which can help in addressing issues that was not created in class. A class wiki can also have discussion boards to enable teachers and students to discuss the issue while in the comfort of their homes or while in their lunch breaks. Cellphones can also be a medium for disabled students to respond and interact with fellow students and teachers as it can enable them to express their thoughts while in the classroom.
Cellphone use is now a culture which can no longer easily be removed from schooling given the capacity of cellphones to aid in school work and safety. On the one hand, cellphones in schools may cause health risks and class disruptions as students may use these devices to commit additional violations and crimes despite in the classroom setting. There is also the questionable capacity of cellphones to become keys in resolving the increasing abduction cases as some students would find it hard to connect to 911 and the possibility that kidnappers would force these phones away from the student should it be found in their midst. However, it is undeniable that although there have been cases wherein students have been abducted even if they have their cellphones, it is still an excellent precaution to have them keep these cellphones while in school so that they may be able to use it in any kind of emergency. Educators and teachers themselves can benefit from enabling their students to bring their cellphones to school by introducing interactive classes through the use of cellphone technologies available today. Rules can also be imposed to reduce the possibility of class disruptions through cellphone use.
Works Cited
Banjoko, Kimberly. "$1.5 million donated to child safety program to service public housing families." New York Community Media Alliance , 20 August 2009.Web. 28 November 2012 <http://www.indypressny.org/nycma/voices/387/briefs/briefs_3/>.
Bartlett, Greg. "GPS Helps College Students Remain Safe." Rocky Mountain Tracking: Daily GPS News, 8 September 2010. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2010/09/08/gps-helps-college-students-remain-safe/>.
Charles, Anita. "Cell Phones: Rule-Setting, Rule Breaking, and Relationships in Classrooms." American Secondary Education 40.3 (2012): 4-16. Web. 22 November, 2012.
Diamantes, Thomas. "Recent Court Rulings Regarding Student Use of Cell Phones in Today's Schools." Education 131.2 (2010): 404-406. Web. 22 November 2012.
Engel, George and Tim Green. "Cell Phones in the Classroom: Are We Dialling Up Disaster?" Techtrends 55.2 (2011): 39-45. Web. 22 November 2012.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. Cellphones: Technology, Exposures, Health Effects. Report. North Haven: Environment and Human Health, Inc., 2012. Print.
Falcon, Gabe. "Raw Data: Kidnapping Statistics." CNN Anderson Cooper Blog 360, 15 January 2007. Web. 3 December 2012 <http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2007/01/raw-data-kidnapping-statistics.html>.
Foss, Khristen. "Cell Phone Saves Abducted Ohio College Student." Rocky Mountain Tracking: Daily GPS News, 23 November 2011. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2011/11/23/cell-phone-saves-abducted-ohio-college-student/>.
KXAN. "App adds to student safety on campus." KXAN, 22 July 2012. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/app-adds-to-student-safety-on-campus>.
Leary, Mal. "Maine likely to consider cellphone location bill." Maine Sun Journal, 23 September 2012. Web. 29 November 2012 <http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2012/09/23/maine-likely-consider-cellphone-location-bill/1255287>.
Lenhart, Amanda, et al. "Teens and Mobile Phones." Pew Internet and American Life Project, 10 April 2010. Web . 30 November 2012 <http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones/Chapter-5.aspx?view=all>.
Obringer, John and Kent Coffey. "Cell phones in American High Schools: A National Survey." Journal of Technology Studies 33.1 (2007): 41-47. Web. 22 November, 2012.
