tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5458172893016186479.post-63801145854293096462008-05-12T00:11:00.000-05:002008-05-12T00:11:00.000-05:00As a parent of a middle schooler who just got a cell phone, I tend to be skeptical of the ban.<BR/><BR/>My daughter's school has a "cell phones must be off during school hours" policy, and I haven't heard that it's an issue for teachers, and I haven't heard of serious cell-phone related problems at the high schools.<BR/><BR/>I suspect the need for the NYC ban is a symptom of deeper behavior/discipline problems, and my gut reaction is that if a "cell-phones must be off" policy isn't workable, a school should be looking at what culture changes need to happen to make it possible.<BR/><BR/>And I guess what troubles me about the NYC ban is that the decision is not left up to the individual school sites. If a school can come up with a workable policy short of a total ban, I'd say more power to them. It's not an issue that has to be decided at the central level.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08566356038836885187noreply@blogger.com