Community Chat

[goldensrbest]

And what about the cost of the i phones,so many kids have them?

[Spurt]

---

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

I know what you mean.  We did school without phones or tablets (electronic ones) or computers.  We had regular textbooks and I feel we all got really good educations!  If we needed to be reached, the school office and personnel had phones and easily got ahold of us!  

Back in the day, when malls were where we all went to shop and were actually fun places to go and socialize (I still think they are great if you can find them), if you were out and needed to make calls, you had little phone kiosks.  Phone booths were all over the place, too!  And we all did just fine!  Was it as convenient --- well, no, not all the time, but none of us knew any better and we survived!  

I do think the cell phone thing has gone way beyond what is necessary and I know I am old school, but I don't see where kids need to have them at school.  Just another distraction, really.  And what about parents who really can't afford the expensive phones --- another thing to make kids feel different from the other kids who do have them. 

DH and I were talking the other day and we both said, we miss the 60's and 70's and said, no way in the world would we want to be growing up in this day and age!  

---

@AngelPuppy1 

Great post! And we still have phone booths these days but now they are called "restroom stalls"......😄

[mom2four0418]

---

@tototwo wrote:

Ya know, when I was in school, if we'd had cell phones, they would've called it "cheating."   And it is.   Instead of spending hours and hours in the library going thru encyclopedias and taking notes, I could've just googled my term papers and reports.  Copy and paste a paragraph here and there.

And yes, back in the day of early space travel, they hired mathematicians and other "humans" to double-check the computers.   We've come a long way, Baby - and we probably wouldn't be where we're at without technology and computers.  But sometimes I force myself to use my brain, just for exercise.

---

Do you have children who are students? I do, and what you descibe as "cheating" makes no sense, My daughter is a college student. She uses required textbooks, as well as accessing material online. Her professors teach classes via Zoom, as well as post material which must be read and used for assignments. How do you think that students have been able to do remote learning for the past twelve months? Believe it or not, they use their brains. 

[Still Raining]

No good dragging ones feet.  Life moves on.  It can be handy to have a kid with a phone.

[SusieQ_2]

@mom2four0418 wrote:

---

@tototwo wrote:

Ya know, when I was in school, if we'd had cell phones, they would've called it "cheating."   And it is.   Instead of spending hours and hours in the library going thru encyclopedias and taking notes, I could've just googled my term papers and reports.  Copy and paste a paragraph here and there.

And yes, back in the day of early space travel, they hired mathematicians and other "humans" to double-check the computers.   We've come a long way, Baby - and we probably wouldn't be where we're at without technology and computers.  But sometimes I force myself to use my brain, just for exercise.

---

Do you have children who are students? I do, and what you describe as "cheating" makes no sense, My daughter is a college student. She uses required textbooks, as well as accessing material online. Her professors teach classes via Zoom, as well as post material which must be read and used for assignments. How do you think that students have been able to do remote learning for the past twelve months? Believe it or not, they use their brains. 

---

@mom2four0418 

I agree with you. The comment about cheating made no sense and shows the poster hasn't been in a classroom, or known someone who has been, in a very long time. No shade, as that's true for many of us! 

I'm always surprised when I read that someone thinks spending hours and hours going through encyclopedias in a library is preferable or more educational than getting information from a computer, or God forbid, a smartphone. Also, getting information from a book as compared to online doesn't mean a student no longer has the need to take notes although in many cases that process has been greatly improved upon as well. Then there's the fact that encyclopedias in libraries aren't updated as often or as easily as information offered online so books can tend to be obsolete.

When someone (not the op, but anyone) says it's better to spend, let's say six hours in a library doing research compared to what can be done in two hours online, it says to me they don't place much value on their time. Then there's the matter of traveling to and from, having to be available for study during library hours, not to mention that libraries are only now opening up after over a year of closure. 

However, the part that really showed a lack of understanding about today's education was the comment "I could've just googled my term papers and reports. Copy and paste a paragraph here and there." Sure, you could do that. Just be prepared for the consequences that could range from receiving a failing grade on the paper, being failed in the course, all the way to expulsion from your school.

That demon we call technology now employs programs through which students must submit their papers to detect any type of plagiarism--and that's before your professor ever has a go at it manually. Anything more than a five word phrase is flagged and rejected. Once rejected it's the student's responsibility to prove or justify the flagged work and there's a limit as to how many times the paper can be resubmitted. 

I do want to say kudos to the poster for saying she sometimes uses her brain just for exercise. Her nicely written post would indicate she does it often...even if there were parts with which I didn't agree.

[tototwo]

@mom2four0418 -- When I was in school, some students would write answers on the palms of their hands or stuff 'cheat sheets' under their shirt cuffs.  That was cheating.  If kids can now have smart phones at their desks to look up answers, that's also cheating.  I think you're talking about distance learning and Zoom classes.  Not the same thing.  I agree that Zoom learning must be more difficult than attending classes in person.

[GoneButNotForgotten]

does anyone remember slide rules? and that's what we used a lot on the early space flights. wow!

[Carmie]

My high school alma mater still does not allow cell phones in school. You must leave them in your locker all day.  If you need to make a call, you must go to the office to do so on the school phones.  It is a private school, so if you don't agree, you can go elsewhere.

When I worked, a desk mate of mine texted her daughters all day long while they were in school.  That had to be distracting.

In the elementary school I volunteered at, many children had cell phones and they were awful.  They were constantly texting and taking pictures with them even during lessons. They also would visit adult sites

The only rule was, they were not allowed to take them out for recess...never made any sense to me.