6 Ignored Issues and Ineffective School Policies

1. Cell Phone Nonsense
The new cell phone policy has been the topic of conversation for 4 or 5 weeks now among students, teachers, and parents. So you might ask, why would students need a cell phone when they’re trying to get an education?

Some parents are cynical about the world and prefer to have their children equipped with cell phones in case of disaster. Some people are hard-working and may be late to pick up kids and need to contact them so they don’t think their mothers have abandoned them.

The policy was put in place to eliminate the use of cell phones in class, but in reality, students do not bring cell phones for that purpose. Sure students used to sneak the occasional text, but should this cause thousands of students to lose the privilege to use the cell phone after school or have it just-in-case?

On the flip side, however, what’s the problem with leaving the cell phone in your locker? The locker has a lock on it (hence the name, LOCKers) and unless you’ve rigged it (which is also against school policy), then your phone should be safe.

If you carry a cell phone for reasons other than a desire to text in class, the locker is the ideal place.
You can’t really fight the system and you will get ISS if you’re caught, so if you want to stay in class and learn, leave it in your locker. It’s a personal risk to carry the phone around, so be ready to reap what you sew.
(Word to the wise, if you leave your phone in your car, the keys might melt and your phone won’t work.)

2. Stay in Class, or it’s ISS
So you’re caught with a cell phone, days in ISS.
You’re caught skipping class, days in ISS.
You forget to go to detention, day in ISS.

The concept of ISS is completely pointless. The school did away with Friday Twilight Detentions because they were “ineffective,” but kept in-school detentions? Anybody who has spent a day in ISS can tell you that no learning is done within those cold, white, desolate walls. Some teachers may send students work to do, but they finish it mindlessly and sleep the rest of the day.

The purpose of school is to learn, not sit in a lonely classroom bored out of your mind. ISS students may be isolated from peers, but they also are missing out on classroom discussions and lessons.
So, without in-school, how do you punish skippers? To punish students, make them come after-school and do homework or something constructive. Hmm, sounds vaguely like a Twilight Detention.

3. No Guidance
Our guidance office works hard day in and day out. It’s hard to get in there to talk to your personal counselor. So what are they doing all day?
The guidance counselors are busy adjusting schedules for the first month of school; after that, they help students find scholarships, apply for college, plan a career, and schedule students’ future high school classes.
In elementary school and middle school, guidance counselors were there to really guide students with personal issues and family problems. If students in high school are in search of personal guidance, where are they to go?
The guidance office does its job, but it should be called something else, something more fitting , such as Student Planning Office or a like title.

4. Teenagers Prego, Oops.
The teenage pregnancy rate of America in general is higher than ever and the percent of sexually active teenagers practicing safe sex is lower.
Teenpregnancy.org, a site managed by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, states that there are “750,000 teen pregnancies annually. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81 percent are to unmarried teens.”
We don’t have to look further than our own school to see this.
Some girls are uneducated about sex and some are. It would be money well spent to have a sex education class at the school. Students need to be informed on the issues and need to have myths clarified.
Need proof? An anonymous student who was asked about condoms said, “Oh, I never use them because I can’t buy them; you have to be 18.”
Students are not making educated decisions about sex, and sometimes, they don’t have anyone at home to teach them about sex and the real world.
Our school has “Real Life 101” for seniors to learn about real life issues. This class has a sex education component, but perhaps we need a new class. It is a growing issue and sometimes school is the only place students would learn about it.

5. PDA, Things Could Be Worse
PDA, what is it? Public Display of Affection. I’m guilty of showing it, a lot of people are.

It is a matter of personal opinion whether you want to be open with your displays of affection or not. It’s not really an issue until it’s disgusting, overly vulgar, sexual intercourse, groping, or inappropriate touching. A quick kiss after class, or holding hands should not be a problem. The school, students, and teachers all have bigger fish to fry.

To the students who are guilty of it (including myself), keep it to a minimum. Don’t grope each other, don’t turn it into a make out session, and don’t have sex at school. Keep it clean, keep it quick.

6. Dress Code, Waste of Time
The dress code isn’t as big of an issue now as it once was. Some teachers and administrators still overreact, but some students take it to extremes.

However, wearing a hat in class is just as distracting to other students as the girl with multi-colored hair. Nobody can tell that girl to dye her hair a certain color, but the boy has to take his hat off?
Girls, don’t be ridiculous with your skirts, shorts and tank tops; you should know what’s appropriate. Sure, teachers may overreact, but don’t give them reason to. Nobody wants to see your cleavage, and nobody wants to see your butt crack; pull your shirt up and pants up and nobody will complain.

Got something to say?

Hate the new cellphone policies?  Love the new agendas?  Wish we could change something at school? Add your comment below and we’ll put it in our Rants and Raves.  Obviously, all comments have to be appropriate for school and pass through a screening process, so they won’t immediately appear.  Check back later to see if you made the cue.