By Michael Leess

Technology is moving along so fast that your child may have an ipod® in his ear, and the X-Box® on pause while he text messages a friend. Maybe you’ve gotten as far as the fun and games, but haven’t bought into the cell phone. For most teens, cell phones are commonplace. But if you are considering buying one for your school-age child or already have, and your child is misusing it, knowing what the guidelines are at your child’s school and setting the ground rules at home will help everyone keep a clear connection about cell phone use.

chool Policy
You should know the cell phone policy of your child’s school. That way, both you and your child will be informed of school guidelines and potential consequences for breaking the rules. For example, some schools require cell phones to be stored in silent mode in lockers during classes, and only used during free time and after school. Rochester area school policies may seem much more liberal than others. A legal and legislative debate is underway over the New York City School District’s ban of cell phones on school grounds altogether.

Many districts increase penalties for each successive cell phone-related offense—including confiscation of the cell phone, student suspension, and parent-teacher conferences. The punishment for being caught using a cell phone at a time when it is against school rules may be great, but it is necessary to protect the students’ learning environment. Liz Konar, the principal of Pittsford Sutherland High School, stands firmly against cell phone use during school.

“Cell phones in school are not a necessity. We have a phone in every room for student use, and at least four in every office. Prior to the advent of cell phones, things got done,” says Konar.

Potential Problems
Cell phones create classroom distractions by ringing, bleeping, and buzzing at inappropriate times. More problematic, though, is that text messaging and the use of camera phones brought a host of new headaches for teachers and administrators. Text messages have been used to cheat by covertly communicating test answers, and camera phone-wielding kids have taken pictures of entire tests to give friends an unfair edge while studying. However, even the occurrences of cheating pale in comparison to another misuse of camera phones: their employment in bathrooms and locker rooms.

Schools worry most about students taking and distributing pictures of other students in inappropriate or compromising positions. This kind of high-tech harassment takes the cell phone problem to a much more personal and damaging level, and crosses the line from school bullying to crime. It gives any school good reason for restricting cell phones, even if the occurrence is highly uncommon.

The Bill
One of many parents’ fears regarding their child’s cell phone habits is the dreaded cell phone bill. If abused, cell phone overages can cost families hundreds of dollars a month, especially if text messaging is involved.

A ten cent text message may not seem like it’s going to break the bank, but consider the fact that a child may have entire “texting” conversations each day—even at times when regular air time is free. Apply this activity to the entire month, and the result isn’t pretty. Many services offer an “unlimited text message” add-on for each individual cell phone, and in many cases it is well worth the extra fee.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John C. Ninfo also warns of confusing contracts and fine-print traps: “Cell phones are a main example of needing to ‘do the math’ and making sure you understand all the contracts. Understand what you can and cannot do, because when you break the rules, the charges pile up fast.” Judge Ninfo founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education Program, or C.A.R.E., which educates groups about the dangers of consumer credit in the United States.
Another expense for families is replacing a broken, lost, or stolen cell phone. Nobody tries to get pushed in the pool with their cell phone in their pocket, or to accidentally throw their phone out with a garbage-covered lunch tray. These unlucky occurrences even happen to adults. However, cell phones are one of the most commonly stolen items in school settings. A child must recognize the value of a cell phone and take care of it.

Necessity vs. Luxury
Many parents justify the purchase of cell phones for their children as a way to keep a line of communication open between themselves and their children in the event of an emergency. And after a quarter century cellular accessibility, it’s become one of the most efficient and effective ways of keeping in touch with the kids. On a day-to-day basis, cell phones are important in the hands of a child when the day’s plans change—if soccer practice is cancelled or if you are going to be a little late picking your son or daughter up from school. They also give parents peace of mind if their kids walk to school and can keep in contact, and when teens start driving cars or riding with friends and can regularly check in with parents.

Although some may argue that it is a necessity for their child to have a cell phone exclusively for making and receiving calls, most cell phone options well exceed that necessity. Many phones offer text messaging, picture messaging, video, internet service, and walkie-talkies. Others offer up-to-the-minute news and sports scores—even with customized alerts to inform the user of an important play made by their favorite team.

For the parent who is only looking to keep in touch with their child, most of these options and extras are unnecessary and distracting, and quite expensive. However, there are options to help limit your expense.
The “Firefly” from Cingular® is one kid-friendly phone that has no numerical keypad, but instead has large “mom” and “dad” buttons right on the face. It has a pin-controlled twenty-number phone book and incoming call blocker. The LG “Migo” from Verizon Wireless® is similar to the “Firefly,” but holds only four total numbers, each with a specific ring tone. It also offers a GPS tracker that enables parents to set “boundaries” around a town or city, for example, and alert the parent if the child and phone leave the area. Both of these phones require normal account fees and can be added to family-talk plans.

What Parents Can Do
It is important for you to lay down your own rules for cell phone use with your child early on, even before the child actually receives the phone. This way, there will be no doubt or argument about guidelines later on.

Online records and monthly bills show the date and time of each individual call, text message, and so on, from all cell phones on a plan. Using these records, you can find out if your child is calling or text messaging friends during school hours. Also remember that just because calls during class may follow school rules, they may not be in accordance with your rules.

Know your options. Does your 7-year-old really need an internet connection, 250-name phonebook list, and a video camera? It is important to weigh the potential problems of cell phone “extras” as toys against their value as a communication tool. By making informed, responsible decisions regarding phone choice, available luxuries, obeying school and house rules, a cell phone will have a good ring to it—for everyone.

Michael Leess is a summer intern attending Pittsford Sutherland High School.