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Local News

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Cell phones a challenge for educators
By DENISE GRANT

Staff Writer

Cell phones worry educators, and "sexting" makes them cringe.

Most schools have the same policy on cell phones: Students must keep their phones turned off and in their lockers throughout the day.

But some school officials say the policy is loosely enforced.

Besides cell phones being disruptive, there is a concern that students could use them to cheat or to spread rumors and gossip through the school quickly. And now, there are concerns about "sexting."

It gives educators an added incentive to enforce their bans on cell phones.

"We don't go looking for the cell phones, but if they have them out, we'll take them," said Glenwood Middle School Principal David Alvarado.

None of Glenwood's students has been caught sexting, but Alvarado has found pornography on a student's phone.

"Anytime you see a group of seventh-grade boys huddling around a phone, it makes you question what they're doing," said Alvarado.

He broke up the huddle and searched the phone. There were pornographic pictures, but no pictures of other students, he said. The boy was punished.

Findlay High School has turned over one sexting incident to the police, said Principal Victoria Swartz.

"It didn't take place in school, but we had heard there were pictures on a phone. It's nothing we saw. We heard a rumor," Swartz said.

The report turned into a criminal investigation, she said.

That is about as much trouble as Findlay High has had with sexting, but Swartz said school officials aren't naive enough to think it is not happening.

"That is where parents can help. Be aware of what your children are doing with their phones," Swartz said.

Swartz can share cell phone horror stories from her work as an assistant principal and attendance officer at Louisville High School in the Akron/Canton area, and as an assistant principal of middle schools in Barberton and Ravenna.

"As a mother myself, I respect the intent parents have with cell phones. I know parents want to know their students are safe, and we don't want to go around snatching everyone's cell phones," she said.

"We have to ask parents to stop calling and texting their student during the school day."

Parents often cite safety as the biggest reason for giving their children cell phones, Swartz said, but that thinking can backfire if the technology is misused.

She tells a story about three students caught texting during an Ohio Achievement Test, invalidating the test. One boy responded to the text, without cheating. His test was invalidated, too.

"Now, imagine this boy was a senior and this was his last chance to pass the test before graduation," Swartz said.

Worse yet is Swartz's story of a student using a photo taken in the locker room to bully another student. The student was disciplined by the school. Today, the same student would also be facing criminal charges, she said.

"In school, we tell them to turn them off," she said of cell phones. "Out of sight, out of mind, and don't use them for anything," she said.

Bruce Otley, principal of Liberty-Benton Middle School, said his students are "pretty good" about following the rules and so far, there has been no discipline involving sexting.

"The students need to be aware that anything they send electronically is utterly the same thing as publishing it," said Otley. "It is reproducible and retrievable. We tell them not to send anything you wouldn't feel comfortable reading out loud to your mom."

Otley is encouraging both students and parents to attend a technology safety seminar being hosted by Cory-Rawson Schools at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cory-Rawson High School. The seminar is open to the public.

Jay Arbaugh, superintendent of Cory-Rawson, said the presentation is meant to help students avoid the problems that come with the Internet and other technology.

"Everything is so intertwined now. We'll cover the issue of sexting, too," he said.

Arbaugh said his district has had no problems with sexting.

However, "It is a worry. You go anywhere and talk to other principals and superintendents about it, and they are worried, too. It makes for some very interesting, and scary, stories. It is something you'd rather not deal with, but you have to be ready," Arbaugh said.

Richard Steiner, principal of Central Middle School, said there were rumors "of stuff that happened over the summer" involving Central students and sexting, but nothing this school year.

Steiner said the school will hold two assemblies, one for seventh- and eighth-graders, and a separate assembly for sixth-graders, on sexting.

The program has been developed by the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office in cooperation with the Findlay Police Department, the Hancock County Sheriff's Office and the Family Resource Center.

"We need to make sure they are educated at an early age about the responsibility of the cell phone. It is a great tool for families to use, but it also has its downfalls," Steiner said.

Don Williams, principal of Donnell Middle School, said being proactive works when it comes to teaching students about the downside of technology.

Donnell hosted its first parent meeting about Internet safety and the legal perils involved with sexting last year.

"I'd like to think that's why we aren't seeing a lot of problems, but it concerns me, too. I'm sure it is happening, but we haven't been hearing about it," Williams said.

"We've worked to bring attention to it," said Williams. "The unfortunate thing is kids can make a mistake with this stuff, and it won't just be a lesson learned, no harm done. I don't think they realize how permanent these things can be and how it can come back years later and haunt them. I think at this age, it is hard for them to look that far in the future."

Grant: 419-427-8412,

Send an e-mail to Denise Grant


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1 Comment

Tim from Bowling Green wrote:
Sexting...
“ I support students caught "sexting" being punished by the law, especially if the subject is underage. Nobody deserves to have nude pictures of themselves taken by another person spread over technology for everyone else to see. Just another example of stupid parents not taking charge of their children. They want to be "friends" today instead of "parents."

HINT: That philosophy and approach does not work! ”
Saturday, November 14, 2009 9:23:18 PM
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