Apple iPhone 3GS, Motorola Milestone and LG GW60 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
NY Post columnist Michael Benjamin reported in an op-ed yesterday on the cellphone ban at NY schools, explaining how the ban exists at high schools with metal detectors, and earns the phone truck storage industry $4.2 million a year, as students use the trucks to store their mobile phones while class in session. Benjamin calls this an outdated policy that was implemented when cellphones were rare among teens and theft was an issue. An additional complaint he makes is that the metal detectors, and consequently the cellphone ban, are mainly found at schools that have predominantly black and Hispanic students.
Mayor Bloomberg has remained adamant that this ban is important for the schools, and that if children are allowed to have their cellphones in school that they, “might use them to watch pornography,” as reported by the Post. Benjamin cites this is a blatant contradiction to Bloomberg’s sexuality education laws and his assertion that childhood safety can be increased if children have cellphones, saying “The real issue is classroom management, not cellphones. Teachers with well-managed classrooms won’t have students texting or cheating in class.”
So far, Bloomberg has not shown signs of lifting the cellphone ban.
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