To the Editor:

I recently watched a school board meeting where Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to ban cell phones during the school day was discussed. Some interesting questions were brought up:

— How much will it cost to provide storage for the phones?

— What are the discipline consequences if a student is caught with a phone in class?

— Will the consequences affect people of color more than others?

— If a consequence is suspension, how will this help educate a person when they are not in class?

The issue of cost caught my attention more than anything else. According to the board, the anticipated cost of the cases to store the phones is $25 million dollars. Then there is the cost associated with hiring people to store the phones, or at least pay overtime to those who must collect/return the phones. Where will this money come from?  

I am a teacher who has a flip phone, so I do not spend much time on my phone other than to talk; however, I am totally against banning phones in school. The issue of using or not using a phone in class is a matter of self-discipline. What are we teaching our young people about self-disciple if the answer is to take them away upon entry into school?

Cell phones are a part of our culture, and there are a number of negative aspects related to their use, but there are also positive things. For example, I make my students use the planning function.

The simple answer is to ban them, but what are we teaching our young people? The governor is abdicating the responsibility of adults by pushing a law that in reality does nothing to correct the real problem, lack of self-discipline.  

Some say that students will not listen when told to put the phone away. I would say that perhaps we should start teaching respect for teachers and adults in general if we want to solve the problem.

We have all kinds of programs to teach respect of others; why not programs to teach respect for teachers? Perhaps the governor should spend more time on finding ways to stop people from driving with their cell phones and subsequently hurting and killing others.  

Stop abdicating responsibilities as adults and teach the right thing. Perhaps more importantly adults should start setting the example. Others will say that students will not listen, which begs an even bigger question of why are they so disrespectful. 

David Erickson

Altamont

Editor’s note: The meeting referenced by David Erickson was the Feb. 27, 2005 meeting of the Albany School Board.

The Enterprise has covered the issue as it has unfolded locally, starting last summer when Governor Hochul launched her listening tour in Guilderland, followed by board discussion of the initiative, a December forum on a ban, and Houchl’s launch of a statewide campaign in January.