Students boycott class after principal jams cellphones – illegally
 

Fed up with students using cellphones in classrooms, Port Hardy Secondary School principal Steve Gray ordered a jamming device from China, but it didn't take long for students to figure out their calls were being blocked by the illegal gizmo.

"On the first day, we thought the Telus tower was down. On the second day, we suspected the jammer. On the third day, we had the protest," said Destiny Herman, a Grade 12 student who organized a demonstration against the device.

"Some teachers said it was the humidity, but my cellphone works in the rain," added Grade 11 student Amber Wright, who helped organize the protest.

About 90 of the school's 343 students skipped classes last Thursday to let Mr. Gray know that the small tin box with four antennae, sitting in the school library, was outlawed under Sections 4 and 9 of Canada's Radiocommunication Act.
"We did our research on the Internet," said Ms. Wright, 17. "Breaking the law is not a good way to send a message."

Last Friday morning, the jammer was retired.

When Mr. Gray ordered the device online - the idea coming from a school parent - he didn't think it was illegal.

"I was looking for a solution to a problem," he said.

That problem started about four years ago when students began using MP3 players in class.

By September 2007, the school, located in the 4,000-person community on the north end of Vancouver Island, banned all electronic devices within classrooms.

If a student brought a cellphone or Ipod to school, they were to leave it in their locker.

But students prefer to keep their cellphones close.

"It's our right to have them," said Ms. Wright, who's had a cellphone since she was 14.

While her parents like to be able to get in touch with her at school, they know not to call during class time.

The school will pass messages to students, either after class or immediately if it's an emergency, Mr. Gray said.

"If you have a hair appointment, we're not going to interrupt the class over that," he said.

But when someone calls the school to reach a student, it's a time-consuming process going through the layers of prompts, said Ms. Herman, 17.

"It's not easy at all," she said.

Ms. Wright prefers to not have the school relay personal messages. And she likes to plan her lunch time or after-school activities via text messaging - outside of class, she insisted.

About 80 per cent of students have cellphones and each day two to three are confiscated by teachers when students are caught using them, usually texting, Mr. Gray said.

"You can imagine, people can text surreptitiously. Teachers are forced to deal with this and it detracts from learning. It's time not spent on-task," he said.

There's also concern that cellphones can help students cheat during exams.

But when Ms. Herman recently wrote an English exam, students were told to place their phones in a pile upon entering the classroom, similar to checking their weapons at the door, she said.

Mr. Gray said that parents have been generally supportive of his attempt to rule the air waves.

What's surprised him is how determined the students have been to keep their cellphones.

When the jammer's plug was pulled, teachers were instructed to strongly enforce the rule banning electronic devices in the classroom.

Previously some teachers had allowed students to use Ipods in class to block out noisy environments and focus on their work, Ms. Herman said.

"Now they're a lot stricter," she said.

The school board paid for the jammer, which cost $115(U.S.) plus $50 for shipping.

"I'm going to hold onto it and hope the regulations follow reality," said Mr. Gray, who carries a cellphone at school, but only uses it for emergencies.

Special to The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l_gam_mostview

Smart idea

i though the chinese jammer operation on a different frequency and needs modding to jam here. I doubt the teacher has the knowledge of how to mod it.

if i ever have children, they are going to a private school

its a fucked up world when some little girl in highschool makes policy changes

While I don't agree with cell phones in class either, the CRTC laws have always been there, long before the "little girl in highschool".

Lol pretty genius. He probably bought it here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7978
Its pretty mean but itd be pretty funny at the same time.

suspend them all for skipping school! :D

Yeah, I bet those CRTC laws where there before kids had cellphones in school to begin with.

I'm sending my kid to private school too.

she probably just needs to get fucked


they should just curb stomp the confiscated cell phones

she needs to have access to a cellphone to arrange the fucking, no?

:D

Cellphones should only be confiscated if they are using them DURING CLASS.

And at the end of the day they should be returned.

I Support the principal fully...

aren't they in school for half of the day anyways with their friends so what's the point of having and using it during?

plus, if they wanna make plans for afterschool..cant they just talk to the people in person?

ironically, private schools aren't always dandy. i hear stories from teachers that rather teach in public schools than in private.

Nope, said +$50 shipping; dealextreme is shipping included.

nicely done

So they let kids bring weapons to school, so long as they leave them at the door?

The kids must toss their Glocks and MP5's into the bushes before entering the school, then grab them on the way out.

Damn I'm buying one of those to bring with me to the movie theatre. People in HK can't STFU when at the movies, so I had to stop going.

that's cuz public school teachers are unionized..

I'd take the phones away and stomp on em.

Why would you need cellphones in port hardy, there's nowhere to go..

i didnt have cellphone when i was in highschool :(

The whole episode is ridiculous. Anyone using their phone in class should have it taken on the spot. No questions asked. There is no need for one in the classroom.

I support students being able to carry cell phones during school time for safety and emergencies. The ability to call 911 in an instant is of great value in times of need. School firearm/shooting incidents have also shown that information relayed out of the school usually comes from students on cell phones, via calls and text messages.

Ban them during class, zero tolerance. Confiscate them until the end of the day if you catch one being used in your class.

I don't see why it's so hard to implement the same policies they had for walkmans back in tha day, as long as everyone enforces the same rules.