Camera Phone Carrying Student Suspended

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7242_1255582,00180008.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7242_1255582,00180008.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"A Class XI student from the Delhi Public School (DPS) here has been suspended on charges of carrying a mobile phone to school. According to school authorities, the student, whose name has been kept confidential, had a camera phone and had allegedly tried to take photographs of female students. "The boy admitted that he was carrying the mobile phone. The mobile, which was seized, had a camera in it. After conducting the inquiry, we decided to suspend him. He has been allowed to appear in the exam," said DPS principal Mahesh Bareja."</i><br /><br />Ok, I understand that the school had a bad experience in the past and have now banned cellphones, but don't you think they are over doing things a little? There are plenty of miniature digital cameras on the market today, that can snap better quality pictures than those found in many popular camera phones. Besides, is there anything criminal about taking pictures of people in a public space? Isn't this what the paparazzi are doing? :?

[ARW]

If they don't enforce their own rule then what good is it?

I wasn't sure what country this took place in (India?) but maybe they have laws against this type behaviour. That said, schools here in the US can have rules in place that are more restrictive than the city or state they reside in.

[kcwester]

As a high school teacher I feel the need to comment. You have no idea the problems cell phones are in class. They are everywhere and cause major problems. A fight starts at one campus-someone calls someone at a different campus-the fight continues after school with more students involved. A student takes pictures of other students in the restroom and publishes them on the web, a student uses text messaging to give answers to a test to another student, a student is late to class as he is making an important phone call. Another student takes pictures of girls when they walk by in short skirts. I think you are beginning to get the idea.

They are not allowed to be on during class time. Students don't seem to realize that being on is also vibrate. They use any excuse they can think of to use the phone during instructional time. With 35 plus students I'm sure a lot gets by me but banning phones completely would certainly make my life easier. If there is an emergency the parent can contact the school and the student will be notified right away.

If students would use and not abuse the use of cell phones then strong penalties would not be necessary. They need to be held accountable for there actions. In the work force if people don't follow the rules they are fired.

Sorry that this is so long but this is a button pusher.:)

[Jerry Raia]

As an old guy I managed to survive school without any of this stuff. Of course it didn't exsist when I was in school. :lol:

Wow I'm that old.....

[altden2002]

I have it on good authority that the boy is a repeated offender. He has been noted in the past (and more than once!) to look at female students. According to latest theory supported by key experts in crime and psychology, looking at other students is a "precursory" crime - while being only moderately harmful in itself, it eases people into more serious crimes such as memorizing what they have seen, sometimes even with technical aids such as cameras. In some extreme cases it results into video recording. We know it is deplorable to mention this, but we simple can't afford to ingnore the problem anymore.


This boy is a lost soul, but coutless others can still be saved. Down with looking at other people!


Sincerely yours,
Mothers Against Looking.

[cortez]

at least twice a month my girls tell me about guys (and other girls) trying to pull stunts like this. i have to agree with the schools on this; they have to take a stand.

[Kris Kumar]

Wish I had a Smartphone when I was in school. Listen to MP3 during boring classes, surf online, use Google to cheat, SMS friends and entertain friends with cool ringtones.

Did you guys notice that I did not mention the word "study" even once...so I think, I can see why schools are talking about banning cellphones. Or are doing it.

Parents need to understand this too.

[Jerry Raia]

Wish I had a Smartphone when I was in school. Listen to MP3 during boring classes, surf online, use Google to cheat, SMS friends and entertain friends with cool ringtones.

We my friend are kindred spirits. :grinning devil:

[mbranscum]

As a Detective with a municiple police department, I would say that you don't have the full story. If they suspended him they probably had good reason. They didn't say what the pics are taken of specifically. My guess is that there is more to this story than they're releasing.

[Kris Kumar]

...My guess is that there is more to this story than they're releasing.

I agree, I am sure the school and the police are trying to protect the victims.

[Mike Temporale]

As a high school teacher I feel the need to comment. You have no idea the problems cell phones are in class. They are everywhere and cause major problems....

You're right, I had no idea. I guess that I still think of my days in high school when nobody had a cell phone. Most of us had advanced calulators that could store pages and pages of text, but that's another discussion...

If students would use and not abuse the use of cell phones then strong penalties would not be necessary. They need to be held accountable for there actions. In the work force if people don't follow the rules they are fired.

If they abuse it, they should lose it. Of course, the parents won't take the phone away. Maybe the schools should just get cell phone blockers! 8)

[Mike Temporale]

As a Detective with a municiple police department, I would say that you don't have the full story. If they suspended him they probably had good reason. They didn't say what the pics are taken of specifically. My guess is that there is more to this story than they're releasing.

The article mentions that there was a scadel in the past, but they did not name him as being part of that. They did mention that he has been caught taking pictures in the past, but there is no mention of nudity. Which, as far as I know, isn't illegal.

If I'm on my lunch break and taking pictures of my friends, I shouldn't be suspended. Besides, whatever happened to detention? Wouldn't that be a more appropriate course of action. It seems like everyone is jumping to suspension now a days. Suspensions don't help anyone. The kids are not going to be any smarter after taking a week off school. Instead, they should force double class time on them. :mrgreen:

[conflagrare4]

As a high school teacher I feel the need to comment...

They need to be held accountable for there actions.

Held accountable for their actions, you mean... Now I know why young kids make so many grammar mistakes... Grammar aside, I totally agree with you. These new gadgets can be quite troublesome for teachers.

[kcwester]

That is why I teach math. :D I also teach keyboarding and one thing I stress is proofreading--apparently I need to do that as well.

I would love to have a cell phone blocker--but it is against the law-and I'm always afraid of the penalties.

In the classroom I am always hearing cell phones vibrate. I really wish they were not the problem they have turned out to be. I want to get on with my teaching and spend less time on discipline.

A lot of students are on a free lunch program at school and it irritates me that the government is helping them in that way, when they can afford a cell phone. I often wonder where priorities are.

[ricksfiona]

at least twice a month my girls tell me about guys (and other girls) trying to pull stunts like this. i have to agree with the schools on this; they have to take a stand.

I agree 110%. I work around kids/teenagers all the time and you gotta lay down the law and stick to it. Sometimes the rich are worse than the poor.

[ricksfiona]

That is why I teach math. :D I also teach keyboarding and one thing I stress is proofreading--apparently I need to do that as well.

I would love to have a cell phone blocker--but it is against the law-and I'm always afraid of the penalties.

In the classroom I am always hearing cell phones vibrate. I really wish they were not the problem they have turned out to be. I want to get on with my teaching and spend less time on discipline.

A lot of students are on a free lunch program at school and it irritates me that the government is helping them in that way, when they can afford a cell phone. I often wonder where priorities are.

You gotta make sure that the kids with cell phones are the same kids on the free lunch program. I almost fell into that same trap. I agree as well. Parents buy Hummers and they still live in apartments.

[koriel]

You gotta make sure that the kids with cell phones are the same kids on the free lunch program. I almost fell into that same trap. I agree as well. Parents buy Hummers and they still live in apartments.

And why not? How somebody spends whatever money they have is surely their business, not that of anybody else, even their child's teacher. Maybe a parent may decide that being able to contact a child is more important TO THEM than buying a pair of new shoes. Or that having reliable transport (or even "bling" transport) is more important than a larger house. Those are their priorities and they are the ones who have to live with the consequences. What I find most worrying is the implication that IF a child has a cell phone AND is on the free lunch program that there is an implied "cheating the system" taking place when there is no absolute evidence that this is the case.

[leslietroyer]

I read the article and believe it happened in India (at least I seem to remember from my school days that is where Dehli is). It could be a town/city with the same name so I could be wrong....

US privacy et,al can not be uniformly taken to apply all over the world. I do hope that schools ban students from all portable electronics... PDA's, text messaging devices, cell phones....

Les

[BR]

kcwester, I have to agree with you. After reading the first post, I thought it was absurd but after listening to everyone's thougths I think it definitely should be. I never would have thought anythign like this would every happen.