What should I tell my parents?

[ipaq1940]

They say that I'm not allowed to bring my pocket pc to school because it is "too valuable". Whats the point of having a PDA is you cant use it for what it's meant for? :|

[JD Silver]

Hello Again 1940,

Perhaps if you put the 1940 in a case with a belt clip, that might make them feel more secure about taking it to school. I carry mine constantly on my hip, and use it constantly in the classroom. I teach Computer Engineering at NAIT, and my Samsung SPH i700 is my complete "teaching toolbox". My wife also carries her (iPaq 4150) constantly using a metal case with a belt clip. She is constantly moving around in her role as a cancer scientist.

Did you survive the hard reset okay?

JD

[ipaq1940]

Yes, I did.

I DO have a carrying case with a belt clip. I argued for several nmore minutes after my dad left, and all she says is "It's worth too much money. Something might happen to it". But she allowed me to bbring my Palm M130 to school, and my teachers knew I had it and were fine with it. I still have it, and none of "the kids tried to take it from me" or anything. She cant give me a good answer! I can't even use my ppc for what it is meant to do!
I might as well sell it, and put the money towards something that can be used.

Excuse me, but I am just really pi**ed right now :D

I am in grade 9, and (surpirsingly) everyone is mature enough to not grad things from my hands. No one did with the M130!

[ipaq1940]

Could anybody who reads this please post why I should have it at school? Then I could show my parents the reasons, and they might consider it.
Help!

[dylanbj]

I don't take anything even remotely valuable to my school because i just know that it will get stolen eventually.There are too many people at my school who steal stuff just for the fun of it. :roll:

[jimski]

Don't want to make you feel bad ipaq1940, but a new co-worker recently purchased an iPAQ for his 11 year out son, "specifically" to take to school. Seems the youngster was forgetting to write down assignments, misplacing notes, etc. Dad thought this would help his son to get organized and also teach some responsibility at the same time. The rule is it's not a toy so games are out (at least for now). I am helping out with some constructive freeware and other software suggestions.

If you are a responsible young adult (and it sounds like you are) then your parents should let you bring the device to school. If you lose it or break it (due to neglect), it's your loss, regardless of who paid for it. Life is full of risks. This sounds like a small one with a great opportunity to learn a good lesson (trust, responsibility, value). Hope this helps. :wink:

[Menneisyys]

They say that I'm not allowed to bring my pocket pc to school because it is "too valuable". Whats the point of having a PDA is you cant use it for what it's meant for? :|

Tell them you won't forget any of your assignments, homework etc. any more because of the stellar Calendar/Task capabilities of the iPAQ, which do need to be used/filled in at school :)

[BongoMadMan]

I can understand your parents' concerns, however, just because it's school that doesn't necessarily mean that it is more likely to get stolen.

In the places that I work (I am an IT consultant, so I move offices a lot, including working on client sites a lot), they are constantly putting out emails reminding people not to leave their valuables lying around on their desks, handbags, locking their terminals etc because there have been thefts.

And some of these sites are supposedly "secure" sites.

What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter where you go, or how old you are - there will always be the risk of a small number of dishonest people that will want to pinch your stuff. It's up to you to make sure that you don't make it easy for them.

At the other end of the spectrum, don't sound off at your parents - that will just pee them off! :? Try to have a calm, balanced, rational discussion with them about it, and explain why you think you're responsible enough to be trusted. They have to let you take responsibility some time. Ultimately, though, I guess you'll have to abide by their wishes if that's whay they decide in the end.

Your agony Uncle.

Bongo MadMan

[PDANEWBIE]

First off let me preface this by saying I am both a parent and in the IT field.

I have a few questions are you sure value is the only reason for them saying no? Are they afraid you may abuse the use of games at school, if you might do other things with this unit like loan it to a friend who then takes it? Have you ever given them a reason in the past to be apprehensive in allowing you to take responsibility for something? Have you ever tried to use any electronic devices to cheat while at school? Maybe the cost is not the underlying factor.

Now with those questions out of the way I'll get down to the usefulness. It would be great for putting down assignments in it and then syncing up with outlook to pop up reminders of homework assignements, it would be great to take voice notes of something you are reading. As well you can notate anything you hear in clase and don't have to clutter up paper with a bunch of notes.

I know 9th grade is a little young and I think the best thing to do to prove your point is to take this unit with you into high use after school venues for a bit and show them your responsible with the unit and then approach them with the "I have been using it here, here, here and nothing happened to it and I was responsible enough to keep it from harm so can I take it to school."

Also check with your school on their electronic device policy because I know more and more schools are starting to crack down on in school cell electronic device use.

Just a few more thoughts to kick around.

[tregnier]

Some thoughts....

-- Have a teacher write a note as to it being acceptable or even desirable for you to be able to use a PDA to augment your schoolwork

-- It is too expensive NOT to use it where ever and whenever you can. The more you use it, the less expensive it becomes.

-- The biggest risk from others in school is to your person...physically, mentally and spiritually. A PDA is just stuff.

-- Present good arguements without whining to your parents. If they still say "No", then give it a rest for a couple of weeks and then ask them to revisit the issue.

[weaver]

tregnier had some good points

if it helps, i always take my 2210 to school with me. in addition to a digital radio, mobile phone and nintendo ds.

on the down side for your argument i am "staff"

[ipaq1940]

I will certainly show these to my parents.

As I have said, I brought my Palm to school for a while, in 2 grade (end of grade 8, and up intil christmas in grade 9). I have mentioned that, and my mother says "I know, and you have been very responsible". When I ask what the difference between my Palm and my pocket pc, she says "hundereds of dollars". Since the days of my bringing my Gameboy and pokemon crads to school, nothing has ever been stolen, nor broken, grabbed, etc.

At the start of the year, I read the school policy, and the only electronic things not allowed during classes are cell phones and cd player/mp3 players, etc. My mom wanted a reason to say no, so she suggeted that we look at the policy, but it is not there.

PDANEWBIE:
I have never cheated at school in my life. I'm not failing (my lowest mark is 87%, highest 98%)

My mom mentioned my dad not wanting me to play games, after I showed him all the 3d stuff you can play. My arguement: I HAVE NO TIME TO PLAY! I have a 5 minute break to change books, and 1 hour to have lunch AT MY HOUSE, no time in between (or during) classes. I have had a Palm Zire, then a Palm m130 without my parents saying anything. My mom just got my M130 from me, and now there are 2 un-used Palms laying around the house ( my brother, my twin, also received a iPAQ 1940 for christmas). This is the only PDA to cause problems.

Basically, she doesnt want me to lose it or have it stolen. If it is in my case, in my pocket when I am not in classes, how would it get stolen? (she has a $3000 watch, but isnt worried about it being stolen).
She is worried about the kids, because it is the only difference between school and anywhere outside the house (where she lets me bring it). I am not bullied or picked on, or ANYTHING, and my Palm M130 was never missing or taken or broken. She talks about "how nice the kids are", but then gets worried about them doing something to my ppc.

Whats worse: my mom says she wont make any changes to the rules without my father agreeing. But he's the type of person who enforces the rules when he's pi**ed off, and gets pi**ed off when you ask him to change them!

PDANEWBIE: the way I tryed to show them "nothing happened to it", was to take it to school. I even told my mom I'd give her $20 if it got stolen. Because it WONT! There is always a chance of something getting stolen... or dying. But she still allows ME to go to school.

Menneisyys: I have. I've showed them Tasks, and 40Student (which I have the full version of-but theres no use to it).

jimski: I have tried to tell then that: if I lose it, it'll be me who suffers, not them.

dylanbj: My school is not like that, grade 9 is the highest grade and there is only one grade 9 class. When I had the other pda, no one tried to take it, or anything. Even if it was for the remainder of this year, I would like to take it to school, where no one would take it.

argh!... I gotta show these replies to my mom later.

[horseflesh]

Sometimes it sucks to be a kid!

If I were you, I would tell her that I had carefully evaluated the situation and concluded that it was safe and reasonable to take the PDA to school, AND that I would assume responsibility should it get broken/stolen.

If she doesn't have to pay for any of the problems she is worried about, she might be more agreeable.

If this argument is one of the big problems between you and your parents then they are lucky to have a good kid like you.

Good luck!

[pedroboe]

have you tried the insurance argument ? most pocket pc's can be insured or could be put under homeowner's insurance

[PDANEWBIE]

ipaq1940,

What it sounds like is that this really is a "money issue" and not trust based. If thats the case then there won't be too many arguments you can put out there. Maybe indicate (if you have your own savings) that if it goes away you have to use your own savings to replace it and you are the one taking the full responsbility. As you have seen from the posts there are always great applications you can put forth on any PDA but at the same time any PDA can be abused, lost, stolen or broken so they do have some valid points as well.

Personally I have to wonder why they would buy you this type of device and then only want you to walk around the home with it its meant to be portable, multifunctional, and well NEAT.

Maybe you can tell them that if it gets ruined/lost you won't ask them for any type of replacement. On the flip side I would probably (because I tend to be a bit of a lip giver) say that if I did keep it from being messed up they can be sure I would ask for an upgraded PocketPC in the future. They win and they are off the hook if it gets lost and you have you incentive to keep track of it :)?

Oh yeah and a few other things you can do with it -

Calculators - it can double as some of those high end advanced calculators that sometimes go into the hundreds of dollars ranges with the right software loaded.

Spreadsheets so you can keep realtime track of your grades - Just plug in the % as the paper gets returned and boom you can always know right where your at...

Heck you can even do something like plug in the school lunch information into it so you can use it to decide what you want to buy daily.

The items you can do with it are endless really.

Just a few more thoughts.

[JustinGTP]

Just smuggle it to school. :dilemma:

[Darius Wey]

Just smuggle it to school. :dilemma:

Okay, now that's screwy. ;)

[felixdd]

my brother, my twin, also received a iPAQ 1940 for christmas). This is the only PDA to cause problems.

It seems that the real fear your mom has is not the money, but rather that she is afraid of you losing her present for you. Unfortunately, it seriously confuzzles the issue and I don't really have an answer for it. Perhaps tell your mother that not having it at school prevents you from fully enjoying and using the wonderful gift you received from her 0X

[JustinGTP]

Okay, now that's screwy. ;)

Screwy? Wrong word there :P

[Darius Wey]

Screwy? Wrong word there :P

Seems fine (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=screwy) to me. ;) Anyway, I don't think we need to go into a critical analysis of the word, screwy. There's an off-topic forum for that sort of thing.

[JustinGTP]

My suggestion was not innapropriate.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Let's just drop it, shall we?

[dunneldeen]

What can your PPC do that your palm can't? (Understand that I already know the answer, but your parents might not.) Could it be that your parents don't understand the advantage of having the PPC over the palm?

Using a parents logic... if the m130 does everything you need at school, why should they let you take something waaayyy more expensive to school?