Bravo Eric Green and WCHS on the no phones policy

Removing cell phones from the classroom is the answer and kudos to Eric Green and the team at WCHS for stepping up to the plate. This is leadership and this is how problems get solved.

Principal Green sent out a communication to the parents and students of Warren Central High School establishing a “No-Tolerance” policy for students and cell phones. Students can keep their phones and carry them while in school but cannot use those phones while school is in session.

The response on social media has been largely supportive but is mixed. Those who support it point out how they managed to make it through school without a phone and how teachers need to be empowered to have a learning environment. Those opposed threw out possibilities of teachers being in the wrong, safety issues and one parent said, “If I need to get a hold of my child during school I’m going to message them. Let the school try to discipline my child.”

May Heaven help our teachers and administrators. They get it from all sides, all the time. They have their supervisors enforcing endless rules and standards. They have students, most of whom want to learn and succeed, challenged by the students who want to disrupt and be above the rules. Then they have parents who openly say their child is above the rules.

Your child is not above the rules. If they can’t follow the reasonable rules established to foster an environment to learn, then home school them. Enroll them in a school that will let your child not follow the rules. Also, you may wish to consider how long you want that child to live with you. Because if they’re of the mindset that the rules don’t apply to them, they are going to be in for a rough life after you quit taking care of them.

On the issue of safety and security, an idea was mentioned by someone online that cameras in the classroom could be part of the solution. If there is a rogue teacher, the camera in the classroom will capture that. If there is an incident, the camera will capture that. But my spidey-sense tells me that if something of that magnitude happens 20 something cell phones will come out of hiding and five live reports will happen.

Regardless, Eric Green, you’re the man! The community appreciates what you and the staff at Warren Central do to improve our community.

Parents, get involved and work with the school and teachers to help your kids. We have amazing people in our school district. Every study ever done shows that students whose parents are involved do better.

At the Vicksburg Daily News, we’re going to report the news. If a child is left on a bus we’re going to report it. We also want to encourage everyone to talk about the positives.