Parents, It’s Your Job to Get in the Way of Your Child’s Cell Phone

Parents. I am an assistant principal in a middle school (grades 6-8). My number one job is to create and sustain a school environment where both students and teachers feel safe (physically, emotionally, and mentally) to teach, learn, innovate, and socialize. I take my job very seriously, as do my colleagues, and we work very hard to grow in our capacity to do our job on a daily basis.

I can’t begin to describe how much time I spend every day dealing with issues that stem from unsupervised cell phone usage by our students. In situations where I have to search a students cell phone I often get sick to my stomach at what I find (highly inappropriate photos, videos, messages, social media usage, etc). The things our students are willing to try and be a part of at such a young age gets worse and worse every year.

When I call parents to inform them of what is going on I always ask them how often they search their kids phones. The shock gets even worse when 90% of them say hardly ever or never. And then they get upset at me, accuse me of lying to them about their kids roles in certain situations, or expect me to somehow fix the situation.

Parents. It is your number one job as a parent to get in your kids way at all times. Kids do not deserve privacy. You own their devices, not them. You should be having the hard conversations with them about life, relationships, their bodies, their futures, etc. it is your responsibility to provide social and emotional support, help build coping skills, and monitor their activities. And stop actively working against schools and start working with us. We are not the enemy. We are trying to fulfill the role of both parent and educator in many situations and that is a very delicate and difficult line to walk.


Chris Cochran
Chris Cochran
Father, Husband, Amateur Adventurer, Aspiring Creative, Lover of Mountains, School Leader living in Northwest Arkansas, Drinks coffee all day.

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