Do cell phones belong in schools, or are they just needless distractions to students? A British father was left fuming after his 13-year-old daughter's phone was confiscated—for three weeks.
Elizabeth Tomlinson's phone went off in class, leading the school to seize it. Now her father, Jim, is demanding its return because his daughter has no way to contact him in case of an emergency outside of school hours.
But Salesian School in Surrey, England, is adamant that Elizabeth contravened school policy and must deal with the consequence.
"They are putting children’s safety at risk. Without a shadow of doubt, they are," said Mr. Tomlinson.
“Basically, the school wash their hands of the kids when they go through the school gates, yet they take a phone off Elizabeth that was given to her for her safety. When it comes to her safety outside of school times, they have no right to hold on to that phone."
Tomlinson may have just cause to be concerned, after recent reports of attempted abductions in the area.
While schools have a right to enforce their own policies on school property, they ought to return items that belongs to a student as soon as the last bell tolls. I have to say, I'm not enamoured with the idea of cell phones in school, yet in this case at least, the punishment hardly fits the crime.
You tell me: Should schools have the right to confiscate phones in such cases?
Was it unfair for this school to cancel an entire sporting season admid bullying allegations?
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