Today I drove to Patuanak. I love driving to Patuanak because the drive is beautiful and I love driving, but also because I get to listen to John Gormley. Gormley hosts a Saskatchewan talk show on the radio from 8:30 to 12:30 daily and I usually think he is spot on. I would listen to Gormley every day if I could – and I have tried, but if I listen to him in my office I find that I just zone out listening and get nothing done. This is not ok with my boss.
One of Gormley’s topics today was related to kids having cell phones at school. The story went like this: A lawsuit has been filed in Saskatchewan against the school system because one of the students in school was caught using a cell phone in class (there is a school policy against this) and the teacher confiscated the phone. The policy then requires that the teacher hand the phone over to the vice-principle. All of this sounds fine. Here is where the stuff starts to hit the fan though. The vice-principle goes into the phone and starts reading through the messages, finds one that is related to a stolen vehicle, and calls the police. The police arrive, demand that the student (the student is 12 years old by the way) reply to their friend and ask the location of the stolen vehicle. Once the friend replies, the police take this student and go pick up the car. Now, the lawsuit alleges that the school violated the student’s privacy and as a result have placed this child in danger of retaliation from his friends. The guardians of this student (he happens to live with his grandparents) fear for his safety.
I rarely disagree with John, but today I did and I so badly wanted to call in, but I was out of cell range. So, I emailed Gormley. I mean, really, he needs to know my opinion. My email went as follows:
Hello John,
I usually agree with you. Probably 95% of the time actually, and that isn't bad. With the cell phones in school topic from today I just can't. You and Brent joked about using cell phones in class is like passing a note in class in days gone by. I agree with that, but only so far. In days gone by, the teacher would read the note, that is true. But then would the teacher proceed to rifle through your backpack reading everything in there? Then move on to your locker and read all of that too? Nope. In essence, that is what the teacher is doing if they are at liberty to read through the messages on a student’s cell phone. I just can't say that is ok UNLESS there is probable cause for suspicion (ie: illegal behaviour). There was no probable cause for suspicion mentioned in the story from today so I am assuming there wasn't any otherwise it would have been mentioned. You also mentioned "in plain sight" today on your show. I agree with you on the legality of reading something that is in plain sight - if the message was visible on the screen of the phone that would be ok. I cannot imagine any 12 year old kid handing over their cell phone to their teacher with a message up on the screen - can you? I don't see how that can be a factor here either. So we've got a phone, no probable cause, no message on the screen - that means the vice-principle would have had to go into the phone, find the messages and start reading through them. You think THAT is ok? It was mentioned that the school has legal jurisdiction over the kids while they are at school. Ok, I submit though that even a parent would require probable cause to go reading the messages on their kid’s cell otherwise you're just asking for a fight. Not that I, as a parent, which I am, would shy away from that fight if I had probable cause, but why would you even go there if you didn't?
The school has a policy? This is a non-starter. Confiscate the phone if you want. If the student won't comply confiscate it for a week. If they still won't comply suspend them. This policy does not give permission to read through personal information.
Your callers kept bringing up things that were beside the point:
- "The message had content of an unlawful nature" - no way to know that until after you read the message at which point you are beyond the line and therefore it is outside the parameters of this arguement.
- "you'd feel differently if it had been your car".... What? Where do people come up with stuff like this?
- "don't bring your phone into class if you don't want the messages read" - while this arguement does make sense, it still sidesteps the point here. Understandably, if your phone is not in the class the messages on it cannot be read. This does not automatically mean that if your phone IS in class the messages on it are public domain.
- One of your callers brought up the fact that the kid lived with his Grandparents. Gasp! Call in the strip search team! This kid must be up to no good at all! If he lives with his Grandparents he automatically forfeits all of his rights!
I don't think we should be giving our kids cell phones much less that they should be in classes. As a teacher I would be seriously frustrated by cell phones in class. I'd probably confiscate the phone and throw the student out of class. We can deal with this issue without compromising the students privacy.
I have to side with the Grandparents here. I would have loved to have called in to argue this point with you, but I was out of cell range. We can agree to disagree on this one and I expect that we will still go on living harmoniously in this world together. Keep up the good work John. I really think Saskatchewan needs you. It is one of the reasons our province is so grounded in reality.
Jon
There, now you know my position. You know, I ran into something like this when I was in school. My high school had a policy of no caps in class. One day I wore my cap and refused to take it off, and I was thrown out of the class. Actually, on the one hand these two situations are similar, but on the other hand - I was not disturbing anyone with my cap in class, but cell phones are a nuisance. Yeah, that's right, they aren't the same at all. I was right to fight the system and try to wear my cap! Ok good, I almost had to admit that I may have been wrong, good thing I was able to see past that one.
Anyway, I think this is an interesting issue which is certainly not going to go away...
