r/mildlyinfuriating • u/TheAeroplaneBear2906 • Jul 16 '26

Unskippable ad Clear Backpacks + Pay to Keep Your Phone

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My freinds school is now requiring these items, and is also using AI to promote this 🫠

17.9k Upvotes

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841

u/everythingwastakn Jul 16 '26

I get it

But… as a teacher in a high school Yondr pouches would be so awesome (or just having a school district that mandates zero phone use in school but that’s hard I guess)

86

u/Lonely-Ad1179 Jul 16 '26

My kids schools implemented a zero phone policy last year and overall I think it has gone pretty well (they have to be powered off during the school day). If they are caught using it, it gets sent to the office and they can pick it up at the end of the day. After three strikes a parent has to pick it up 😅. If parents want to contact kids during the day they have to call the office to pass on the message.

The idea that kids have to pay to have their phones at school, or else leave them at home sounds super unfair. Especially with the amount of school violence, or even just family logistics I wouldn’t want my kid not having a way to contact me.

15

u/ImaginaryAlpaca Jul 16 '26

My son is a latchkey kid because I am a single parent and I work second shift. My son having his phone is not optional because if he gets locked out, I won't be home until close to midnight. But it's not one of the listed exceptions for the new policy our school is implementing this year. He doesn't need to take it out during they day, but they surely cannot have me pick it up for him at any point. That's what schools did when I was in high school and the phones in class thing was a brand new problem. I think I am going to have to email someone and make 100% sure he can have his phone at the end of the day, even if it's taken from him. Keeping it overnight is unacceptable. But I know that this is extremely rare now, having a latch key kid. Circumstances outside of my control unfortunately, second shift jobs are in abundance and first shift jobs I qualify for don't pay well enough.

2

u/etcpt Jul 16 '26

It's wild how this new phenomenon of latchkey kids can only exist in a world with cell phones. Sociologists must be salivating at the thought of studying the emergence of such a new phenomenon. /s

10

u/ImaginaryAlpaca Jul 16 '26

When I was a kid if I got locked out I just was stuck outside. My kid should totally be hanging out outside by himself until midnight. You're right, how could I possibly think it mandatory that he be safe and indoors after nightfall in an area where three men and their dog have taken up residence in the parking lot outside my back door.

2

u/Effective_Moose_4997 Jul 16 '26

Why weren't you given house keys? I always had house keys so there was no locking out to be had.

1

u/ImaginaryAlpaca Jul 16 '26

Accidents happen. But also my mom was young, and kicked me out of the house until dark still even though it was far less common at the time.

2

u/etcpt Jul 16 '26

Well, your irresponsible parents clearly didn't set you up for success so my sarcastic hinting isn't helping, that's fair. What I was getting at is that there are ways to get your kid in the house that don't require a cell phone. You can keep a spare key somewhere, or your kid can use a trusted neighbor's phone to call you, just to name two. Heck, if your kid recognizes they've lost their key while at school they can use the office phone to call you. There have been latchkey kids for decades if not centuries before the invention of cell phones and not all of them were left outside until their parents got home, a cell phone is not the only option. Most convenient, sure, but not sole.

3

u/syrvyx Jul 16 '26

The objective isn't for the kid to learn critical thinking, problem solving, or self reliance. It's just for the parent to be slightly more hands off than the "lawnmower parents", not realizing they're still a helicopter parent.