Empty bags with tags litter a table in Assistant Principal Dagny Waldeland's office. Waldeland and other school staff call parents, who must come to South to retreive their student's confiscated electronics.
A new electronic device procedure has swept South High this year. The new procedure, brought to the staff by the Administration, called Bag and Tag, bans all students from carrying electronic communication devices in school. It gives teachers the right to confiscate electronics and hold them until parents come to retrieve them.
Students such as sophomore Obsitu Mohamed have used words such as “stupid” and “bogus” to describe it, complaining that it has not been very effective. “[bag and tag] is an extreme measurement to prevent something [students] will always do,” said junior Sarah Scott.
Many students complain that their parents disagree with it as well. It takes their time to come and pick up the electronics, and in many cases it is the sole way parents communicate with their children. Also, there is the fact that many students use the calendar functions on their smart phones to keep track of deadlines and important dates, and without it could forget important details. “[I] never realized it was a big problem,” said junior Emerson Hunton, who had his IPod touch taken while using the calendar function.
Other Minneapolis high schools, such as Southwest and Washburn, have different electronic policies. At Southwest, they have adopted a responsible use policy. According to the Southwest handbook, this means students may use their electronics in between classes, and also during lunch. They can even use them during class with the permission of their teachers. The Washburn policy is similar, with the exception of using them during class. This also means you can’t use them on your way to the bathroom during class hours. When Carol Markham-Cousins, the principal of Washburn, was asked about their electronic policy, she said “it has been very effective… we decided to try to teach responsible use because that’s the way it is in the real world.”
South assistant principal Dagny Waldeland said that the idea is to be responsible and respectful, and that South is taking the district policy more to heart than Washburn and Southwest. There is a district policy banning electronics from schools, but bag and tag is taking it to the next level. The purpose is to “create a happy medium that’s out of sight and out of mind,” said Principal Cecelia Saddler.
The school librarian, Susan Bloom, strongly supports it. “I love it,” she said, “last year, it was a mess.” As the librarian she has noticed how much more quiet it has become, because students aren’t using their phones and iPods as distractions.
When Ms. Waldeland was asked about policies concerning adult and staff electronic devices, she said “they are adults, there is no policy.” Although she did say that if there were reports of teachers not enforcing Bag and Tag, then there would be a problem. “All teachers committed to it” she said.
