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By ElementaryEdGuy - 12/09/2014 03:22 - United States - Benton

Today, I confiscated a 1st grader's cell phone. It was better than anything I could come close to affording. FML
I agree, your life sucks 41 523
You deserved it 3 641

ElementaryEdGuy tells us more.

ElementaryEdGuy 18

I work in a low-income school. Very rarely do we have students who have OLD (think Nokia brick) cellphones that are deactivated so that they can call the police if necessary. These students are usually our 4th & 5th graders who may be involved with activities after school. Occasionally we will have a student with one of those "cellphones" that can only be used to contact parents & police. Otherwise, this was a rarity.

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Top comments

NotGabe 28

First graders have cell phones nowadays? Yeesh.

375 6
vipirius 18

Wow, when I was in first grade I had legos, not a smartphone. It's crazy how much those things control our lives now.

237 3

Comments

blueblu97 16

Why do kids have cellphones now a days! I didn't get one until I was In highschool!

34 8
stargirl_95 24

Sometimes there is a valid reason to give a young child a cellphone. People forget that the main purpose of cellphones is that they allow you to directly communicate with another person and if you really need to communicate with your child often (because, say, you work odd hours or something) then it makes sense to give them a phone. However, it's absolutely ridiculous to give them an expensive smartphone. A Nokia 3310 is good enough.

30 3
TheMarshmellow 14

I agree, a typical first phone could be some cheap flip-phone

16 0
Kalipczo 21

my first phone was one of those firefly pieces of crap. I don't think they even make them anymore..

9 1
soullyfe 33

For all we know it could have been a phone handed down to the child when the parents upgraded or something.

10 0
juturnaamo 29

You can track your kid with an iPhone if they get off at the wrong stop or go to a friend's house without permission.

7 0
random_cashmere 25

Two years ago, I asked my parents for a cell phone as I joined sports. They gave me one of those toy phones for 5 year olds. One day later, I saw a 6 year old with two (current at the time) iPhones, to text herself. Both hers, not her parents. Some people just seem to throw away money

5 0
Astrum14 24

Without arguing whether or not the kids actually need the cell phone... When adults use the argument "They don't need X because I didn't have X when I was growing up!" it shows they really don't know how society works. We get more and more advanced technology, and yes, sometimes you do need that to function in society. Try to live in a first world country without access to the internet. Yes, it's technically possible. I'll give an example that most people can relate to. Many employers today require you to fill out an application or submit a resume online. Also, I'd point out that when a family friend got her late-elementary school/early middle school son a cell phone, it cost her less for a smartphone plan than a non-smartphone plan. So, there's that, too.

48 3
Brandi_Faith 33

Exactly 20! Plus a lot of these phones are hand-me-downs after the parent has gotten a new phone. I also know a lot of parents like it for gps.

5 0
Migole 36

I don't think the whole argument is about wether they should use a smartphone/tablet at all or not. But with Gameboys and television in the 80s/90s, moderation is key. A young kid can't decide what's important. Given the choice, they would probably play with the phone rather than listening in class. It's quite different if you let your child (say 5 or 6 and up, when their eyes are developed enough) use your phone for half an hour to play angry birds and get used to technology, compared to giving them their own phone which they carry to school and/or friend's places where you have no control over how much they use it.

5 2
worldclassrager 39

I had my first phone in the fifth grade and everyone thought I was the coolest ever... I can see an iPod touch but not a cell phone

6 13
ryanator008 23

I had a cell phone in 6th grade (pretty much just to show off), and my parents thought that was extreme. I'd say kids should get a cell phone when they actually start going places, otherwise they would be fine with a tablet. If anything, I hope it was on one of those pay-as-you-go things (like Tracfone, Virgin Mobile, etc.). I'm starting to feel that people forgot that those exist. The only reason I have T-Mobile is because I need a lot of data.

8 3
Mr_retardo 8

In the plae that I live, kids start going places at fourth grade. Most kids live near this area, which is a commercial plaza, so there is a reason to have a cell phone at a certain age.

0 3
vikky538 28

time to look for job where you can afford one.

4 6
geekbuscus 19

I think it's time we start paying our teachers a decent wage.

5 0
amisenho 11

Yeah, seriously. Teachers get paid crap here in North Carolina, anyway, and Kentucky's not that far ahead of us. OP, try moving to a state that pays teachers a livable salary.

1 0
MilkyFilmz 26

Well, what kind of phone was it?

1 4
ryanator008 23

Probably an i Phone, seeing as the OP couldn't afford it. It's a real shame that people buy those when most Android phones are both cheaper and better.

14 8
baseballbv 17

A lot of android phones are terrible. The software freezes a lot as do the apps. You cannot say that they are universally better.

3 12
Mauskau 35

#70, you try and develop an app that works on every single version of Android that also works with the specifications of every single android phone. There are thousands of versions. It's easier to be a developer for Apple apps than for Android.

5 3
baseballbv 17

#72, hence why Android is not the superior choice. I was just explaining why android is not superior to the iPhone. I never said the iPhone was superior either, but it is ;)

2 13
ryanator008 23

The only reasons an app doesn't work would be if you had something really old (from the dark ages of 2010 or something) or really crappy (Huawei and Alcatel are huge offenders). I can personally say that my Xperia Z1S can run any app I can find, and it was cheaper than the newest i Phone, and it currently is showing no age after a while of having it. And the software has never froze up on me to this day. And it has specs that blow all the i Phones away (20.7 megapixel camera, 1080p screen).

6 0
OhReallyNow2000 6

When I was in 1st grade I didn't have a phone.... What does a 1st grader need a phone for anyways?!

6 10
ryanator008 23

Probably to play video games. I guess the idiot parents don't know what a 3DS is.

4 12
Shan2510 14

maybe the parents needed contact with them for whatever reason(walks from school or something)

8 1
ryanator008 23

If you just need contact, there are some nice Tracfones for $10.

5 2
JazNim17 18

In 33's defense, that's kind of what I thought too. The kids I babysat last summer had an iPhone apiece so they would "be able to call mom if they needed her." All they ever did was play Minecraft on them nonstop until the batteries ran down, then walk off and forget them for a week. I really couldn't see why their mom continued to pay for them when she knew the only way to keep contact with them was to call my phone because theirs were dead or lost somewhere.

4 0
EvilLittleMan 23

And no doubt you will see this first grader in the government handout free lunch program.

6 20
ElementaryEdGuy 18

I'm not sure that this student in particular would qualify. However, my school is so low-income, everyone in my school is on a free breakfast & lunch program.

4 0
pandalover69 26

I guess that's the one kid with well off parents are too cheap or oblivious to send him to private school.

0 6
Cilg1244 17

I had hot wheels, legos, and little Transformers toys... (•_•)

5 2
abnormalbird 11

when I was in first grade I had pokemon cards. Everyone did.

3 1