Cell Phones

[Eagle732]

OK I'm fed up with scouts using cell phones during camping trips. The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was a scout texting during a Scouts Own service. I asked the SPL to address the problem and he made the decision to impose a "If I see it it's mine" policy but that's not being enforced.

 

According to those who weighed in on a Scouting Magazine article on the subject most leaders feel that cell phones are a distraction and negatively effect the program. http://scoutingmagazine.org/2008/11/controlling-misuse-of-cell-phones/

 

So what do you think?

How do you deal with cell phones?

 

[packsaddle]

We have a 'memorial' display of ruined cell phones, mp3 players, etc. that were destroyed in various ways on outings. Plus little 'pretend' gravestone markers for ones that were simply dropped into the lake or down an unknown hole someplace and lost.

It mostly gets the message across. Once in a while we have an 'addict'. Then it's time for intervention by the parents. We don't confiscate. We encourage them to make good decisions.

[Basementdweller]

I used to be in the complete ban camp.......I have changed over the last year or so....

 

Smart phones are tools, many have gps, I use My tracks when I hike to record my path route, distance and speed, I use the camera to document the events and I even post event pics to the troops facebook page. On occasion it has even been used as a flashlight and alarm clock.

 

So it is more than just communication.

 

 

I think if you ban them completely then you are missing the boat, we need to teach responsible usage.

 

Now using it during scouts own, I would have collected it for the rest of the weekend as well and handed it to mom or dad on return.

 

 

Now the real simple fix is to make sure your campouts or events are remote enough that there isn't coverage......Even for a city guy it is pretty easy to do that.......

 

But banning them........No........I remember someone had an electronic chit idea, which might be worth exploring.

[Tampa Turtle]

Yes, Basement and I am moving in your direction.

 

I used to be in the ban camp but they are getting so ubiquitous that it is hard to ban them outright. Also the leaders are using them so much. We also find them to be such as much a distraction as a useful tool --much as a knife or fire--and think that a E-Chit may be something to consider.

[Kudu]

 

Cell phones don't bother me so very much when we run a rugged program: Backpacking, canoe island camping, technical climbing, SCUBA. Patrols camped Baden-Powell's 300 feet apart.

 

"Where's the Cobra Patrol?"

 

"Jimmy just texted, they are still three miles out."

 

My Scouts are so used to hiding their cell phones in school that I don't notice them texting, even though they are in constant contact:

 

"I haven't seen Ryan all day."

 

"He just told me that he and Sean are on the other side of the swamp catching snakes."

 

I've never seen any of our phone-addicted SCUBA divers texting underwater.

 

When they post photos to Facebook from the dive boat, or on an eight mile hike, or the top of a cliff they are about to jump over, then so much the better.

 

But when we jam a bunch of Patrols into the same campsite in campgrounds with electricity, heated showers, and wifi, then I really hate cell phones and MP3 devices. They get in the way of me pretending that my "Leadership and Character" Webelos III program is really Scouting.

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

 

[KC9DDI]

I agree with BD - part of our job is to model and teach courtesy and respect. Blanket bans are not the way to do that.

[Eagle732]

Just saw an item on the news about someone using a cell phone jamming device, maybe that's the answer

 

Kudu, I've seen cell phones on backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail and on canoe trips so I don't think the type of activity determines phone use. It's pretty tough to find a place around here that you wouldn't be able to at least get a text out.

 

I think it's mostly parents that can't cut the cord, even for a few days.

 

Also I've had complaints from scouts that at least one individual likes to play games all night which keeps others up late.

 

And had one of my scouts sitting next to me at a Life to Eagle seminar who instead of taking notes and paying attention to the DAC spent the entire 2 hours playing games on his phone.

 

SPL and PLC came up with the "if I see it it's mine" rule, so maybe they should be encouraged to enforce it.

 

 

 

[Reasonable Rascal]

You good folks do realize I hope that we are allowing a dependency on technology here. Modern Scouts would not be able to survive without a fully functioning system in place. I am being serious. Try to imagine a boy sitting down and crying and giving up because his cell phone ran out of power, and he no longer has his GPS and is unable to text the Rescue Rangers, and you can see where things are heading.

 

Technology has its place but we as a world (especially in the US but a few other countries as well) have become so dependent on it being there all the time that we virtually cannot live without it.

 

I had an SPL 3 years ago who was so depressed because he couldn't talk to his GF after we reached camp he pretty much ceased to function by about mid-week. There is no cell reception at the camp we attended unless you climb to a very high point, or stand on a fencepost in the parade field and hold your tongue a certain way.

 

RR

[Kudu]

 

Eagle732 writes:

 

"Kudu, I've seen cell phones on backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail and on canoe trips so I don't think the type of activity determines phone use."

 

Yes. I encourage the use of MP3 players in the backwoods: On the trail and in the tents only.

 

Cell phones are OK as long as I don't see or hear them.

 

All the Scouts bring electronics on High Adventure trips, but you can see, it's not a big deal:

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/At300Feet

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

 

[Eagle732]

I don't think having a Scout's ears plugged into an IPod all evening increases interaction between the patrol members.

I would like to see boys talking, sharing experiences, communicating and working out plans amongst the patrol members than listening to their IPod.

 

Maybe at night after quite time

[KC9DDI]

It just seems to me like there's quite a contrast between telling a Scout "We're going to give you all this responsibility to run an exciting and challenging program, we're going to entrust you with making this program happen, we're going to support you in your efforts to make this happen, and we're going to do this without adults hovering over your shoulder" vs. "God help you if you bring an iPod with you, 'cuz we're going to confiscate it!"

[Scoutfish]

Okay, I'm in a pack, not a troop, so things are a bit different - but you know me.....I have to chime in!

 

At pack campouts, there is a time and place for everything. Cub Scouts ( or their parents) will bring Nintendo DS PSP's I pods, walkmans, etc.....

 

 

I bring my DeWalt jobsite radio. It serves a couple purposes: It has a 3 way outlet on the side, it has a built in surge protector/voltage regulator. It also has an auxillary input for a pod or MP3 player if we want to play the National Anthem or something else that ties into a scout ceremony.

 

 

I also play it at a very low volume when just sitting and chilling by my cookstove or while making early morning coffee.

 

So, cell phone can be a great tool - but like everything else - they do have a proper time and place for use.

 

When scouts are on free time..they can do whatever they want. Some boys listen to music right before they go to sleep. Helps some go to sleep faster and better. Doesn't do it for me., but to each his own.

 

If the cub scouts want to listen to their music when they first get up and sit around the camp fire, or at the end of the day after all activities are over....fine with me>

 

But there are times we ay no: Colors. Blessings and scouts own. During den activities or any other time an activity is going on. During grace, meals, or campfire ceremonies/skits.......NO DEVICES.

 

Yeah, the point here is that there is an appropriate time for everything, but we need to help share that and teach it .

 

Rascal: W aren't teaching a dependancy no more than having HVAC is. Yeah, we want to teach a scout to survive when it comes down to it, but we don't do that by taking everything away. Why not strip him naked - dump him in the woods and se if he can make clothes and forage for substinance and build a shelter too?

 

Everything has a time and place.

 

Or job is to help a scout learn when and where.

 

[Eagle732]

KC, if you read my original post you would see that our SPL along with the PLC addressed the problem. They came up with the "if I see it it's mine" policy. In our case the problem is that the SPL's policy is not being followed. If anyone confiscates a phone in our unit it will be the SPL, then I'll probably take it for safe keeping.

[Eagle732]

(double post)(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

[KC9DDI]

Eagle - Yes, I read your post. But I still don't agree with it.