A concerned mother recently found herself at odds with her daughter’s school over a new phone policy that led to unexpected consequences. The school had introduced a rule allowing them to confiscate students’ phones for four working days if they were caught using them in restricted areas.
Neither parents nor students were informed of this policy change. The mother’s 17-year-old daughter, Clem, had her phone confiscated while checking texts in a bathroom. As a result, she was unable to use her digital bus ticket and had to walk home alone in the dark. When the mother learned what happened, she immediately contacted the school, requesting that her daughter’s phone be returned after school hours so she could get home safely. The school eventually agreed to her request. However, the mother faced criticism from her husband, who felt the school’s actions were justified.
1. It sounds pretty entitled, but let’s not judge a book by its cover.
2. The school recently changed its policy from confiscating students’ phones “till day end” to 4 working days. This policy change was not announced.
3. One day, after having her phone taken away, OP’s daughter reached home very late as the students booked their bus tickets from their phones, and she didn’t have one to do so.
4. A female teacher had seen her use her phone in the toilet and had taken it away. OP called the school and scheduled a meeting with the head.
5. While the head supported the new policy, OP brought his attention to the high-risk return journey her daughter had to make to return home.
6. OP remained firm and demanded they give her daughter’s phone back so she could safely return home via bus instead of walking. The head finally agreed.
The school went a little crazy with this policy. First of all, it was unannounced, so no student got the chance to be slightly more proactive while using the phone. Moreover, surely the school knew students had their bus tickets on their phones, and they didn’t take cash due to the pandemic. Despite this, they took OP’s daughter’s phone away for 4 working days, and she had to return home by walking. That was so high-risk and could’ve gone terribly for the girl.
Let’s see what happens next. Scroll down below to continue reading!
7. OP’s husband associated his wife with a Karen for doing this, saying their daughter deserved the punishment. The matter was taken to the courts of the AITA community.
8. In an update, OP clarified that no student of the respective parents knew about the policy change and that her daughter had informed the school about her bus ticket being on her phone, but they didn’t listen.
9. OP wasn’t informed about the situation until she reached home, as other kids thought she would get worried. Upon her return, OP called the police.
10. Good thing the husband apologized, and OP is right about the school-change thing.
11. OP also shared that punishing her daughter was unfair because she was using her phone in a toilet cubicle, and the female teacher peaked inside to spot that.
13. Forget about the school. What if a student found himself/herself in an emergency outside school without having their phone on them because the school had confiscated it for 4 working days?
There is a reason why the head couldn’t show much resistance for long. That is because he knew the policy wasn’t feasible. At all. Making your students walk home at night without any protection is like putting your school on fire. Such policies never stick for long, and the school must take a solid lesson from OP’s experience.
I really hope you guys enjoyed this one. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
