Iwill be the first to admit to everyone that math is not a strength of mine. I can get through the basics — addition, subtraction, multiplication and division — though don’t ask me to do it this newfangled way they are teaching because I am at a loss as to how they do that and generally wonder what was wrong with the old way we’ve been taught for a century, but I digress.

When I was growing up and had to take the dreaded classes of algebra, geometry and calculus, I bumbled through them and even managed to get through them in college as well.

However, when any student asked, “Why do I need to learn this?” the common reply from teachers was, “Well, you won’t be carrying a calculator in your pocket all the time.”

Ha! The joke is on them now that we have these handy little devices called cell phones.

Now, I am never without a calculator and the world is better for that as I have no business doing math without one. However, with this lovely and convenient tool, issues have arisen in the world of education.

Cell phones aren’t often being utilized as a tool by kids. From being just a constant distraction to even being used for cheating, cell phones are not making teachers’ lives any easier.

It seems a number of school boards are visiting or revisiting their cell phone policies this summer. In the past month I’ve encountered at least six districts that are writing or amending their policies on personal electronic devices.

Most of the policies tackle them in the same way, with a general blanket ban on the devices, or at the most, an “at the teacher’s discretion” policy. A common theory is that if teachers and staff are allowed their cell phones in the classroom, students will likely complain and ask “Why do you get to have your phone?”

I don’t disagree with this concern. I can pretty much guarantee that students will ask that exact question.

A number of solutions are available. Schools could ban phones for everyone or they could allow everyone to have them. These options are what I see as a tactic to make things fair, but is that really what we should be doing? Should we be teaching kids that life is fair? I don’t know about everyone else, but I haven’t experienced a completely fair life.

When a child asks why an adult is allowed to have their phone, why can’t the answer be “Because I am an adult and you aren’t?” Once upon a time, that was an acceptable response. Most of the adults in my childhood were pretty blunt about the fact that they had earned their privileges through experience and age and I, as a child, had to do my time and grow to have those privileges. Is it so terrible to tell a kid they have a separate set of rules because they are young and need to learn the same lessons we did?

Anyone remember the words “because I said so, that’s why”? I certainly do, and I think I was better for it. I’m a big fan of explaining my decisions, but sometimes I think kids should have to deal with that answer and move on. When I heard those words, I knew the discussion was over and I likely was not going to win this particular battle. Never did the issue at hand have a detrimental impact on my life, and more often than not, it was in my best interests.

Kids don’t know it, but they don’t need a life in which everything is given to them. Oftentimes we learn more from the moments when things don’t go our way than the times they do. Perseverance, patience, determination, ingenuity, faith — these are all words that come from moments in life when things aren’t going as planned. It wouldn’t hurt for kids to learn some of those in less dire circumstances, when what they want isn’t what’s best for them. Teri L. Hansen Reporter