Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Reminder 101 Text Messaging

I just got this from my son's math teacher. This is 7th grade where most of the students are 12 and some are 13, mine's the outlier at 11. What do you think about this? My son does not have a cell phone and we have no plans to get him one.

"I wanted to give you a heads up about something we're doing in class. It is called Remind 101 and is an app I've uploaded on my phone which allows me to send text messages to any members in my "group" (those who have joined). The text is sent but the receiver cannot respond to it (I cannot receive a text back from your child). I discussed this option with my classes and they liked it. Most of the students joined yesterday in class and then we practiced with one text from me reminding them that they have a chapter test this Friday. I am aware that not all students have cell phones and would not send any information out via text that wasn't already communicated in class. Also, I will not send any great quantity of texts reminding our students of daily details. The purpose is to remind them of major assignments or dates, etc. Another benefit, as we discussed in class, is that the students, instead of the parents, are receiving the reminders so the students can take action without being prompted by the parents! Hooray for students taking responsibility without being reminded by a parent. Lastly, I am new to this app and would welcome your feedback if you have concerns. I've learned that many teachers at high school use Remind 101 and also many teachers at this school."

I wouldn't have a problem with it provided that it could be set up so that the reminders came to my phone if my child didn't have one. I would be looking out for any occasions when the teacher slipped and did send a "reminder" of something that hadn't been made clear in class. It's a fact that most children that age do have phones, and I'm sure such reminders would be useful for some.

Several of my colleagues (we're high school teachers with young children) have received info about this from their kids' teachers, for parents to enroll. I think one of them is going to be using it with his high school kids.

I often have issues with using technology because many of my students have access, but some don't. As a teacher, I have to be aware of this discrepancy and make allowances to compensate for it. I would hope, as ColinsMum noted, that the teacher would think of giving parents access. In all honesty, I would think that many parents of kids that age would like to get the texts as well, even IF their kids were also getting the text. I'd email the teacher and ask about getting parent access.

I don't have text messaging because I have no interest in paying for text messaging.

I don't pay for my cell phone. If I had to pay for my cell phone, I doubt that I would even have a cell phone.

I'd tell her to put it on e-mail.

I've wasted enough of my life and money on time-sucking and money wasting technology.

I think I'd want access too. I'm a gadget person myself. My kids (8 and 9) aren't there yet, but I'm open to technology as long as it's properly used. The vast majority of tweens and teens have internet/text access at their finger tips and I think that being involved and proactive is the way to go.

Petunia - it sounds like the teacher is willing to accommodate the kids without phones - so this is good. Has your son expressed interest in getting a phone? My DD has been asking since she was 7, and the answer has been a firm, unrelenting NOT YET. lol. She's now 9 and has stopped asking.

In this country, I think it's true to say that regardless of how you have your phone, if you have a number, you can receive text messages free of charge. Is it different there?

(Yes, it would be nice to have reminders also go to email, and it would be worth looking at this specific service to see if there's an option for that to happen automatically that can be turned on. But the teacher is doing something she isn't obliged to do, in the interests of the children; you obviously can't demand it.)

It's $1 a message for me, I think.

I think there are free programs to receive texts via Internet (on desktop computer, tablet, Nintendo DS, ipod touch).

I think the most common plans over here charge 10 cents a message (sometimes with the first 10 a month free). I've never heard of a charge as high as $1 a message. I think I'd ask if messaging could be turned off entirely so I didn't even receive texts if I was getting charged that much for them!

I don't pay for it, so I don't really know how much it costs. I could be wrong.