Cell phones for class lessons
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Pleas read the article, below, entitled: "Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons" and call your child's school right away. Ask them to enforce a policy of prohibiting the use cell phone and other electronic devices in their schools as the French Senate just ruled to protect students attending French state schools. Teachers who direct students to use cell phones in the classroom as a learning tool are perhaps unwittingly falling prey to the cell phone industry mantra that "there is no credible scientific evidence to show there is harm." There is a growing body of scientific evidence and concern among neurosurgeons and other health practitioners that the radiation from cell phones can cause health problems.
In fact, scientific evidence is mounting that there is an association between long term cell phone use and head and neck tumors - brain, ear, eye, salivary gland tumors, both malignant and non-malignant can result. The numbers are small because it takes many years for tumors to form and the U.S. population has only in the past 6 years become habituated to routine use of these devices.
Expert Scientists in the Scandinavian countries and elsewhere, where cell phones have been popular for a longer time. have done studies showing links between cell phone use and brain cancers and nonmalignant tumors on the nerve in the inner ear. Medical doctors are reporting increased rates of brain cancer among their youngest patients, even during their first year of life. Scientists are deeply concerned about the potential impact on this next generation of young people, many of who are early adaptors and regular users, even at age 8! Due to smaller head size and thinner skull bones, children's brains and absorb more radiofrequency radiation from cell phones than adult brains do. Young brains are developing into early 20s. Students health can be affected by radiation in the classroom, affecting memory ,concentration and causing depression and can result in iinfertility, neurological problems and other serious health conditions. Scientists warn that these early adaptors are 5 times more likely to develop a brain tumor by the time they turn age 30.
Society should support education to prepare their young for long, healthy and productive lives. We need good teachers to interact with students and guide them in learning how to read, write, develop critical thinking and other skills to be all they can be. Electronic devices are distracting, time-wasting and have limited value in the classroom as a teaching tool. Training students to become habitual users of cell phones in class seems like a low priority. Remember the cigarette ads? Now, we know smoking is not so cool. Are cell phones the new cigarettes?
for more information, I refer you to the International commission for Electromagnetic Safety, www.icems.eu. and to the Environmental Health Trust, Inc. www.environmentalhealthtrust.org. There you will find scientific information, resolutions and media presentations on the state of the science on electromagnetic fields issued by prominent scientists and medical doctors. You can view a TV interview Dr. Oz did with Dr. Devra Davis in mid-November 2009 on cell phones and health, especially the possible health effects on children by going to www.evironmentalhealthtrust.org. and scrolling down to "cell phones." Simple safety advice: don't let children use cell phones, don't hold it by your head, text instead, turn it off when not in use and, keep your land lines.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Kelley
Managing Secretariat
International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety
info@icems.eu
Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Writer
November 27, 2009
Cell phones, the subject of tugs of war between parents, teachers and students across the nation, are taking on a new role in the classroom: learning tool.
Tech savvy teachers are asking students to use their phones to record foreign language assignments, take photographs for projects and do mini-Internet searches if they have a Web browser.
That's a stark contrast to the emphasis that has been placed on prohibiting their use, often out of fear students will cheat or take inappropriate pictures then passed on to friends.
A majority of teens have a cell phone today, and with many schools unable to afford a computer for every student, teachers are starting to see them as a helpful learning device instead.
How exactly does the radiation from electromagnetic fields (EMF) affect the human body? Is it possible that cell phones, computer monitors, TVs, and other electronic devices - which operate within current EMF safety standards - cause illnesses, or are the people who claim to be sensitive to these devices just paranoid? The topic is one of the most controversial subjects in technology today, having important consequences in politics, consumerism, human rights, and health costs.
