I finished teaching in 1997. The big problem was kids wearing baseball caps in school. One of our administrators insisted kids didn't wear their caps in class. So I did my duty and made sure kids didn't wear baseball caps in class. Most kids followed the rule. If kids were wearing a cap, a discreet hand signal got the cap off. There were few protests or defiant students. Once in awhile somebody's cap returned to a head and then the cap had to be placed in a special drawer in the filing cabinet. The honor system was used and the kid picked his cap up on the way out. Many caps were forgotten so over the year I accumulated a few caps. Now there was no way to make baseball caps into a learning situation. Caps were completely a style statement.
Okay I got of the topic. Today every kid has a cell phone. Not only do kids have cell phones but the policing of their use is a major hassle. Kids think that every message is of crucial importance. Some parents want to be able to contact their kids at any time. Kids want to use their smart phones to look things up on the Internet. The whole issue boils down to a big headache.
Some schools completely ban cell phones. Others let kids carry phones but are not allowed to use them. Some schools allow a certain time for cell phones.
Then some schools use cell phones for instructional purposes. So learning activities are set up where the cell phone has to be used.
School policies on cell phones vary widely. Policies are vigorously defended.
Looking into the future doesn't give answers. We know the technology is changing rapidly.
So for an old guy whose biggest problem was kids wearing caps to kids carrying and using cell phones is a great leap.
At the present time most schools don't know what to do. Technology is changing faster than most schools. Schools are going to have to make some rapid changes to either take advantage of the technology or find some way to control cell phone use.
What are your thoughts on cell phones in schools?
I cannot imagine the headaches schools have with cell phones. Almost every time you hear about a school shooting you hear about some child hiding for their life in a closet who was able to call their parent from their cell phone so I don't see how it's good safety policy to ban them. At the same time I can't imagine trying to teach a room full of kids with cell phones.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I could deal with the cell phone in a classroom.
DeleteCell phones in school is a problem I am very glad I don't have to deal with. I taught elementary and retired in 2005.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is a good idea to take advantage of using phones as a tool, and also as a means of teaching critical thinking. Since we are now flooded with information, teaching how to evaluate sources and how to fact check would be valuable.
Yes, some teachers are trying to put the cell phone to good use as a strategy. I would think it could only be a limited time.
DeleteMost kids seem to only do what teachers don't want them to do. I think admins worry too much about "distractions"
ReplyDeleteI hope you're wrong.
DeleteI'm just grateful that it's not a problem I have ever had to encounter either in school or any workplace. The working hours that must be lost to cellphone use must be huge.
ReplyDeleteI agree that much on task is lost to the cell phone and tobacco
Delete.
Yes, they should be off most of the time, but they seem to be a necessary tool and we probably are going to accept that.
ReplyDeleteI think more use will be made of phones as a teaching strategy.
Deletei couldn't imagine attempting to police cell phones in a classroom. texting, cheating, on-line...
ReplyDeleteI think teachers would have to very skillfully come up with a policy that kids would accept.
DeleteI think they should be put on silent and left in pockets during class, so that the whole class doesn't have the distraction of ringing phones and conversations. Then there's texting: maybe the phones should be silenced and dropped in a bowl and placed by the teacher's desk. Or something.
ReplyDeleteI could see your plan working and if somebody breaks the rule, they lose the cellphone
DeleteI always had a land line in my room, so didn't want to see cells and took them away.I think it was a distraction
ReplyDeleteThe last two years I taught I had a land line.
DeleteI retired in 2011, so my teaching career covered the non-phone years and those with them. I became skilled at spotting in-class texting: head down, hands in lap. Sometimes it felt like only a Flamenco dance on my desk would get the class's attention for more than 3 minutes. On one occasion, I ordered a student to put away her phone, saying, "Who on earth would call you NOW when they should know you're in school?"
ReplyDeleteShe replied, "It's my mom."
Parenting has changed when they phone kids in class.
DeleteKids should have cell phones for emergencies but they should stay in backpacks at all other times.
ReplyDeleteI like your policy.
DeleteThey should be stashed away while classes are on.
ReplyDeleteThat would work with me . A black and white policy would work.
DeleteWhen my kids were in high school the policy was cell phones were to be "turned off and stowed away." That was nearly 10 years ago. Not sure what the policy is now. I agree it's nice to be able to reach your kids in an emergency, but if I was a teacher I wouldn't want kids to be using them in class.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, cell phone can also be an annoyance in the workplace. Some people don't put their phones on vibrate and I'm annoyed by the ringtones and beeps when a text comes through. Also, some of the younger folks in my workgroup think nothing of playing with their phones during meetings (which I think is disrespectful).
I had never thought about cell phones in the work place. I see where they could be a nuisance.
DeleteHello Red!interesting post.Her in Norway each school can decide what to do with the students.Have cellphones or not..But everybody has a laptop given from school to do schoolwork at school(Noone uses pencils and papers and books today,even test is going at the computer..)so the majorety also has facebook Twitter and other social networks on their laptop..But really i dont think they use it soo much..freedom under responibility..they are eager to learn because they know its a hard world waiting for them after school..but it is a seriousproblem..I see when i take the bus..everyones heads are in the cellphone..a tragic sight!i dont like the trend
ReplyDeleteThnank you for bringing up this world wide problem..wish you and family a great weekend
Norway has one of the best education systems in the world. You are doing things right.
DeleteI don't think cell phones should be used in classrooms. However, since technology is a huge part of society these days, I do think it should be incorporated into teaching.
ReplyDeleteI think incorporating cell phones into the curriculum will be what happens. They aren't called smart phones for nothing.
DeleteThis week our 10 year old great niece had to get Twitter, so her Dad got twitter too...I don't get it but it is the computer/phone age:)
ReplyDeleteI would guess there are sites where ten year olds would exchange information and give their opinions.
DeleteHi Red, I retired about the same time you did. Wow, I can't even imagine what it would be like in class today! Not only kids, but adults, seem to be staring into their little device. It concerns me especially with distracted driving. How about this: Put little boxes in each classroom. The boxes would be small, about the size of mailboxes in the post office. Just big enough for a phone. Each kid could come in, put their phone in their box, lock it, leave it there during class, and pick it up on the way out. Now, if they needed to use the phone for classwork, they could get them out of the box. Ha ha. Can you imagine it? :-)
ReplyDeleteNope! I think most teachers could establish a policy with the kids that would work. I found the fewer rules I had the better.
DeleteI'm old school about this. I believe cell phones should all be put in a basket on the teacher's desk as the kids enter and picked up on the way out. I remember having to go to the office to talk to my mother and it had better have been something important. Now parents just want to say- hey where did you leave the dog's toy at? or some such nonsense. However, there is one thing I think would be a wonderful tool and that is changing to one ipad per child instead of books. Having all their books loaded to the ipad. Books are so expensive now anyway- it isn't such a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer cell phones in the pocket but off. If somebody messed up then I get the cell phone. I think many schools her have ipads , tablets or laptops.
ReplyDeleteCell phones here are collected as you enter class and passed back before next class with freedom to use them till next class. Some schools have students TURN OFF phones as they enter class and go by honor rule that phone is in pocket, purse or bag etc till class is over. Most students follow honor rule, however there is always that one or two that do not follow, so their phones are held by teacher till class ends. Yep, Red, quite a difference from Caps to Cells, Eh.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Linda. I hesitate to contact my daughter, as I know she has her cell phone out on her desk. I don't want to bother her at work. In the past, you could send an email, and trust they'd get back to you. This immediate gratification is nuts.
ReplyDeleteI suppose, if I were teaching, I'd be more able to manage cell phones and come up with a plan. I did the ball cap thing, too.
My thoughts are I'm glad I retired when I did. Though my first similar crises was in the mid sixties when our high school principal banned mini skirts. When I refused to enforce the rule saying "am I supposed to make my 17/18 year old seniors sit down while I get a tape measure out? I think not...:)
ReplyDelete