Tuesday. High school art, second period.
They're really cracking down on cell phones, and so Ms. G had asked me to make sure to collect their cell phones at the beginning of the period. I did. And, the students gave them up easily.
Towards the end of the period, a pleasant ring tone rang out. Calm. Melodic. A ring tone I would choose for my phone. (Is it new? I must go and check my phone to see if it has it.)
I looked around. The ringing phone was in the box of cell phones. Where it was supposed to be.
I continued my circuit of the room.
The students? Looked panicked. Whose phone was ringing? They had to stop it.
As far as I was concerned, the phone would stop ringing soon enough, and the students would be more aware of making sure their phones were on silent before turning them in.
But one student came up, searched through the box, found their phone, and silenced it.
I mean, this was a win as far as I was concerned.
Thursday. Eighth grade English, fourth period.
This was a co-teaching day, and the kiddos were doing some standardized testing. Phones were put away in backpacks which were stored at the front of the room, or they were on a charger in the back.
Midway through class, a phone on the charger started to speak. Clearly a ring tone. Ms. C (the general ed teacher) started to comment that the phone was where it should be and the kiddos should ignore it, until the phrase continued with an F-bomb. Oops.
Ms. C made a comment about ignoring the profanity, and she said something about phones on silent. But, again, mostly a win. The phone wasn't in the possession of the student, especially during standardized testing.
So, so far this year, no major problems with kiddos giving up their phones as required. Now we just need to teach them how to put them on silent.
Baby steps.
I can only imagine how connected kids are to their phones when adults can't even walk down a sidewalk without looking at their hands. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, they'll sit on their phones all day rather than do any school work.
DeleteI think cell phones are now banned in schools here. I don't know how they do that. Sounds like they get the kids get the picture there. I can't believe now on blogger my reading list is not refreshing. One thing after another.
ReplyDeleteSo far they get the picture here. It's early in the year yet. I had issues with kiddos on their phones yesterday. That's why ringing phones out of their possession is a win. They won't all be wins, sadly.
DeleteAll in all, that's a move in the right direction. I can see how someone would forget to silence -especially this early in the year.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, definitely good that they weren't fighting the giving up of the phones. They won't all be good days, though.
DeleteNew York State has what is called here a bell to bell cell phone ban In schools, actually broader than that. It also bans any device capable of being connected to the Internet. . . As far as I know, it’s been working well and two victories Is a good start for you.
ReplyDeleteAnd how is that working for them? I would love to hear how it's going from a teacher perspective. Because I know here the parents would lose it, as they want to be able to contact their kiddos during the day.
DeleteIt's hard to get some parents to agree to "no phones." I overheard a mother saying her son was absolutely taking his phone on a field trip. Actually, I'd want one on a field trip to take photos, but this was quite a young student, so I doubt that's what he wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some parents are not at all helpful about this.
Delete