What Are Teachers Going to Do About Cellphones?

What are teachers going to do about cellphones?

I had a teacher share with me that he intends to have his students (we're teaching high school) leave their phones in their backpacks - and the backpacks must be lined along the wall as they enter the class: "Grab what you need," he told me he's going to say, "and take your seat."
He continues: "If you don't make them put their cell phones away they will always be on them."

I smile and nod as it's not my job to correct how a colleague manages his/her classroom. However my approach is completely different.

First of all, only Old-fogeys are afraid of students with phones. Trust me, by the time old folks stop leading schools and these kids are in charge, cell phones will be allowed, which means, although I am a mature teacher, I don't want to be that teacher who doesn't understand her tech-savvy customer base. Look, my incoming freshmen were born about 14 years ago. Do the math: They weren't even born at the turn of the century. This means these kiddos were born in the era of smart phones and I-pads. By the time they were three, they were masters of the I-pad and youtube. Why are out-of-date teachers trying to force them to part with the only world they know --- to make them relate to a world they don't know? Unlike their teachers, students today don't know cassette tapes, floppy disks, or flip phones - they don't - so why force them to grapple with the unknown? Instead, teachers should study ways to incorporate purposeful use of cellphones in the classroom. They don't all want to use pen and paper - they do use their cellphone keyboard with lightning speed - let them type an assignment using Google docs. Come now - get with the times!

"But what if they text," you worry?

What if they do, I answer. This is why instead of insulting my students' intelligence, I introduce them to integrity. Yes, I give my classes an integrity talk about the 3rd day of school. In this talk, I explain that first and foremost: I trust teenagers. I actually tell them: I. Trust. Teenagers. I tell them about The Three when they were teenagers and how I always trusted them. I never asked my children to show me their text messages or their FB inbox - none of that. And I never prowled through their private diaries. [Heck, when I was married, I didn't do that Inspector Gadget foolishness either. Why would I check my husband's phone or messages when he could use someone else's phone to call someone. If someone wants to cheat, they'll do it. I firmly believe what's done in the dark comes to the light - so why waste time checking phones and emails?]

I tell my students that our society operates on integrity. I explain that my car is currently on the school's parking lot only because I trust that no one is going to hit it or dent it and drive off. I trust that most drivers have integrity and for those who don't - karma is a B*tch. . . no, I don't say that part to my students, but I let them know I believe what goes around comes around. I continue to say: How many of you eat at public restaurants? I tell them, this is only done because you trust that the cooks and wait staff have integrity. You trust that the cook will toss your bun in the trash if it falls on the ground instead of serving it to you. I also let them know that they trust their teachers. They trust that the grades being assigned have been done so fairly, etc, etc. I go on with several other societal examples just to bring home my point about cell phone use in our classroom.

I tell them: "I will allow you to use your cellphones the last ten minutes of class for personal use" (yes, even as the lesson closes); "however," I exhort, "I am going to trust that during class if you're using your phone, you are using it as a classroom resource - perhaps to use Google, or the dictionary online, etc. I trust that I can still trust you even if I step into the hall to speak with someone - I trust that just because my back is turned, you will still operate under integrity."

Will there be violators? lol! Are you serious? hahaha. . .

I can't believe you asked that question when America has 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 942 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S.

Silly rabbits, every society has those who choose not to comply with the agreed upon norms of its culture. Therefore, if a student shows him/herself untrustworthy, I will swoop in with a stinging consequence - for that student only - not for the entire class. No nagging. No warning. Only action.

This integrity "lecture" has worked for me for years. The students seem to appreciate that just because I am old I am not in place to sever them from their connection to the world.

So, will I require my high school students to put their phones away? Nah - silence them and let's get on with our lesson.

From me to you,

Lisa