quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Today the phones went in a box. About 1 hour into the class I found a student taking his phone out. I called the principal and told her the student was coming down. She told me he will be suspended for 3 days. As the student was leaving, he turned to me and said " wait until my mother comes in, you are in trouble". I responded that I was looking forward to seeing her.

Too early to ask for pictures?

They are addicted and literally cannot take not having it on them at all times.

I'm astonished at the complete lack of respect for your authority as teacher, that's crazy to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
They are all addicted to the damn things. 24/7 man. This is extremely common so get used to it. It will never stop.

We finally came to a policy similar to the OP's: kids put their phone in a basket or phone cubby (like in Rogue's post) as soon as they enter the room.

The first day I did this with my juniors (only 6 kids), they were quite literally tweaking within 5 minutes. Like straight up meth-head behavior. And they responded angrily like someone in withdrawal.

You're not exaggerating when you say addiction: they are truly and clinically addicted to phones.

And like the OP's story, a few years ago my 8th graders were working with their Chromebooks on a project. I was sitting behind one of the kids and saw her actively video chatting with another kid. I told her to stop it. She denied she was doing it. I reminded her I was sitting directly behind her looking at her screen. She still denied it.

They're really amazing sometimes....

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
They are addicted and literally cannot take not having it on them at all times.

I'm astonished at the complete lack of respect for your authority as teacher, that's crazy to me.

Today I has a teacher come into the room to ask me something and she told me she had never seen this class so well behaved. I can't imagine what was going on before the teacher retired.

Tomorrow IT is going to connect me to a program that will allow me to monitor everyone's computer from my desk.

Wife says that, for the occasional student who doesn't have a phone, she has "No Phone" cards that they can put in their slots.

They aren't used much. And the same deal applies as bringing two phone, where if they're caught gaming the system by claiming to not have a phone while trying to sneak using their phone in class, they get written up.

I have a staff of about 50ish people. Part of the terms of employment in my business is that no one may have their cell phones with them at work.

I have a secure location where I can keep their phones while giving them easy access during breaks or they may secure their phones in their vehicles.

The policy is clearly explained during the first interview and I have actually lost potential employees over this but for me it is an acceptable trade off. My customers all notice my policy and are vocally grateful for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Oat_Action_Man:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
They are all addicted to the damn things. 24/7 man. This is extremely common so get used to it. It will never stop.

We finally came to a policy similar to the OP's: kids put their phone in a basket or phone cubby (like in Rogue's post) as soon as they enter the room.

The first day I did this with my juniors (only 6 kids), they were quite literally tweaking within 5 minutes. Like straight up meth-head behavior. And they responded angrily like someone in withdrawal.

You're not exaggerating when you say addiction: they are truly and clinically addicted to phones.

And like the OP's story, a few years ago my 8th graders were working with their Chromebooks on a project. I was sitting behind one of the kids and saw her actively video chatting with another kid. I told her to stop it. She denied she was doing it. I reminded her I was sitting directly behind her looking at her screen. She still denied it.

They're really amazing sometimes....

It ruined the cinema for me. I don't go anymore. Said the hell with it and invested some serious money on my home theater equipment. 2 years straight, every film, someone would whip the phone out during the film. Last film I watched, actually last 2 films in the theater, the lady next to me at each would wedge it under their ass so if it vibrated she wouldn't miss a notification. Both also had ADD, first one wringing her hands for an hour straight. The last one was twirling her hair for an hour straight. I think people with mild ADD, the damn phones are turning that into major ADD.

I see it at the gym every night. They just can't not fuck with that phone. They are seriously addicts. It's the new addiction.

See it at work, on the roads, at the grocery store, everywhere. It's an epidemic. For me it's making society unbearable.

The phone drama has ended. Now I just have to reassign some seats until I get the guys who just decide to talk out loud to each other separated and I should be good. Morning class has been very good, afternoon class needs a lot of work.

quote:

How does Mrs. JSK handle it if a student does not have a phone?

You have a better chance of them not having a pulse.

Sadly we had issues with my uniformed patrol people using them on duty. As NJ had a hands free statute, it looked bad to see these people violating it.

Cell phones are a great advantage and useful on duty. The policy said pull over and use it for the length of time needed to make or receive the call..that's it. Of course some didn't get the hint. Fortunately we had enough walking posts to dump them on.

My wife is in her 30th year of teaching. She feels like cell phones are the biggest detriment to education she has encountered. It is not unusual for parents to text their kids during class knowing they are in class.

Well the job only lasted 2 weeks. The new teacher was hired on Thursday and will start on Tuesday. That is fine with me as I like moving from school to school. As I was leaving the building, the principal and vice-principal were waiting for me. They said I had exceeded their expectations and the classroom was 1000% better than the day I started. I told them I did my best and I was glad that I was helpful. A pat on the back goes a long way.

Congrats brother. That’s awesome. Most people would be like “it’s a temp job, fuck it, I’ll roll the status quo and let someone else deal with the fuckery”.

You sir, made a difference. You brought order and discipline. You made the job for the person that was hired, a whole lot easier.

If the administration had shit for brains, they would have you there the first few days with the new teacher, showing that teacher how you handle cell phones and fuckery.

Anyways, congrats on a kick ass job well done.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Well the job only lasted 2 weeks. The new teacher was hired on Thursday and will start on Tuesday. That is fine with me as I like moving from school to school. As I was leaving the building, the principal and vice-principal were waiting for me. They said I had exceeded their expectations and the classroom was 1000% better than the day I started. I told them I did my best and I was glad that I was helpful. A pat on the back goes a long way.

I assume that teaching today is a challenging job for a variety of reasons, but that the entitlement attitudes towards cell phone usage and electronic gadgetry are certainly one of them...and no doubt that younger generations have distinctly different ideas as to what is considered courteous respectful behavior.

But as common and disrespectful as cell phone usage has become with kids, I see it regularly with adults and senior citizens as well.

I spend a fair amount of time at the library and use the designated Quiet Room. There is a sign just to the left of the open doorway stating it is a Quiet Room and that cell phone use is not allowed. While it doesn't elaborate I assume what it really means is that phone conversations are not allowed as both the Street people who hang out for the day, as well as library patrons regularly use their phones to Wi-Fi surf, send emails, listen to music, and watch videos and movies.

My personal policy is to silence my phone before entering the library, but I regularly hear patron's phones dinging vibrating alerts, and many of these are elderly and obviously retired.

A retired gentlemen I had previously witnessed answering phone calls in the Quiet Room did so again a couple weeks ago. I was watching a video while using an ear bud, not because my laptop doesn't have speakers but because I want to respect other users as well as the Quiet Room's purpose.

It was the night of the Soleimani missile strike in Iran and the man's daughter called him, obviously concerned this was the beginning of WW III and to complain about President Trumps decision. The man continued a 20 + minute conversation trying to both calm and reasure her while agreeing with her position.

While I disagree with their position on the issue I don't mind the fact that we disagree...what pissed the hell out of me was that I couldn't hear the audio portion of the video I was watching and had to stop watching it for the duration of their conversation.

I waited for the man to leave the Quiet Room and just as he returned I stopped him and asked him if he know that this was the Quiet Room and pointed out the sign, but he acknowledged that he knew it was, apologized, and said he thought he was quiet enough that it didn't matter that he was talking on the phone and that he should have asked me first...no, you don't need to ask my permission first...you need to follow the posted sign and the entire premise of the Quiet Room.

I have witnessed countless other such cell phone policy violations, and not only by young people but by adults and senior citizens who grew up in a time before cell phones existed and should have understood what it means to be considerate and respectful of others...and it shouldn't have to be explained to them.

Cell phones offer a great many benefits...but have made it far too easy to become disrespectful to others in the vicinity.

Glad you were able to teach these kids a lesson ...and not just about computers and IT. Job well done teacher!

They did ask if I would be available next week, and why don't I work their school more often.