Thank you, thank you. I was beginning to think I was the only one bothered by student cell phones. A request that students silence them at the start of a course is insufficient. Nothing breaks the flow of a lecture like the blast of an cell phone ring tone. Even worse is the cell phone coversation in the back of the classroom.
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Rice <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:50:29 -0400
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Why I ban cell phones
You may have seen the following article this morning. UTC should post cell
phone ban signs in all classrooms (similar to no-smoking signs) to support
teachers like me who do not allow them except in potential emergency cases
(the grandparent at death's door or the sick kid at home with no
caregiver). I warn students -- but so far have not carried out -- that they
will lose a grade in my course if their cell phone is not turned off. Like
seatbelts, this works.
Richard (getting in touch with my inner Luddite) Rice
New York Times. May 23, 2006
Hang It Up
By JESSE SCACCIA
YOU'RE a teacher in the New York City public school system. It's September,
and you're lecturing the class on the structure of an essay. Your students
need to know this information to pass your class and the Regents exam, and
you, of course, hope that one day your talented students will dazzle and
amaze English professors all over the country.
You turn your back to write the definition of "thesis" on the chalk board.
It takes about 15 seconds. You turn around to the class expecting to see 25
students scribbling the concept in their notebook. Instead, you see a group
of students who have sprung appendages of technology.
Jose has grown an earphone. Maria's thumbs have sprouted a two-way. Man
Keung, recently arrived from China, is texting away on a cellphone
connected to his wrist. And Christina appears to be playing Mine Sweeper on
a Pocket PC on her lap.
Come the end of the term, a handful will fail the class. A number will
never pass the Regents. As we all know, far too many will drop out of
school. And I can tell you with no hint of pride that it isn't the
teacher's fault. As much as any other problem plaguing our schools, the
onus for failure should be placed on distractions in the classroom,
specifically the cellphone.
Though electronic devices have been banned in public schools for years, the
issue came to the forefront last month when Chancellor Joel Klein announced
the random placement of metal detectors in schools. The result: more than
800 cellphones have been confiscated.
Students and their parents, who say they rely on cellphones for safety
reasons, are outraged. There's even talk of a lawsuit arguing that the rule
should be struck down.
But as a former New York City public school teacher, I can tell you that
cellphones don't belong in the classroom. A student with a cellphone is an
uninterested student, one with a short attention span who cares more about
his social life than education.
Parents think of cellphones as a connection to their children in an
emergency. I have a few questions for those parents: First, when was the
last situation that genuinely called for immediate interaction with your
child? In most cases, the hospital or the police would seem more urgent.
Second, is phoning the main office and having it patch you through to your
child not quick enough? And third, do you know why your children really
want to take cellphones to school?
Because just like the new Jordans and Rocawear they desire, cellphones are
status symbols. Because when their cellphone rings while the teacher is
talking, everyone laughs. Because playing video games on their cell makes
them look cool. Because text messaging their friend in the next room is
more fun than learning about the topic sentence. So is listening to the new
Three 6 Mafia song they just downloaded onto their cell.
And saying students can store their phones in the locker is a joke. If they
have cellphones, they're going to bring them into class.
There are legitimate causes that parents should be taking on. Rally against
crowding in the classroom. Fight against the oppressive and culturally
biased Regents tests. But you're wrong on this cellphone issue. In this
case, you are part of the problem, not the solution.
Jesse Scaccia, a film producer, taught at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School
in Brooklyn.
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Russell Fowler, J.D.
Adjunct
Department of Political Science
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
417 Fletcher Hall
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-2598
and
Managing Attorney
Legal Aid of East Tennessee. Inc
The Doctors Building
744 McCallie Avenue, Suite 410
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403
(423) 756-4013 Ext. 105
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