A little rant

I could be out of touch. But I don't think so. I teach middle school, and I am around 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 year olds. We even have an occasional 15-year old. And things have truly changed. I have observed that myself. My first child started school in 1975 - and my last child graduated in 2005. That's a fairly long stint.

I have been teaching since 1996. When I started teaching, I didn't even have a cell phone. People had them - I just didn't. I don't even remember when I got one. I pretty much got Harry's old one whenever he got a new one.

Then having a cell phone started seeming to be essential. However, I'm not totally sure that they are. They are convenient. But sometimes they are too convenient. Sometimes it's nice to not be able to be contacted.

But I digress. My problem with cell phones is the number of middle school students who use and abuse them. And today, my run- in with the ubiquitous cell phone was especially problematic.

A middle school student at our school doesn't need his phone during the school day. In an emergency, the parents would have to contact the school - you can't just call your child and tell him or her to come out to the front so you can pick them up!! Now I remember times when I was truly annoyed that I had to unload a baby and go into the school to get my child for an orthodontist appointment. But schools simply can't let a child go without an adult - one whose name is on the approved list - coming in and signing them out. Think about it for a minute - the ramifications are enormous.

But parents get annoyed when they can't just do that. And some of them rant at us about it too - even after you point out the obvious.

And parents really ought not to be able to field calls from their children asking them to go pick up a pizza and bring it to the school for their lunch - maybe even to share with their friends.

But parents do that all the time. One boy bragged that every day since 4th grade his mother had brought him the fast food lunch of his choice!! (I would like to add that that same boy didn't do well in school - often didn't do homework or finish projects. So much so that he didn't get to walk across the stage at promotion. He was truly devastated by the turn of events. I ask, "Why wasn't Mom monitoring his school work as carefully as she monitored his lunch requests?")

The rule is: "Students may have cell phones at school if they have their parents' permission. Cell phones must be out of sight in the backpack and turned off during school hours." First infraction: phone can only be retrieved by the parent. Second infraction: phone is kept for 30 days. Third infraction: phone is kept until the last day of school in June.

No student is allowed to register for school without signing an affidavit that they have read and understood the rule. Parents have to sign the affidavit too.

I have confiscated a number of phones in recent days. One rang during class. One girl was texting her friend in the row ahead. One boy was just admiring his phone I guess. One boy was calling his dad to come get him. And every one of those kids was annoyed with me!

Annoyance isn't the biggest danger though. Our principal has confiscated phones and found that the person on the other end of the call was an adult male the girl didn't know except via her phone! Needless to say the unknown male immediately hung up when the principal announced herself!

Students text to cheat on tests. Students text to gossip about other kids. Students text to spread rumors. Students text to avoid doing their work. There is no good reason to do this during the school day. And you can't be selective how who can and who can't - everyone just has to follow the rules.

So imagine my chagrin when I got an irate voicemail from the mother of the girl whose phone I confiscated today! She told me I should take the time to talk to the child and find out why they had their phone out. I called her back and I thought I was being matter-0f-fact and pleasant about how I thought perhaps she didn't understand the circumstances surrounding the event. And she hung up on me.

I wrote a letter that I think is pretty matter-of-fact. But I may not send it. I talked to the VP who handled giving the phone back. He said he was very clear in explaining the situation to the mother. She told him she thought teachers should have the courtesy to ask the student why their phone was out. He told her that wasn't how the rule worked. So maybe she is not someone who would listen to reason.

I will call the young lady in though, and have a little discussion with her. She needs to understand that she may have snowed her mother, but she hasn't snowed anyone on the staff.

And I'm determined to catch her buddy she was texting - she is pretty cagey, but I'm a little cagier I think.

I'll report back!

Meanwhile - if you are the parent of a student with a cell phone, regardless of what the rules are at your school, will you assess carefully whether your child really needs to be able to call and text at will during the school day? And maybe encourage them to demonstrate cell phone courtesy and all it implies?

As with most new technology for communicating, advances often just mean new ways to be rude and inconsiderate. Just sit in any meeting or public gathering and see how often they have to ask you to turn off your phones so as not to bother others.

Thanks for listening!