After first period Pre-AP Pre-Calculus, I went to study hall and promptly began my homework that was just assigned. However, I ran into problems as soon as I started to work. So, I asked our study hall teacher if I could go see my math teacher for help. She allowed me to go, and I did. When I got to his classroom, I noticed that he was teaching, and, not wanting to disrupt his class, went back to study hall. Another thought popped into my head: text his email, tell him that I need help, and let him reply when he has a free minute. However, I didn’t. I just decided to wait and waste time until I thought of something else to do. This just makes me glad that I didn’t text him!

Heaven forbid we use technology in an educational setting; we only live in the 21st century here!

The sad thing about this kid is that he never got the help that he needed. I, on the other hand, was more fortunate.

@ Jennifer: At our school, the best, most caring teachers are the ones who give you their cell phone number and tell you to call if you need anything. They are the ones who take time out of their night to help you. They are the ones who want you to succeed at all costs. (For the record, I have the phone numbers, cell and/or home, of 3 of my 6 teachers. And I–and a hand full of other students–call them without hesitation.)

That being said,

“The bigger problem is that the only reaction from the teacher and admin was punitive, not educational.” – Silvia

Exactly.

Easy one.. he was disrespectful of the rules set forth by the school. I’m not defending the rules..they are open for debate IMO. Let’s not forget that.

“I suspect the student’s refusal to give up his cell phone was a reaction to feeling attacked for doing something he probably felt appropriate.”

OK, HE may have felt it was appropriate but wasn’t the school policy clear that no cell phones were permitted? Why is that not being acknowledged? He wasn’t being attacked, he was being held accountable for blatantly disregarding a school policy (whether you agree with it or not, it’s still a policy).

“What part of the message he sent sounded disrespectful?”

Hello! It wasn’t the message itself! It was the WAY he tried to circumvent a stated policy, as I’ve stated numerous times. There’s a productive way to evoke change and this student decided to alienate the staff by doing an end-around. Do you really think the student has any cred left to make a positive stand on an issue he obviously cares about?

OK, I can’t continue on like this, I have to teach…my last word on this topic..

1. I AM for alternative technologies in the classroom, cell phones included. In fact, several students use Gcast and their cell phone to podcast notes from classes. They do this within the context of the policies set forth by the school. If they go out of bounds, they are subject to disciplinary action.

2. I AM for evoking change in the culture of schools. BUT, it MUST be done in a way not to push or alienate other students and/or staff AND not fly smack in the face of acceptable behavior. Would we expect anything less from ourselves if we were to initiate a change?

Enough said. Carl and I, I’m afraid, will have to agree to disagree on this. I need to remove myself from this conversation now.

I want to work at that school

How are you sure the student was disrespectful? I suspect the student’s refusal to give up his cell phone was a reaction to feeling attacked for doing something he probably felt appropriate.

What part of the message he sent sounded disrespectful?

“Hi Mrs. Smith. This is John. I had a question about the Hamlet homework you assigned. I am texting you from my cell phone in [in-school suspension].”

Is it disrespectful to ask questions? To ask for help? Does asking for help somehow imply that the initial instruction was not good enough and therefore is seen as a sign of disrespect? Please help me understand how this student was being disrespectful.

True, we don’t know all the details or the circumstances of the situation, we can only go by what Will posted. I don’t think the purpose of this discussion is to critique one singular instance. What this discussion is about is the countless incidents that occur in “Normal” High Schools everyday. For that matter this whole incident could be considered entirely hypothetical.

Also, in what way was what I described utopian? To say something is utopian is to imply it does not hold any realistic expectations of ever working, that it ignores realities. How are relationship building and student engagement not realistic expectations of every teacher? Of every learner? The only way these ideals are not realistic is if the teacher (and the system supporting teachers) holds to the belief that the teacher and the ivory towers they operate out of are the sole proprietors of knowledge and understanding and should control how learning happens. If we hold to the “sage on the stage” ideology then my vision of a learning environment by no means could ever exist because it gives control of learning back to the student and recognizes the innate qualities of the student, of the human mind, to want to learn, to want to pursue knowledge, to want to share with others, to want to participate in communities where their own learning is valued on their own terms (not someone else’s terms).

Education is an interesting profession. Everyone is an expert because everyone has gone through the system. Those who do well in the system are qualified to teach in the system. This insures that certain biases toward learning, teacher-student relationships, knowledge, pedagogy, and yes rules remains intact. Does what happened to this student reflect these biases. Teachers tend to teach the way they were taught, not the way their students learn best. If we base our school rules on what is necessary to establish and maintain a certain pedagogy or an environment for that pedagogy to appear to work then we are only supporting this bias. If we look at it that way what happened to the student was equally disrespectful.

I guess my response to Will’s post was more about the responsibility of the student to play within the governing rules, just like in real life. It just amazes me that so many folks are cheerleading this student when we should be trying to teach them appropriate (and effective) ways to disagree with authority and to promote change that is respectful in tone. This is about teaching the whole student. It is NOT about the technology. That, my friend, is the subject for another post IMHO.

I think a lot of teachers will say, “no, this is an issue of respect.” Well, this can be addressed by another “workaround” that is integrally tied into pedagogy: building relationships. The teacher-student relationship can solve a lot of problems as well. We need to work more on community building so we can build a foundation for mutual respect and then engage students in learning activities they find meaningful. If this can be achieved in your classroom then there should be no need for such rules banning this or that because the primary goal of each student will be to work on the task at hand. Teachers can let it be known that they don’t appreciate inappropriate use of tools and occasionally will have to redirect a student in their use of such tools but this is a far cry from having an all inclusive (or in this case exclusive) discipline policy.

Get to know your students, take interest in what they find important, and engage them in meaningful learning activities related to the course content drawing from their interests and experiences. Allow students to choose their own tools for completion of tasks and to facilitate learning. Occasionally share tools you have found and encourage them to do the same. Establish your position in the classroom as that of lead learner by valuing knowledge that each student brings to the table and encourage them to share that knowledge with the rest of the class (including the lead learner). In such a learning environment kids using cell phones to reach out for help on homework would be rewarded because their innovative use of the technology to overcome obstacles to learning would be celebrated and shared with the whole learning community. Actually, in such a learning environment the student probably would not be in ISS in the first place.

If you have a class using a computer lab, do you not monitor them to make sure they are working on the assignment? If you found them browsing sites that are unrelated (MySpace, AllHipHop, PerezHilton) or playing computer games, would you not ask them to focus back on the assignment?

Should we allow uninterrupted note passing in class? Do we allow them to make paper airplanes and footballs instead of reading Hamlet?

Are they allowed to talk to each other constantly during class without consequence? Can they make rude gestures with their hands without consequence?

My point is that we have ways (albeit imperfect) of monitoring these other “devices” in class and we certainly do not allow anything and everything to take place. I think it is more difficult, due to the small size of personal communication devices, to monitor them adequately at this point and I do not see a valid reason to allow them to be brought into the classroom on a daily basis.

Does this go for every device that could be used in the context of an assignment? Does it include computers? The Internet? Pencils? Paper? Hands? Voices? It seems to me that all of these things could also be used inappropriately.