What to do about texting in class, according to 11 teachers
Last week, following the release of a video showing a sheriff’s deputy body-slamming a South Carolina high school student over her use of a cellphone in class, we asked teachers to tell us how they handle mobile technology in the classroom. Teachers from places like Hawaii, Ecuador, Tennessee and across Los Angeles wrote in with their strategies for coping with students who bring their cellphones to class.
Despite schools’ often restrictive media policies, teachers shared that personal mobile devices are impossible to ignore. Each teacher seemed to have his or her own method for handling phones, such as placing them in a shoe rack, using them as a learning tool, or threatening to drop students’ grades. Below is a selection of their strategies:
Putting the phones in a brown paper bag
Stephanie Kuo, Manual Arts High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), RSP and AVID teacher
A fellow teacher shared a great strategy with me that has worked well for our classes. Whenever a student is caught violating the cellphone policy, he or she can choose to either give the phone to the teacher or option two: put the cellphone in a paper bag and staple it shut. Then the student puts the bag on their desk. With this strategy, students are stopped from using their cellphone and there is also an auditory cue (silly, large crinkling noise) that discourages them from usage. Many students choose option two because it makes them feel safer knowing that their device is not confiscated in a teacher's desk, forgotten, or even stolen by another student.
With this strategy, students are stopped from using their cellphone and there is also an auditory cue (silly, large crinkling noise) that discourages them from usage.
Setting the example by not using your phone
Angel Suing, Cardinal Spellman Girls’ School (Quito, Ecuador), English as a foreign language teacher
If the teacher does not use his or her cellphone in class, the students won’t either. It is just a matter of equal rights and obligations.... Lead by example and the students will follow.
Locking the code
Jerry Hancock, Duluth High School (Duluth, Ga.), U.S. history teacher
If I see students actively using their cellphones during class, I simply take the phone and punch passcode numbers until the phone is locked. I immediately give the phone back to the student without resorting to desperate measures such as administrators or paperwork. I know I'll have my students' undivided attention for at least the next hour!
Keeping students focused, and their phones safe
Hala Abdulkarim, Learn Charter Middle School (Chicago, Ill.), English teacher
Students were initially expected at my school to keep cellphones off and in their lockers. However, our school allows them to bring backpacks to class, and students fear their devices being stolen, so the rule What to do about texting in class -- according to 11 teachers - LA Times:
