The Cell Phone Issue

In yesterday's staff meeting there was an extended conversation about cell phones.  This is not a new issue, but the problem that gets brought up every year is that it's hard to enforce a rule that is not practiced consistently.  Some teachers don't allow students do use their cell phones in class (in accordance with the school rules); others do, on a situational basis; still others let students text as much as they want as long as the work is getting done; other teachers have been known to answer their own phones or text in the middle of class.  There were also archly-oblique comments about the security staff, some of whom spend extensive time on their phones in the hallways.

The end of the discussion was a blanket statement:  no cell phone use by students.  Students may not even charge their cell phones in class, because if another student steals the cell phone, the teacher will be held accountable.  "If we walk into a classroom and there are cell phones charging, we're going to have a problem," is the principal's quote.

Okay.  So.  In this environment, how does a teacher move forward with integrating the use of communication technology into class?  Am I thwarted?  Is all lost?

Well, it helps to have an ace in the hole.  I'm fortunate to have a co-conspirator among the administrators, and he has already confirmed that, should there be a complaint about me allowing students to use cell phones for academic purposes, he'll back me up.  Students will still be prohibited from using cell phones for non-academic purposes in my class.

We'll see how that works in practice.  Meanwhile, I'm getting my Socrative quiz banks ready!