With these new iPhones out now, I can just imagine the nightmares we will have in schools trying to monitor the use of cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, etc...It's all in one now!! Do you have any funny or strange cell phone mishaps to share? We had a child ask how he was supposed to get home without the GPS system on his cell phone since he wasn't allowed to bring the phone to school any more? BTW.....we are a neighborhood school and all the kids live within a 4 block radius!! LOL
I have answered a couple of student phones that rang in class. Couple of years ago, first day of school a phone rings in the middle of class. I ask the kid to hand the phone over, the conversation went something like this: me: "hello?" caller: "who is this? me: "This is Mrs. E---, who is this?" caller: "this is who?" me: "Mrs E---" caller: "I was trying to call (student's name), i'm his mom" me: "you did, however he is in the middle of my class right now. May I take a message?" caller:"he is suppose to have the thing on silent, I was going to leave a message" me: "sorry, the phone rang during my class. Unfortunalty, you will need to come by the office after school to get his phone back" caller: "okay" Guess what? Never had a problem in THAT class again!
I was in a class (college course), when the person behind me received a cell phone call. He answered "hello?" (Remember, this is during a college level lecture!) Apparently, the caller asked him what he was doing, to which he responded "Oh, nothing!" I have a cell phone, and enjoy using it, but really, people! What happened to respect for the environment in which you find yourself?
I don't think this is just limited to school age either. I have attended several workshops this summer where teachers have answered their cell phones in the middle of a workshop and have either sat there and had their conversations or left the room while talking. It amazes me when I go to summer workshops the number of teachers who will talk while the teacher is talking, pass notes, answer cell phones, shuffle things around, and get up and leave the room all while the teacher is teaching. And aren't those the things we discipline our students for doing? I agree with you pwhatley! I have not had any cell phone issues in my class so far. I have had to remind students that they are not allowed at school when a phone was found left on the playground.
I was TAing a class one time and the professor had just gotten a new cell phone. He isn't the best with technology and it started to ring during his lecture. After fiddling with it for a couple of seconds, he handed it to me (luckily I was sitting in the front row) and asked me to get it to stop making noise! I held on to it for the rest of class. The students were very amused, and I think the prof was rather embarassed. I have to admit, that was better than the time the same professor actually answered his phone in the middle of lecture and carried on a conversation for 2-3 minutes. Guess it was important! Needless to say, his cell phone antics didn't help the TAs in our effort to get the students to turn of their cell phones in lab. The biggest problem we had was that students were claiming to use their phones as a calculator, but some were taking pictures of their quiz and sending it to their friends. Obviously we have now banned the use of cell phones in the lab.
I live in a huge city with subways and it always amuses me when people get on their cell phones during their ride and have a private conversation very loudly. What are they thinking? One time a young woman was discussing her new boss who is really"hot" and who took her out for drinks last night and had roaming hands and how great he kissed...she described his many talents to her friend on the other end then went on to discuss their night at her place and now she was on her way to work which would be interesting because he was gone by the time she got up this morning. Has the girl no shame or brains?!!! I guess it's the next best thing to TV soap operas when you are en route to somewhere. I should have asked her to call me later for an update because now I wanted to know what happened when she got to work!! LOL!!
I was going on a field trip two years ago and a little girl had a small fannypack with her. The kids were strickly told no backpacks or bags, as they didn't allow them where we were going. Before we left, I asked her to put it away, that she couldn't bring anything with her. She started to cry and told me something personal was in the bag but that she couldn't show me, and she had to have it for an emergency. The first thought that occured to me was that she had her period. She was nine, but it was plausible, as kids do get it that early and she was more mature than most 9 year olds. Well, I finally got her to show me, and of course it was her cell phone. Her parents were very concerned about crowds and made her bring it, but wanted it kept a secret so it wouldn't get played with. We didn't have much of a policy before this. We were going to a crowded festival, so I understand their concern, but each adult there had one, and there were only 4 kids for each adult. Anyway, after that incident, the parents got really mad. The child said I "yelled" at her, which of course I didn't do. I don't yell at kids, and I wouldn't have especially because I thought initially it had been a delicate issue. The parents were mad at me and said I handled the situation wrong and should have let her bring it. I did not, as we were going to a theater festival, and it would have to be silenced for every show, and would have been a mess. There were several parent chaperones in the room, and they all backed me up and saw the incident, so they knew that the parents had gone overboard. This year, the parent handbooks had a very strict cell phone policy, which I know was the result of this incident. I guess that was long winded. Sorry! It still irks me to think about it!
I can't stand those cell phone setups where the person has that earpiece, and you can't even tell they have a cell phone at first -- they just seem to be talking loudly to thin air! Please!
I had a student in one of my classes who was having habitually cutting English. I had already called home a few times and the parents were aware of the situation and on top of her about it. So one day, the student in question comes waltzing into my class (a few minutes late, mind you) and gives me her cell phone which she had already connected to her mom on the other end. She interuppts my lesson and says, "Will you tell my mom that I am in class today so she will leave me alone?" I was totally caught off guard!
Those are the moments where you take a deep breath and repeat silently, "I cannot go to prison. My family needs me. I enjoy my freedom!" OVER and OVER!!! LOL
I teach 5th grade and in our county we have DARE for 5th graders. The officer came to our classroom every Monday afternoon (well, if he decided to show up...that's another story!) By the end of the year, it was pretty much expected that he would get a phone call and have to leave the room. One day he got a call, left the classroom, and did not come back. He showed up the next morning during our Guided Reading block asking if he could finish the lesson from the day before. Sorry, no thanks. Ugh, I was frustrated!
I agree! I think those earpiece phones are so ridiculous looking! I had a first grader bring a phone to school and it went off during class! Please, what does a 6 year old need a phone for!!!!! And why would anyone call a 6 year old during school hours????
QUOTE: "I can't stand those cell phone setups where the person has that earpiece..." pwhatley, I completely agree! I always want to scream, "You're NOT that important!"
A new student arrived mid-year. It was her second or so day and while I was teaching her cell phone went off. I don't get too bent out of shape when this happens because they are allowed to have them in class (emergencies) and I myself have thought I had mine on silent but did not. So, I looked at her and at her purse as if to say, "Take care of that." She just sat there, so I said, "Isn't that your phone ringing?" She said it wasn't. I said, "Well, your purse is vibrating and singing, so I think it is." She again looked at it, so nervous, and still said it wasn't coming from her purse. "Well, do me a favor and open up your purse just in case..." Surprise! It was hers!
I just posted this on another thread but thought it fit here so I'm copying it over. During one of my formal observations my cell phone rang. My principal has a no phone rule but I turn in on on the way to school, leave it unused and then my husband calls my kids while I'm on bus or hall duty to talk about their day and their homework. Anyway, I was leaned over a student beside my desk where the principal was sitting and the phone rang. She gave me the teacher look and I mouthed sorry. I went on with the lesson as normal. When we got together to discuss the lesson and her evaluation, she noted that the phone rang twice. I said, "NO MA'AM IT ONLY RANG ONCE and I checked at the end of the day, it was a wrong number." She said, "No it rang twice. You were doing so good the second time, you didn't even notice but (watch out for those buts) since it happened twice, I have to document it." Open Mouth, Insert Cell Phone.
Here in Toronto, there has been a cell phone ban in the public schools (I'm hoping the Catholic board does the same!). Some parents feel that it is their right to be in contact with their child every minute of every day, whether s/he is in the classroom or not. I love the response the trustee gave.... Opponents of school cellphone bans have voiced concerns about being unable to reach children quickly during emergencies, one that Matlow dismissed. "During the school day, when the kids are learning, parents can do what parents have done for 100 years, which is call the office and ask for your child to come down, if you need to get a hold of them," said Matlow. I think cell phones should be banned from all schools. Period.
I LOVE THAT!! Good for him!!! Imagine making parents actually go through proper procedure and call the office!! How rude
Schools are dangerous nowdays! I think it is best to install internet cameras in the classrooms so that parents can view their child at any time.
Once we enter our attendance in the computer, parents have instant access to it via the Internet, and some parents have it set up that they get instant messages if their student is marked absent or tardy. A young man was late my first hour, so I had marked him absent, and when he came in several minutes late, I didn't interrupt what I was doing to change it to tardy. Several minutes later, he raised his hand and asked if I could please change him to tardy and email his dad that he was in fact in class. When I asked him why it seemed so urgent, he said his dad had just text messaged him and that he wanted to know where he was instead of at school. Dad should've called the front office to see if the son had signed in late. Parents should know the rules and help us enforce them. Not help the kids sneak around them. BTW we do allow them, but from opening bell to closing bell they are to be out of sight.
A co-worker of mine had her phone taken by one of her K students. After school that day she could not find her cell phone so I told her to call it and we would listen for it in the room. Well to her surprise one of her students answered it. She quickly called the mother to let her know that she would be coming by to get the phone. The boy said that it must have fell into his pocket while he was leaving.
Oh I especially love it when they are in the book store talking on their earpiece as loud as possible.
I haven't had any mishaps with students using cell phones. The thing that bugs me the most is when teachers stop their lessons ti answer their cell phone in the middle class. They even text message while students are "working" and in middle of staff meetings. I can't do that.
HA! For real! I was in a book store yesterday and a lady's phone rang about 7 times before she yelled out "Oh that's me!" and put her phone on speakerphone so everyone could hear the entire conversation.
Now I admit to text messaging during class---always to DH to pick up dry cleaning, put trash at the road, etc. I have an interesting cell phone experience. My first year teaching we had a meeting for all new faculty members in the principal's office. This one teacher comes in late saying something about a plumbing problem at her house---but was sort of mysterious about it. Then a few minutes later her phone goes off. Okay if she's got a problem at home and it's an emergency call she could say very apologetically that she had to take it and excuse herself. But she didn't. She answered it UNDER THE TABLE!!!!!!! Then at a faculty meeting a few months later we're sitting there and suddenly something starts moo-ing! It's that same lady's phone!! And during SAT's she didn't have a clock in her room--she uses the clock on her cell phone!!! Needless to say she wasn't asked back. She now works at a department store.
