Anonymous wrote:HS parent - like everything else, it is wildly inconsistent. My son reports that some teachers don’t care and kids freely use them all through class.

He says most don’t care if they see it quickly if kids are sending a text but it’s not out in class.

He has one teacher who sends us an email and copies the principal and counselor every time she sees the phone at all, even if it’s at the beginning of class before the bell. She quotes the policy and says how they are not allowed.

I shut the kids down at first, but after 2-3 months of saying the same things to the same kids every class, getting pushback from parents and crickets from admin— except when one yelled at me for trying to do a referral last block the day before a 3-day weekend— I gave up, because trying to shit it down was a bigger distraction to the class than the phone usage was.

If that kid won’t take out his AirPods to pay attention, and nobody at home or the office backs me up, y’all can figure it out together when he fails. I have 27 other kids in that room to worry about.

Anonymous wrote:HS Teacher. The rule is is not enforced, admin won’t back teachers up because of parent complaints so the kids pretty much can do whatever they want.

You are so right that in most classes, kids basically do whatever they want with the phones. It's awful. However, here is a way to make it work - even mid year! I used this in my HS classroom, and it really does work.

I also wrote referrals for the third strike, and the counselors and admins always supported me.

It's so important to keep the phones from poisoning the classroom and preventing students from learning.

Worth a read!! Hope it helps...

"How to Liberate Classrooms from Cellphones: "The Backpack Method" and How to Create an (Essentially) Cellphone Free Classroom"
https://raisingamericans.substack.com/p/the-backpack-method