The Goal Is Set
spring 2016
my goals
- not to use profanity in class
- use my cell phone less in class
- Don't talk when we are doing assignments
- maintain and keep a good grade in the class
- Complete work on time
No type of profanity
No cellphones
Christine Rosen, who writes about technology and culture for New Atlantis, notes that “even if you set aside the issues of cyberbullying, cheating and general distractedness that cell phones will abet, kids already spend most of their waking hours staring at screens.
Shouldn’t we try to preserve some spaces at school for the cultivation of other valuable skills, such as face-to-face communication and socializing?”
God forbid these kids look up from their screens for a minute. They might have to learn how to interact with an adult.
De Blasio and city Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña also left open the possibility that cellphones could be used in classes for “instructional purposes.”
Which is even worse. Students will be constantly switching back and forth between their text message conversations, Instagram and whatever app is supposed to be educating them.
And teachers will have to be constantly spot-checking their screens to make sure they are staying on task. As Finn notes, “If the kids are allowed to use them in school, there will be no more learning at all there, at least not learning anything in the curriculum.”
Keep in mind that the original ban was instituted before the widespread use of smartphones — the first iPhone hadn’t even come out yet.
Modal TriggerMayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.Photo: Paul MartinkaWhere once kids might have been using their phones to do some texting or even calling each other, now they can spend hours on social-networking sites, ignoring their algebra lessons.
No talking when not suppose to
I was a grade schooler at the time, but if I could, I would have put him in time-out so the rest of us could join in the conversation.
But behavior like this isn’t just rude at Thanksgiving. It’s always rude. And it’s also always rude in the classroom.
If there are students in your classroom who talk when they’re supposed to be listening or working, academic progress will suffer. Talking without permission wastes time, interrupts the learning of others, and leads to more serious disruptive behavior.
A teacher recently said to me, “My students are talking all the time, but I put up with it because I think it’s good to have open discussion in the classroom.”
I was speechless, but thought, “My gosh! Her room must be complete chaos.”
She went on to say that she has major behavior problems every year and has received her share of complaints from parents. She wondered if I thought her philosophy regarding talking had anything to do with it.