A few years ago, I swiped a note as it passed from one first grade girl to another. I was curious. What could first grade girls possibly write about in a note?
I opened the note and immediately questioned my ability to teach writing. It said, Nst Nst Nst. What? I called the girls over and asked them to read it. With guilty eyes, they looked at each other, then to me, and in unison started techno rave music singing "nnst nnst nnst." I bit my tongue to hold back the laughter.
Something recently reminded me of the story as my family sat at the dinner table, and I shared. I then asked my teenage stepson if he passed notes, and his response was priceless and made me feel old. "Nobody passes notes anymore. We text." And with the eye roll that preceded his statement, I tried to imagine what texting does to a classroom.
I work with elementary students, and we rarely if ever deal with cellphone drama. Some colleagues tell me notes are found on occassion, but it is an ancient artform. What I hear from my middle and high school friends is that cellphones are the ultimate evil. I've seen videos and TV shows demonstrate speed texting without looking, but I don't believe it is done in class without being obvious. Really?
So I wonder..
- What's your policy on note passing, or is it just texting these days?
- Do you even encounter notes anymore thanks to technology?
- Are phones taken away?
- How often does it occur?
- How does it affect your teaching?
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I have become so much more relaxed about this in my high school classroom.
For one, I do not take phones because I am legally responsible for the things once they enter my hand.
For another thing, how many of my students are walking around with these awesome computers in their pockets? I trained one of my juniors the other day on Google Drive. She downloaded an app onto her Android phone, learned how to type into the documents really quickly, and within 10 minutes she was grinning as she realized she could work on her autobiographical writing in the car on the way to the doctor's office, and it would be typed up waiting for her in the computer lab on Tuesday, ready for revision. So amazing!
This year, I told my freshmen parents at orientation that their children might actually be at a disadvantage without a smart phone. They looked at me in dismay-- even the English teacher had gone to the dark side.
As for the disruption... you make the point as well as I could. Notepassing has been happening forEVER. What's new? The speed, the video and camera capability to transmit a quiz to the next class ahead of time. Sure.
So I address the issue. We talk about the importance of impulse control. Owning the device without it owning you. We make an agreement that I can be fairly casual about it if they give me a wave to let me know they're putting something in their calendar or looking up a word in their online dictionary.
It's not perfect. Texts happen. But I figure in a cost/benefit analysis my time is better spent engaging students than running a police state.
Actually, now I wonder... how do we make sure the kids WITHOUT the smart phones have the resources they need?
PS Your anecdote literally made me laugh out loud. How adorable.
The anecdote was very cute, but it aged me!
My policy is that when it's not used for a lesson, put the iPad or SmartPhone away, turn it off, and keep it out of sight. When it is for class work, I'll let you know and you can take it out, turn it on, and use it for the prescribed purpose.
I enjoy technology in my room and using the gadgets my kids bring to school, saves me time and money. However, I usually have one of two kiddos who don't have their gizmos on them. Then, I have then use the classroom computer to search for information.
And yes, I still catch junior high kids passing notes. You need the good ole pencil and paper to create the caricatures that make it around to most of the class!
P.S. After reading your entry, I told my creative writing students to write something to give away during our writing time yesterday.
Not a single one of them asked if they could text.
They all pulled out paper and were eager for envelopes at the end.
It was adorable.
I didn't even grade it (but don't tell anyone).
What was my learning objective? Apparently it was to see my students unquestioningly and passionately write like crazy for fifteen minutes and send it off into the world for someone they loved.