Class Calm

Real Clear Education recently posted a column by Max Eden on the subject of banning cell phones in the classroom. This is one of the bigger controversies in education right now and the momentum seems to be going in the direction of more restrictions on student cell phone use if not an outright ban.

It used to be a mystery to me why any teacher or parent would oppose limitations on cell phones in schools. In my view, schools cannot be too draconian in crafting cell phone policies. However, Max Eden lists three interesting reasons why some are in favor and I will admit that his column opened my eyes on this phase of classroom management. 

First, he says that many parents want their students to keep their phones throughout the school day as a deterrent to bullying. He goes further into the issue of ‘restorative justice’ and, if I understand the argument, says that there would be no need for students to have a phone to stop bullying if schools were not so restricted in dishing out punishment to bullies. However, he continues, the schools cannot do so because they are limited in how many suspensions they can issue. (That is his argument. I am not taking a stand on that in this blog post.)

I have to say that I really do not know what goes on outside of my classroom in the way of dishing out suspensions. Are administrators really limited in the number of suspensions they can give? Does it matter what state we are talking about? Does it matter if it is a Title I school or not? Do the political views of the administrator factor into it? Any comments on this would be welcome. All I know is that when there is trouble, I know there might be a suspension or there might be no punishment at all. As mentioned in previous posts, I become almost obsessive about documenting misconduct which in turn makes it less likely that later somebody will say that they were not informed about a particularly problematic student. That seems to help in keeping things from getting out of hand. It also probably helps that I am in Florida. I have read enough news accounts of policies in other states to know that bullies can get away with nearly anything in some places. So I can definitely see this argument in favor of allowing cell phones.

The second argument presented by Max Eden has to do with rampage shootings. It is claimed that many parents want their child to always be with their phone so that they can stay in touch in the unlikely event of a massacre. Again, I cannot blame any mom or dad for holding such a view.

Finally, he notes that some parents want to monitor the values being promoted by the teacher when class is in session. If you believe that there are not at least a few teachers out there promoting views that many parents would find offensive, please post in the comments and I can send you links to prove that it actually does occur. For the third time, Max Eden has a good point about the parents being on solid ground wanting their student to have their cell phone.

However, there is quite a bit of evidence that cell phones distract students to the point where they are learning little to nothing. This is the camp that I was dwelling in prior to reading the Eden column. The worst effects are experienced by the lower-level students. This should not be tolerated either.

Finally, at the end of the essay, Max Eden touches on the possibility of having some form of video recording in the classroom as a way to solve the above problems and at the same time separate students from their electronic devices. He seems to not hit this too hard though and I can understand why. For some reasons many teachers become hostile at the mere suggestion that their class sessions be video recorded. Why? For a number of years now many law enforcement agencies throughout the country have had their officers and deputies wear body cams. When the criminal suspect claims misconduct, they simply have to replay the tape and, if the officer was following procedures, case closed.

Why not do the same for classrooms? Place a wide-angle camera with an audio track in the far corner of the classroom and press the record button. Next time a student makes an accusation against the teacher, simply call up the clip. The time alone saved in sorting out the accusations and denials would be worth it. Live stream the cameras and parents worried about a massacre would know precisely the safety status of their child at all times. Bullies? Smile, buster. You are now being recorded. I would welcome the help of modern technology. Please post a comment and let me know where you stand.