Cell phone and screens should be talked about in the same way we talk about gambling and cocaine. The underlying algorithms operate on the brain in the same ways. I tell my kiddos that the main purpose of the internet is to get you hooked and they should approach it with caution and care. We are on our own as fed gov removes any responsibility of tech lords.
I don't know how any teacher can get anything accomplished when students are constantly looking at their phones. Your patience and continued desire to want to teach amazes me.
I see very young kids- babies even- just scream and beg for the phone. When they do have it, they have their face inches from it and never stop scrolling.
Had I known BH was doing this conference, I would have attended and encouraged my Bham colleagues to do so as well! I have banned cell phones in my classroom but it's not as effective as a school and/or district wide ban and messaging from the top to say we do this act out of love, not the need for punishment or power.
One good thing Governor Huckabee did was remove cell phones from Arkansas schools, they should have never been allowed in the first place. The need for constant touch through digital is deafening and causing innumerable harm. What are your thoughts on dismantling the NEA?
I think you're referring to the dismantling of the US Department of Education, apparently about to be shut down with some services dispersed, through another President Trump Executive Order. The agency has largely been fairly ineffective or dysfunctional for decades, yet there are key questions regarding crucial oversight functions. I hope to devote at least one column to this in the near future, as further details emerge.
I taught English in Los Angeles and Michigan, but had a health issue so began subbing in area schools, from Ferndale to Troy to Lamphere for a decade. I actually quit and students with phones were one reason. They weren't just the "Elephant in the room" they were the elephant. Since subs are often considered sub-humans by the kids, there's no show of respect. Phones were brought out immediately as l did attendance, kids shared memes, giggling, as l passed out assignments; they ignored me, staring into their phones silently when l tried to stop this and hold them accountable to the lessons. I was never allowed (by administrations) to confiscate phones. Why? A teacher in one district said they were sued by an angry parent who wanted a constant connection to her child. She won.
Cell phone and screens should be talked about in the same way we talk about gambling and cocaine. The underlying algorithms operate on the brain in the same ways. I tell my kiddos that the main purpose of the internet is to get you hooked and they should approach it with caution and care. We are on our own as fed gov removes any responsibility of tech lords.
I don't know how any teacher can get anything accomplished when students are constantly looking at their phones. Your patience and continued desire to want to teach amazes me.
I see very young kids- babies even- just scream and beg for the phone. When they do have it, they have their face inches from it and never stop scrolling.
That can't be healthy.
Had I known BH was doing this conference, I would have attended and encouraged my Bham colleagues to do so as well! I have banned cell phones in my classroom but it's not as effective as a school and/or district wide ban and messaging from the top to say we do this act out of love, not the need for punishment or power.
One good thing Governor Huckabee did was remove cell phones from Arkansas schools, they should have never been allowed in the first place. The need for constant touch through digital is deafening and causing innumerable harm. What are your thoughts on dismantling the NEA?
I think you're referring to the dismantling of the US Department of Education, apparently about to be shut down with some services dispersed, through another President Trump Executive Order. The agency has largely been fairly ineffective or dysfunctional for decades, yet there are key questions regarding crucial oversight functions. I hope to devote at least one column to this in the near future, as further details emerge.
Thanks for reading & for your comments!
I taught English in Los Angeles and Michigan, but had a health issue so began subbing in area schools, from Ferndale to Troy to Lamphere for a decade. I actually quit and students with phones were one reason. They weren't just the "Elephant in the room" they were the elephant. Since subs are often considered sub-humans by the kids, there's no show of respect. Phones were brought out immediately as l did attendance, kids shared memes, giggling, as l passed out assignments; they ignored me, staring into their phones silently when l tried to stop this and hold them accountable to the lessons. I was never allowed (by administrations) to confiscate phones. Why? A teacher in one district said they were sued by an angry parent who wanted a constant connection to her child. She won.