What?
During one of my observations, I watched a co-teaching classroom where one of the students repeatedly used his phone in the classroom. The teachers in the classroom allow the students to use their phones for music only while they write, but this student was clearly texting or fooling around with his phone. The "leading" teacher gave the student a verbal warning, then the "secondary" teacher also gave him a warning. (Side note: for this specific period, one of the co-teachers has taken the lead to instruct writing while the other teacher takes a secondary role and conferences with the students.) After the third warning, the teachers agreed to press the button and a member of the restoration team came up to the room. Before the member enters the room, the teacher has to fill out a referral form and give it to the member of the restoration team. The team member takes the student out into the hall and talks to them, then they call the teacher into the hall for a conference with the student. From here, the teacher and restoration specialist decide on consequences and take the proper action. In some cases, the student will be sent back into the room and in other cases they will remove the student for the rest of the period. I also learned that this specific student was a repeat offender and constantly took advantage of the opportunity to use his phone in the classroom.So What?
There are also two things to unpack from this experience: 1.) how this specific school deals with behavioral problems and 2.) how these specific teachers dealt with this case of behavior / their classroom management strategies.1.) School Behavior Management
I honestly respect and appreciate the idea of a restoration team that comes in as a third party to settle any problems in the classroom. It is great that they listen to the student's side of the story and then bring the teacher and have a conference between both parties. This is a model of how to successfully solve problems in a professional and mature manner and it is very important for students to see this model. It also takes some pressure away from the teacher and allows both the teacher and student to look back at the situation and explain their sides of the story. The teacher in this case explained that she had given him numerous warnings but he didn't listen. At the same time, the counter is that this method takes ALOT of valuable class time, especially if there is only one teacher in the room.
2.) Teacher's Classroom Management and Situation
Thinking back to our classroom management panel, I remember that one of the teachers explained that you must have clear and concrete rules for the students to follow, otherwise they will push you around or try to test your limits and take advantage of you. The teachers have a no-phone policy (as does the school), but by offering the use of phones as a music device, I can see how students would be willing to test the waters.
Jessica, I actually experienced a very similar situation during one of my classroom observations. The student would not get off of his cell phone and had received numerous warnings. The teacher had to push "the button" and a member of the restoration team came down to assist in the situation. With that being said I can picture what happened in during your observation. I also agree with you that there can be gray areas with the cell phone rule. I saw it in my high and now I am seeing it at CF. There are times where I will see a teacher look at a student on their cell phone and ignore it then other times where they will give a warning. From the teacher panel I really liked the way one of the teachers took matters into her own hands and developed her own guidelines for using cell phones. Also, the fact that she saw improvement was great. I think it's important to work with the school if you notice that the current rules and guidelines are not being followed. I also will make sure that my students know of the rules on the first day of classes and make sure that all students follow them as well. This is the only way to be completely fair to all students and to have a well managed classroom.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I agree with you when the teacher lets a rule become a 'gray area' then this will lead to problems. If the school rule is no phones but then a teacher lets them use them for music during certain situations then a pushing at the boundaries will likely occur. Also it is important to be consistent about the rules and how they are followed. i just find myself wondering if the student on the phone was a lesser distraction to the whole class then the calling in of the management team?
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI completely agreed with your “Teacher’s Classroom Management and Situation” portion of the post. I remember from the classroom management panel that consistency was a major topic between the teachers. You must establish the non-negotiables or rules in the classroom and then stick with them. By these teachers allowing the phones out for music during writing they are not being consistent with their no-phone policy. It allows the students to challenge the rule and use their phones. Just from the one example you shared of the repeat phone user, I can tell that the students are testing the teacher’s limits. If one student is challenging the rule, are there others that are also challenging it? If students are constantly challenging the rule, shouldn’t the rule be changed and the students lose the privilege of using their phones during writing times?
“We owe it to our students to tell them what the rules are, what the reasons are behind the rules and how the student broke the rules.” I would add to your sentence something about consequences to breaking the rules. Other cell phone policies that I have heard of include teachers taking away the cell phone and the student’s parent has to pick up the phone or students have to stay after school. You can explain something to someone time after time after time and they still may not change their ways. But, if you add a consequence to that explanation then the student will not want to break that rule again.