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I can take it if they hand it over and then a parent has to come get the phone but they know if they don't hand it over, all that will happen is the principal will talk to them about it and no parent has to come get the phone. The punishment is worse if they hand the phone over than if they don't so they don't. Why bother when this is how the system is set up?
I understand laws why you can't take the phone away.However if the student refused to hand it over what is stopping the school from not letting the child in class the next day until the parent comes in??
I had just read this thread a few minutes ago and saw an article on local TV website I thought might interest some.
A school district in Maryland is taking advantage of the fact that most kids have phones by setting up a number where they can sned complaints and foreward pictures of bullying. Queen Anne's Schools Fight Bullying with Cell Phones - WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 -
If a student refuses to stop using his/her cellphone, I would take it away for the duration of the class (meaning return it at the end of the class).
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I'd tell the student to call or text his parents, while we the whole class was watching, to come to school and pick up his phone from me. If they didn't show, I'd hold onto it until they did.
The HS one of my kids went to had metal detectors -- vestigal remains of the days when the building was a single very tough and dangerous high school. So there were absolutely no cell phones allowed. (Getting rid of metal detectors in buildings where the bad schools have shut down seems nearly impossible here.) At schools like this there was, and still is, a cottage industry of nearby shopkeepers who charged kids $1 in the morning to hold their phones during the school day. But another HS did not have metal detectors. The policy there was that if the teacher saw it or heard it, it was confiscated and a parent had to come in to pick it up.
The citywide policy is that NO cell phones are allowed on school property for any reason, which irks parents who'd like to be able to keep in touch with kids after school or alert them in case of emergency.
In practice what this really does is turn having a cell phone into a class issue: Kids in tough schools that still have the metal detectors either have to pay to have someobody hold their phones during the day or not bring them at all, while kids in the "good" schools can bring phones, and nobody cares as long as they're out of sight and don't ring.
Our mayor elect ran on how class divisions have made New York into "two cities." This is just one small example of that.
My HS had a pretty strict no-cell phones policy in class. If it was taken from you, your parent had to come in person to get it from the principal so most students (myself included) left their cell phones in their lockers, turned off (if they rang, they would be confiscated too). College of course is different because you have students of all ages and no lockers (usually) to keep things in. I always kept mine in my backpack with the lowest possible vibrate but I only took maybe two or three emergency calls all four years I was in college. A lot of times in college the prof would make fun of the student who's phone rang out loud instead of getting mad. It was usually more effective that way.
Oh, no laptops or iPads were allowed in HS but they're everywhere in college. If you're not paying attention because of it, it's your fault and not the profs. School is for school, so focus when you're there.
When I taught HS, I had a no cellphone rule. And guess what? The kids complied. Why? Because I enforced it. The rule was if I saw a kid using a cell, I would hold it for the rest of the day and they can pick it up after school. I had to do this one time.
One time, while I was at the chalkboard with my back turned, a cell accidentally rang. It only rang once. As dramatically as I could, I turned slowly toward the class with the stoic "teacher" look I looked at them for about 5 seconds and finally said "I don't want to have this conversation again, is that clear?" You should have seen their faces .
I have two students who spend all of every class on their phones, clearly not paying any attention to class. They are not passing the class at this point and I've spoken to them about it. I think next semester I'm going to have a stricter policy about phone use, but I'm not sure what exactly it will be. Phones in class are often useful, and we do use them for worthy things, so I don't want to outlaw them completely.
I cant believe that it would be ok for kids to chatter on their cell phones in class.. but then again at 65yrs old its been a long time since i was in school,i guess things have changed..
I'm with you! I graduated HS in '63 and 'back then' we were expected to respect authority, do our classwork/homework, not talk in class, etc. And, being sent to the Principal's office not something any of us wanted; and if it did happen, our parents would definitely let us know we needed to straighten up. Being a teacher in today's world is not anything I'd wish on anyone.
This whole thread is simple. When you enter my classroom, ALL cellphones are shut off. They can yack on them between classes. After a first warning (since it can easily be forgotten) the cell phone is confiscated and the student can pick it up after school in the principal's office. If there are multiple infractions, ISS is levied followed by suspension from the school for a period of time. Parents can pi$$ and moan all they want. If the rules are spelled out in advance, there are no exceptions.
Kids need to learn to follow rules and respect authority. Their bosses won't be near as understanding in the future.
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I looked at them for about 5 seconds and finally said "I don't want to have this conversation again, is that clear?" You should have seen their faces 
