I often forget that I have been away from the school environment for two years now. So many of the memories seem so fresh in my mind! I remember getting to school and meeting up with my friends in whichever hang-out spot we had chosen for the year, and quickly exchanging notes, going over our classes, whining about upcoming tests, etc. I remember going to the cafeteria to get poutine- something I would never get now that I’ve been to Quebec, and realize how dismal Western Canadian poutine really is! I remember the sights, the sounds, the smells… and the screaming when one’s cell phone would ring during the middle of class!
“AISLING! PUT THAT AWAY! NO! GIVE IT HERE!”
“But… it’s my mom. What if it’s an emergency?”
“IT DOESN’T MATTER! NO CELL PHONES IN CLASS!”
It was like… something out of High School Musical some really badass movie about badass children at a badass school (Nice cover, Ash. Thanks), except we never got detention. (Also, I soon learned to develop a system with my mom, which involved keeping my phone on vibrate, and asking to use the washroom when I got a call. My mom is a tricky lady.)
Apparently, some things do change, because now there is a school in Saskatchewan (tu m’a pris ma femme! … Oh, sorry. It’s… just a song. Let me get back on track.. Ahem) that is not only allowing cell phones in class, but they are using them as learning tools! Now students at Craik High School, which is just outside of Regina, are being encouraged to use their phones to store their agenda notes, and even to complete assignments by sending video and audio files containing homework answers to their teachers!
It’s all… well, for me, it’s a little hard to wrap my head around, but I guess maybe I’m just showing my age? (Ha ha, 19 is SO ancient these days.)
So, I’ll just ask you guys, what do you think?
I think I can say it in one word: ridiculous.
I had my phone taken off me twice. One time, I deserved it; I was texting in class (what can I say, it was a pointless class, and I was bored.). The second… Well it wasn’t MY fault that my service provider rang me in the middle of a maths test, was it? I didn’t ask them to!
That reminds me, cellphones started becoming popular here much later compared to others. And in 10th grade there were only 3 people in our class owning one (each). And since most of my classmates were very rich, that’s saying something.
Anyway, one of the girls who, was really obnoxious about it, always meticulously taking it out and setting it near her books and notebooks.
During a break, one of the guys nicked it and set the alarm really loud. It started ringing in the middle of computer science class… and the teacher was really strict about disturbances (i.e. none, not even if the world ended). If looks could freeze, the girl would have been a slab of ice by now. LOL
I think it’s right that mobile phones should be banned in class.
Using cellphones as an educational tool is definitely different. I don’t think I’ll support it that much if the practice comes to my school. What if someone’s cellphone has better video capture? Won’t that affect the grade? And cellphones honestly have negatively affected the spelling capabilities of a lot of people. I don’t think it’s an effective tool. The old pen and paper for school works fine for me.
As for using cellphones in general, I think it’s just common courtesy to put them in Silent Mode in class. I do the same thing you do: I set my phone on vibrate. If I know it’s an important call, I ask permission from the teacher and step out of class. A lot of teachers in my university are nice about emergency calls.
I can honestly say had a teacher ever demanded to take my cell phone, I would not have handed it over. Not trying to be a rebel, I just don’t hand over my property to anyone, no exceptions. I also went to a school with a lot of effing thieves.
Granted, I usually only used it to check the time while in class when I didn’t want to twist about to check the clock so I was never asked. But anyway.
Plus, people (who were let of school in June :P), who else remembers the notorious ‘June box’ which you never seemed to see the contents of come June? Exactly. Even though they clearly can’t keep it until the end of the year, until the end of the day was too long–particularly when I was in a college while in high school program where I wasn’t at the usual school for most of the day! And, again I say, a lot of thieves. A lot.