Cell Phone Policy
Dear Students and Parents,
I will have a cell phone policy in my classroom. I have had this policy for a few years, and it seems to work well. I have noticed over the years, that I am competing for students' attention as they are drawn to the phones more and more. In the past, I offered a challenge to my students to give up social media or phones for one week. Some chose to put the phones in another room while doing school work, some gave up the phones entirely, and some just took a break from social media. I joined them, and I noticed that I could be so much more productive without the distraction. We had several short discussions that week on the topic of cell phone use and how it is affecting us and our relationships with each other. By the end of the week, students were making comments like, "I am getting my homework done faster." "I am happier without my phone." and "I am going to bed earlier, and I can get up in the morning easily."
This year, students will place phones into their backpacks at the beginning of class. If they choose to keep the phone out, or use the phone during class (unless there is an activity that requires phone use), I will take it and put it into a pocket in the front of the room and they may retrieve the phones at the end of class.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.
Mrs. Barbarita