Cell phones

I really love cell phones.

I know a lot of people (including some I am very close with) probably wish they would drop off the face of the earth. It may seem a sad thing to many of us that cell phones have replaced a lot of face to face conversation. We also may be wary of unconfirmed health effects. I will grant the critics this. I will also grant teachers and administrators the idea that cell phones can be a distraction in class.

But, with (what it seems like) every new transformation in society, most people assume that it will transform society in a bad way. I'm really not sure that this is the case. I think that cell phones have done more good than harm and largely I think we are better off with them in our lives.

My beliefs are constantly shaken by rules in schools like complete restriction of cell phones. I fall into the trap of believing that just because it's a rule, it is to be respected and followed. Now, I don't plan on leading a cell phone sit-in, but in our 504 seminar the other week, we found out that cell phones were increasingly becoming part of young people's self-concepts and the way they connect with the world. I really don't think this is something to be taken lightly or something to brush off with a nonchalant rumbling of "well, that's just kids today."

I was so excited about the seminar about cell phones that I think I told everyone I knew about how I was so pumped about using cell phones in my teaching. Reactions normally bordered on vaguely interested, but I could sense a large amount of resistance from most people I talked to. The funny thing is, I got the most resistance from people who wouldn't dream of giving up their cell phones - but just didn't think they had a place in the classroom. They said, "Don't most schools not allow cell phones in class?"

So, I guess this leads me back to where I started and I'm not sure how we go about changing ideas regarding the use of cell phones when it has been so ingrained in our society that they are basically for recreational use. I guess I would just have to believe that I can start small and incorporate cell phones into some homework or for use on field trips. And maybe one day I'll feel brave enough to speak out against the "no cell phones!" cry coming from many school administrations. If the conception of cell phone can be changed to include 'useful learning tool' (such as the internet has), perhaps this rule will fall by the wayside. I guess its up to us as responsible, young teachers to show our students (and perhaps our administrators) that their cell phones should not be completely dismissed based on the distraction argument. If that were the case, we may have to do away with pen and paper because of their potential for notes passed between classmates. We would also have to surely do away with using the internet for school, because (as myself and many of my colleagues are aware) THIS is the ultimate distraction.

I would like to point out that I do NOT advocate getting rid of pens and paper or even the internet (plus, I'm not sure that this would even be possible at this point). Rather, I think people need to have their misconceptions about cell phones reexamined and maybe some new ideas presented. Instead of spending thousand of dollars on quiz clickers to answer questions in class, why not allow students to text in an answer? Instead of devoting valuable time and energy to monitoring if students are using their cell phones in class (and perhaps creating a tenuous relationship between the students and the administration), why not give students new ideas about cell phones. This way teachers and administrators might have to spend a little less time monitoring students and more time doing the good and noble work they do everyday for the newest generation.

Also, I want a new cell phone. I'm bored with mine and my self-identity could use a boost.

:)