PLN9

I read the article Dispatches from the Front Lines #346 on the weblogg-ed blog written by Will Richardson which talked about how this student who was forbidden to text while on school grounds texted his teacher for help on homework and she told on him and got him suspended for even longer then he already was in for. I think this I very wrong. The student was only using the cell phone to get help from a teacher not to socialize or mess around. Maybe the student was messing around with their phone too but the fact of the matter is that the student tried to get help from a teacher by using an easy and convenient tool and she told on him getting him an in-school suspension for two more days.  The student only wanted help with his homework and the teacher just gives him two more days of in-school suspension. 

To me, as a student, i find this frustrating. The only reason students are not allowed to use cell phones is because they will not pay attention and will use it for social purposes. The student used his cell phone for useful reasons. He just wanted some help on his homework. He never got that help because of a rule. We need to remember why rules are in place. If anything the teacher should have told him to talk to her later and to put his cell phone away without getting him punished. She could of also given him help and then told him to not use his phone. Many things could have been done differently and more effectively. 

I think a national cell phone in schools policy should be adopted in schools. Cell phones are not allowed if used for social purpose or to goof off. This would be hard to determine if the student was using the phone for a good or bad reason though. The use of cell phones like in this instant should be aloud. The teacher should not have told on this student. All he wanted was help which he never received.