So, the Cellphone Issue

I'm feeling stuck on this one. On one hand, if I see another kid texting under their desk, I might just chuck the gosh darn thing out the firckin'-frackin' window. On the other, I see Scott's point, and Vicki's, too.

Kids are carrying around wicked-awesome technology all the time; there's no way they're going to leave them at home, and if they have them with them, they're going to use them, unless we all go the way of Spokane's schools. Why not let them use their phones like game show clickers, or planners, or itty-bitty web surfers?

I'll tell you why I'm not.

1. I feel like it's one more thing for me to figure out and take time out of my curriculum schedule to teach
2. There is a have and have-not issue in my school. I don't see this as a huge deal: in fact, I think folks who are scared of cell phones in the classroom are using it as an excuse. I do know some of our kids don't have them, though, and I'm not going to make things tougher for kids who can't afford them, or whose parents actually keep them unplugged for some potion of the day.
3. This is the biggest one: I don't think I can keep it under control. I don't want kids having their phones stolen off their desks, and I can't keep my eye on all of them, all the time to keep them on task. I know Dan would think it was probably my fault, but I'm afraid that my "with-it-ness" starts to decrease in inverse proportion to the number of kids in my class over 34. I'm exhausted.
   

Getting Ready

Vicki Davis has started her school year off with a bang, teaching kids how to use iGoogle, Jott, Google Calendar and Remember the Milk to keep themselves organized and take control of what they have to do. I love this idea, and I'm wondering how I can best do this for my kids when I usually have at least one in any given class without home internet access.
Vicki is also teaching the kids how to use their cell phones as a tool to help them keep track of their work. I'm not sure about this for myself. Our policy is very strict and I know from a friend's experience that even asking to go around rules leads to unpleasant response from administration.