We STILL (shocking!) have problems with students whipping out their cell phones willy-nilly throughout the school day with nary a concern about the "rule" not to. It's a case of picking your battles, but most likely that contributes to the problem because the kids most likely see the inconsistency.
The rule is that if we see your cell phone, we take it away and at the end of the day you can pick it up. If it happens more than once, then your parents have to come pick it up. It's challenging to enforce in the hallways with students you don't know who ignore your "request" to give you their phone, and they just walk away. Whatever.
Yesterday, as a "good" student was walking into my class, I see him text messaging. "Put your cell phone away, please". Usually that's enough. But then I see him a minute later still on his phone, so I picked it up.
"Can I have it back at the end of class?"
"You can pick it up at the end of the day."
Class resumes.
At the end of class, he comes up to me in a fake (maybe my take on things) contrite voice, "I'm sorry I was text messaging. Can I please have my phone back?"
And this is the problem I have. I REEEEEEEEEEEEEeeaaaaaallllly dislike that type of manipulation. Just because you ask nicely for something, does not mean you should get it ("I really like your necklace. Can I please have it?") I also dislike that he thinks it should work. Ew. Needless to say (or is it?) that I kept his phone until the end of the day. ... With the state of techno-teens these days, I'm guessing that I caused some short-term DTs (shaking, wandering thoughts, anxiety,...)
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