More Influence Than I Thought

One of the staple rules of my class is that students are expected to leave their phones on the table near the door. I introduce this rule at the beginning of the year. In the fall, a lot of kids groan about it, buck against it. But rules are rules, and with a little nagging they eventually get used to the ritual.

It is, in fact, a rule implemented by the Ministry of Education and enforced by us teachers—mostly. If students want to leave the classroom, their phone must be on the phone table. I’ve seen enough kids wandering the halls during instructional time, glued to their phones, to know they don’t really have to go to the bathroom. Rather, they need to scratch that digital itch.

So, those are the rules.

Because I am Gen X,

I know what life is like without a device. I know that happiness lies in the moment and in being fully present. I know that digital devices often get in the way of that. I wish I could teach kids that.

Final Evaluations:

We have completed Semester One. In the final evaluation, I asked my Grade 9 English Language Arts class one question: what is one thing you think I should keep in future classes? In a second question, I asked what was one thing I should consider not repeating.

I kept the questions vague because I wanted students to come to their own conclusions about where the questions were taking them. I honestly expected to hear about my choice of short stories, or whether they appreciated all the basic grammar—or hated it. What I read instead was shocking.

Out of eighteen students, eight wrote the following in response:

• Putting the phones on the table because they will learn the lesson better.
• Although I don’t like that you take our phones, I kind of like not having it for the hour and having to connect with my peers.
• I really like the no-phone thing. I feel like I’m less in a rush or worried about checking it all the time.
• I recommend you keep the phones-on-the-table policy because it doesn’t distract us.
• I would recommend the phone table thing where you put all our phones. Why? So you don’t have to constantly tell us to put the phones away during class.
• One thing I would recommend is keeping the no-phone rule. As much as I hated it in the beginning and thought it was dumb, I began to see that instead of being on my phone, I was actually chatting with classmates.
• I think a big lesson you taught us was to take a break from our phones. Over the past semester, I realized how much I went to my phone for brainless things and wasting time. I realized I’m more present in class.
• The thing you should keep is the phone thing. And you should enforce it better. It helps so we are not distracted.

As much as the curriculum is important (according to the Board of Education), I feel like this was the biggest win I’ve had in a very long time—very long. And maybe my hope of being in the moment, talking with your neighbor, engaging—maybe I am teaching these things. Because these kids are giving me a chance to prove it.

As always, thank you for reading, Lovelies