Ok, so I'm skipping a few days to write about today's events. I have officially made my mark at the school and will be well-known among the high-schoolers. The school has a strict, No Cell Phone policy. Kids must have their phones in the lockers and only take them out during break and lunch. Well, today, during first period (yes, it was the very first class of the day), a phone went off while I was teaching. I asked the class who's phone went off. No one admitted to it...typical. One of the boys in the back said he knew it was from the group of girls in the front, which I knew as well, but wanted to give them an opportunity to come forward. Tried to persuade them a few more times to be honest. Reminded them about the school and classroom policy of no phones, and said that since they received their lockers yesterday, their phones should have been there.
When I did not get any results, I ran next door to Ms. Katherine, the 10-12 English teacher. She is from England and has the most wonderful accent. I explained the problem and asked her advice. With a warning to her class not to make a sound, she came over to my class and also tried to persuade the culprit to come forward. We both told the class that whomever came forward would be punished, as per the policy, but it would not be as bad as if they lied about it. After a few minutes of unsuccessfully persuading them, Ms. Katherine went off to get the High-School principal. My class began murmuring and pointing out who they thought the guilty party was. I had had enough at this point, and told the class to put their heads down on their desks until the principal arrived. I told them if they were going to act like little children, I would treat them as such. They hurriedly obeyed and for the next few moments, the class was silent.
The principal, school director, and the college coordinator (who assigned the lockers the day before) all paraded into the room. The kids lifted their heads. Ms. Alma, the director began sternly telling the kids about the school policy and how they should know what the rules are. Mr. Kuster, the principal, chimed in about respect for teacher (me) and how it was cutting into their class time. Ms. Alma demanded that all cell phones be placed onto the desks in front of them. About 10 phones were then confiscated among cries of despair and groans. Many kids protested that it was unfair as they have yet to get a lock on their locker. How were their valuables to remain safe? Ms. Alma calmly replied that when they showed her a lock, they would get their phones back. Other students said it was unfair that all of their phones were taken away when only the culprit's phone should be taken. Ms. Alma explained that a rule was a rule, no matter whose phone went off. They were all violating the rule.
After the chaos had subsided, the rest of the 10 minutes of class were excruciatingly painful. The glares of dislike I received and low mumbles of being treated unfairly were very evident. After a few minutes, I eventually gave up. I was annoyed and so the kids...no learning was going to take place in the next 6 minutes.
The rest of the day turned out to be ok, until my other 9th grade class a few periods later. I asked how many students had phones on their persons. A few raised their hands. I told them to put them on their desks. About 5 did as I had asked. I promptly took them into custody and informed them that they would have to see Mr. Kuster about getting them back. I knew that others had them, but were just not being honest. Oh well. Again, there were complaints and pleadings to get them back. Students kept saying I was being unfair and tricking them. I reviewed the rules with them, and told them they needed to start obeying them. A few of the boys tried to trick me and say that I had my phone. I explained that as the room was my locker, it was ok. Plus, I did not have it out during class, and as a teacher, I am entitled to certain rights the students are not. We got through the rest of class fairly well, although they tried their best to get their phones back.
At the end of the day, one will usually find a group of teachers near the office waiting to clock out, as we are not allowed to clock out until 330. As I approached the group soon before 330, one of the teachers commented on how weary I was looking. I explained what happened, and there was a cry of astonishment that I was the "dreaded" teacher who had inflicted this terrible punishment on the kids. The other teachers were very supportive and agreed that I had done the best thing possible. I felt a moment of pride as I knew that I would be quite famous around the high school...at least for the next few days, possibly weeks. Students would know that I was not going to be lenient with them and they would not be able to just walk all over me. I may be young and inexperienced, but I know what I'm doing....or at least I just pretend I do. Hopefully, the kids will respect me for what I did, although I don't imagine their feelings of dislike and possibly hatred, will disappear by tomorrow. Good thing there is only two days of school left this week and I would most likely be gone most of tomorrow on visa stuff. For my revenge on the kids, I planned on them writing a short essay on what the meaning of respect means....now, let's see how much more they like me :)
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