# Cell phone extras - ENOUGH ALREADY! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107 "2005-11-21T18:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/41 "2005-11-22T15:06:44Z")
I hate all these fancy-schmancy cell phones but, there are plenty of teachers I had in HS that I would have loved to have video taped and then played their stupidity over the internet. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/42 "2005-11-22T15:06:53Z")
**AWB** , how did your school get to the point where the administration has relinquished so much power? How did you get to the point where you have no power over the kids in your classroom? I’m with **Cheesesteak** , despite my personal aversion to the blinking, ringing, flashing, distracting monsters. The lack of teacher authority and admin backup is the real problem, actually, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/43 "2005-11-22T19:50:15Z")
I’ve been successful (although it’s college, not grade school) with saying: “OK, any time a cell phone rings in class, you’ve disrupted class already, so we might as well have a little fun. If your cell phone rings during class, **I** get to answer it.” They scurry to turn 'em off, and I’ve never had one ring during class. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/44 "2005-11-22T20:19:45Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > I’ve been successful (although it’s college, not grade school) with saying: “OK, any time a cell phone rings in class, you’ve disrupted class already, so we might as well have a little fun. If your cell phone rings during class, **I** get to answer it.” > > They scurry to turn 'em off, and I’ve never had one ring during class. I think we’ve got a winner here. However, person like me, and knowing my friends, I’d probably leave it on just to see the look on your face 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/45 "2005-11-22T21:07:21Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > The kids know I don’t have the right to confiscate from their conceiled bags, so they just stick it in their bookbags as soon as I approach. Confiscate the bookbags. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/46 "2005-11-23T03:22:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I was trying to think of one of the old “punish everybody for one person’s sins” techniques; this one looks pretty good, but, as always, there are still going to be a few rebels who just don’t care and don’t mind being hated. I’m sorry, but I have always hated the “punish everyone” technique. Why should I, who did nothing wrong, have to pay for something that some numbskull classmate did? ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/47 "2005-11-23T03:32:30Z")
> [@Dark Side of the Floyd](#): > > I’m sorry, but I have always hated the “punish everyone” technique. Why should I, who did nothing wrong, have to pay for something that some numbskull classmate did? Exactly. I’ve always believed that this method increases misbehavior. If you’re going to have to do the crime, might as well do the crime, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/48 "2005-11-23T03:32:56Z")
> [@Dark Side of the Floyd](#): > > I’m sorry, but I have always hated the “punish everyone” technique. Why should I, who did nothing wrong, have to pay for something that some numbskull classmate did? Cause you are part of this AMAZING AWESOME TEAM that is MANKIND, and WE, as a TEAM, (did you know there was no _I_ in TEAM? WOW) are RESPONSIBLE for OUR SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. When that cell phone goes off in class, it is OUR FAILURE, the FAILURE of the team, and WE SHOULD ALL have to deal with the consequences. :dubious: … This is the pit, after all. In school I always felt that teachers that punish everyone for an actions of an individual should get to share their paychecks, spouses and whatever else with the students. We’re a team, no? Where’s your spirit of sharing? ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/49 "2005-11-23T03:33:43Z")
Argh! Replace the first “crime” with “time.” I swear I previewed. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/50 "2005-11-23T04:08:10Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Cause you are part of this AMAZING AWESOME TEAM that is MANKIND, and WE, as a TEAM, (did you know there was no _I_ in TEAM? WOW) are RESPONSIBLE for OUR SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. When that cell phone goes off in class, it is OUR FAILURE, the FAILURE of the team, and WE SHOULD ALL have to deal with the consequences… Ha. You sound like my Volleyball coach. The “punish everybody” method was the middle school technique that most of our teachers used. Talk in class? Quiz. Don’t do your homework? The whole class gets two extra pages to do for homework the next night. This was the stuff nightmares were made of for “good kids” like me (Well, I was good until fifth or sixth grade, heh.). To do such a thing in High School is unneccesary and pretty insulting to all the pupils in a class. It’s just like when my Spanish teacher employs notebook checks for every student after the end of the marking period. It’s insulting to our intelligence, and frankly, if we’re doing well in our classes, does it _matter_ how the hell we “organize our notebooks”? Different methods work for different people. I rather liked the idea of answering the phone and humiliating the student and the caller (particularly if it’s the student’s significant other!) Spares other students with having to deal with cell phones going off in class, and doesn’t treat them like they’re in the fifth grade. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/51 "2005-11-23T04:10:47Z")
Spares other students **from** , not “with”. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/52 "2005-11-23T12:00:33Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile … the skull implants are inevitable … become one with us … become one with us … That’s exactly what I think when I see people with hands-free units on that have the little operator-style microphones. Especially the ones that have the faint blue glow. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/53 "2005-11-23T12:07:27Z")
> [@Dark Side of the Floyd](#): > > I’m sorry, but I have always hated the “punish everyone” technique. Why should I, who did nothing wrong, have to pay for something that some numbskull classmate did? The question here is what “pay” means. The goal is to provide you with a disruption free learning environment, so that you can actually learn something while you spend your entire day at school. So that you can get a good start in life, with the tools you need to succeed. Having idiots constantly disrupting the class deprives you of that environment. You have a harder time learning what you need to learn, a harder time getting what you need out of those long years in school. THAT is paying for what other numbskulls do, not taking a 5 minute quiz. Think about [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=346118) It’s about an actor berating a person at a play performance for having a cellphone go off. Those are people who paid good money to be there, and they were thrilled that somebody actually tried to do something to stop the disruption. School is “free” and the customers are kids, so they wind up more angry at the teacher trying to teach than they are at the other students disrupting the effort. For the record, AWB has already indicated that she can’t confiscate the phone unless she breaks school rules. I also doubt she can just grab the phone away from someone. Feel free to come up with a solution that won’t get her fired. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/54 "2005-11-23T15:46:51Z")
Take a point away from the offenders overall grade every time their phone goes off? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/55 "2005-11-23T18:07:07Z")
Why not keep a shoebox at the front of the class and make everyone deposit their cell phones there? I’m suprised this wouldn’t be a school-wide policy. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/56 "2005-11-23T18:09:05Z")
Can I take this opportunity to say that I got chewed out by a priest when my cell phone rang during a _wedding rehearsal_? (And while I took the heat, everyone else surreptitiously shut their phones off.) I mean, it’s not a service or anything. I would have turned it off, but I forgot. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/57 "2005-11-23T20:33:27Z")
You need to channel Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: > [@Gunnery Sergeant Hartman](#): > > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Holy Jesus! What is that? What the fuck is that? WHAT IS THAT, PRIVATE PYLE? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, a cell phone, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: A cell phone? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How did it get here? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, I brought it from home, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are cell phones allowed in the class, Private Pyle? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you allowed to answer cell phones, Private Pyle? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: And why not, Private Pyle? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because it’s disturbing, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because it’s disturbing the class, Private Pyle! > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Then why did you try to sneak cell phone, Private Pyle? > Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because I wanted to talk to my friends, sir! > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because you wanted to talk to your friends… > [turns and addresses rest of class] > Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Private Pyle has dishonored himself and dishonored his class. I have tried to help Private Pyle. I have failed. I have failed because YOU have not given Private Pyle the proper motivation! So, from now on, whenever Private Pyle fucks up, I will not punish him! I will punish all of YOU! And the way I see it, ladies, you owe me for ONE CELL PHONE! NOW, GET DOWN ON YOUR FACES! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/58 "2005-11-23T21:10:37Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > For the record, AWB has already indicated that she can’t confiscate the phone unless she breaks school rules. I also doubt she can just grab the phone away from someone. Feel free to come up with a solution that won’t get her fired. The best thing I can come up with is for **AWB** to find out from other teachers if they have the same problem, and go to the administration and try to change the rules - make the teachers able to confiscate ringing cell phones. Make sure the kids (and their parents) know cell phones must be off during school hours or else they’ll be taken away. Present it as, “This is a last resort. The problem has gotten out of hand and we have to do this.” Someone mentioned the rules at their school; the kids can have them in school but they must be off. If it rings in class it’s confiscated till a parent comes to get it. That’s the rule at my daughter’s school, too. Nothing wrong with it at all, IMO. Kids got along just fine for years without cell phones. I somehow made it through four years of high school (and college, for that matter) without a cellphone. Just imagine! (Of course, there were no such things way back then, but whatever… And while I’m in Old Fogey mode: Get off my lawn!) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/59 "2005-11-23T22:12:09Z")
Proposes solution: If cell phone rings during class, that student and the students to the right and left of that student gets 10 points deducted from his final grade. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107/60 "2005-11-23T23:54:39Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Proposes solution: > > If cell phone rings during class, that student and the students to the right and left of that student gets 10 points deducted from his final grade. Now that’s messed up. I’m all for deducting 10 points from the culprit’s grade, (as I suggested upthread) but what did the students to the right or left of him do? That’s a harsh penalty for someone who didn’t do anything wrong. What’s the justification? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-extras-enough-already/332107.md?page=4)