Cell Phone Cubby

                We have all had those teachers who are strict about cell phones.  In my school it is a school wide policy that cell phones not be used in class, but many teachers are pretty lenient and don’t really care as long as the students are getting their work done.  I have had some teachers who absolutely don’t allow cell phones in class and who go crazy if they see a phone.  It is out of common respect that students don’t use a phone during class though, so I can see why teachers are upset about students using their phones. 
                I have had one teacher go as far as investing in a cubby sorting system with drawers in his desk that would hold each student’s phone during class.  When you walk in the phone would be put in his desk and then at the end of the class period he would call each student’s number and the student would go and retrieve their phone.  Phones then would not be a distraction and people didn’t have to worry about putting their phone in a dish at the front of the room and having someone steal it at the end of the class period.  The only bad thing about the cubby system was that it took time away from learning.  It would take a whole class period to explain the system and then each day after that it would take ten to fifteen minutes to hand back phones.  I find that to be a waste of time, but I guess it has come down to that because so many students are being disrespectful of the teacher and using their phone in class.  By using your phone in class it is indicating to the teacher that they are wasting your time and that a phone matters more than an education.  Now I get that some people need their phone in case of an emergency, but if someone really needs to get a hold of you they can contact the school and have a call setup to the student. 
                I also have a teacher who has a goal of collecting 100 phones each year.  If a phone goes off in class or he finds a student using their phone, he will collect it till the end of the day.  Strike one is that you can’t pick it up till the end of the day when he is available.  Strike two is that your parents have to come in and pick up the phone when he is available.  Strike three is that the student is dropped out of class.  It should never come down to strike three, but if it does that student has shown the teacher that it is a waste of time being in his class because he or she has better things to do on their phone, so that student would then be dropped out of class so the teacher doesn’t have to waste his time teaching that student.  I love this teacher’s policy because I agree that it is rude to use a phone in class and if a student thinks that their phone is more important than they obviously shouldn’t even be in his class.
                What about those teachers who answer the phones that ring during class? I haven’t yet witnessed an incident like that, but I have heard of people who have had that happen to them.  Just remember students, the teachers are making an effort to teach you and you should make an effort to listen and learn.  Put your phone on silent and leave it there until the end of class.  In the olden days people didn’t have cell phones and they still survived one hour without having to use one.  It makes our generation look pathetic for being attached to a phone, don’t live up to the stereotype that young adults/teenagers need their phones to live.  We are so much better than that.  Also, don’t be disrespectful to teachers by using your phone during class.  It isn’t necessary.