Sixth grade boys caught texting in class

[happygirl]

Oh I would be mad at my child for using his phone when he wasn't supposed to but I would also not appreciate a nosy woman reading all my texts for no good reason. Once she saw there were no "I'm gonna get a gun and shoot Jimmy" then she should have quit reading.

I would have picked the phone up told her they were my texts and then punished my child at home and she could punish him for using it at school, but I still would have told Her I didn't appreciate her reading all my texts.

If she hadn't read them but asked to read them , I would have said no I'll look at them and tell her if there was anything of danger.

Doesn't she have anything better to do with her time than read a bunch of 6th grade texts calling her a " donkey" or whatever else they called her?

That is what I would be asking her.

My guess is she could care less about what the text said, she was trying to figure out who was using there phone during class.

In my school district the policy is if somethng is taking during school hours it becomes the property of the school. It's up to the school if the child gets the object back. I love this policy

 

[Tink9721]

I'm a high school senior, and if I got caught texting in school(for the record, I do text in school every once in a while, but only during lunch or study. Never in class.) I wouldn't have a problem with the teacher or principal reading the text I was writing or recieving at the time. But the thing is, if they opened my inbox they wouldn't just see the texts from that moment. They could see all of them. If I've been having a private conversation with someone outside of school, they have no right to see that.

 

[happygirl]

I'm a high school senior, and if I got caught texting in school(for the record, I do text in school every once in a while, but only during lunch or study. Never in class.) I wouldn't have a problem with the teacher or principal reading the text I was writing or recieving at the time. But the thing is, if they opened my inbox they wouldn't just see the texts from that moment. They could see all of them. If I've been having a private conversation with someone outside of school, they have no right to see that.

My suggestion to you is not to be texting during class, and you won't have to worry about teachers reading personal things

 

[tw1nsmom]

Give me a break! The principal didn't randomly grab someone's cell phone out of someone's bag and start scrolling. A child was caught in the act of breaking a rule and by looking at the cell they could see that others were involved. Police officers can now do that without a search warrant.

I'm currently in major IEP negotiations with our school and I don't have too many warm and fuzzy thoughts about our administrators right now and even I don't think that principal did anything wrong.

Now, if the kids were in trouble for a conversation they had outside school hours I might have a different opinion (although there may be incidents of bullying and harassment outside of school hours that it would be appropriate for the school to address), but these kids were doing this during class hours.

 

[momof1princess]

my daughter is in 7th grade, and the school's cell phone policy is VERY clear-if a child has a cell phone, it is to be TURNED OFF and kept in their locker or purse during school hours. if a child is caught using a cell phone during school hours, it is confiscated and turned in to the principal's office.

if my daughter were caught texting in school, i wouldn't give a darn who read her phone, i'd be coming up with ways to punish her for violating school policy. the parents need to stop blaming the principal for reading the phone, and put the blame where it belongs-on their precious little snowflakes for breaking the rule.

when we passed notes in school, teachers took them up and read them when we got caught. IMHO, this is no different, just a different form of note-passing. as a PP said: too bad, so sad for them.

 

[Daisy&Max]

I'll disagree with you for one reason: they were using the phones during class - a method that many students have used to cheat on tests. To say that a school cannot investigate a known method for cheating is ridiculous to me.

And when you add in the fears about school shootings, then we have to double the reason for a principal to review text messages.

Those who are screaming about privacy issues now would likely be the first to scream about why the incompetent principal didn't look at the text messages of the shooter when she had the chance a few weeks earlier and how all those lost lives are on that principal's head.

I'll stand by my first impression: if it's something you shouldn't be doing during school hours then don't do it and you won't have to worry about the repercussions which could include violation of your privacy. School rules have never been that difficult to adhere to and I don't consider the ban on distractions (texts) during class to be unreasonable.

This! I totally agree with this post. I am a teacher and my own children are in school and if there were kids planning an act of violence at the school, I would want someone to pay attention to it. My kids don't have phones yet (i'm too cheap) but if and when they do, my attitude will be "sucks to be you" if they get caught doing something against the school rules.

The post doesn't say (unless I'm reading it wrong) that the principal punished them for what was on the phones, just for using them in class.

Daisy

 

[Tink9721]

My suggestion to you is not to be texting during class, and you won't have to worry about teachers reading personal things

I don't text in class. I said if I did, I wouldn't want them reading my text, other than the one I was in the middle of when I got caught. If I do text in school at all(which I usually don't), I do it in study or lunch. No one cares if you text then. You're technically not supposed to, but that rule isn't really enforced. For the record, the teachers in our school never read the texts. If you get caught, they take the phone, turn it off, lock it in their desk, and bring it to the principal after class. You pick it up from the office at the end of the day.

 

[Hannathy]

when we passed notes in school, teachers took them up and read them when we got caught. IMHO, this is no different, just a different form of note-passing. as a PP said: too bad, so sad for them.

That is fine but did they make you get ALL the notes you had written for the year? all the notes your Mom had written to you? maybe personal notes to you from a boyfriend (if you were older) No it was the one note you let yourself be caught with.

She was being nosy going back more than a text or 2 and especially if they were not dangerous texts. She didn't like they were talking about her and she nosily kept reading. Like I said doesn't she have better use of her time than reading a child's silly texts? Good to know they have that many administrators with so much time on their hands. I wouldn't want that to get out if I had that job.

 

[traviesojmt]

Its funny how the parents that you are referring to have shown up, some with guns blazing.

Good lord people. Kids broke the rules. Too bad so sad for them.

I totally agree.

I will quote my favorite judge, Judge Milian of the People's Court . Say it, forget it. Write it, regret it.

Did they write it? YUP!! Did they get caught? YUP!! Suck it up, buttercup. Don't want the principal reading your "confidential and important" texts, then don't do it in class when you are not suppose to. Break the rules, face the consequences.

Maybe next time the principal should just ask them nicely to follow the rules so that no one gets upset.

 

[MichelleVW]

First of I think 6th grade is to young to have cell phones.

It's really no wonder that kids have no responsibility for themselves, instead of the kids parents being mad at the kids for texting during the school and breaking the rules, They want to turn the kids into the victims and blame someone else for there kids poor choices.

In your opinion, as a single working mom my youngest had a cell phone in 6th grade, it made life way easier on ME.

What if the child had been texting about suicidal thoughts? What if a group of kids had been? Does the content change peoples' opinions?

You can't have it both ways. If you have entrusted your child with another adult you must give them the authority to act like an adult in grey situations. Regardless of whether or not a phone is personal property, its content was being used publically. At that point, all bets are off.

.

I love it when the "what if" game is brought into things....and no, the content doesn't change my opinion because they shouldn't be scrolling through my child's phone to see the content.

 

[Hannathy]

I don't text in class. I said if I did, I wouldn't want them reading my text, other than the one I was in the middle of when I got caught. If I do text in school at all(which I usually don't), I do it in study or lunch. No one cares if you text then. You're technically not supposed to, but that rule isn't really enforced. For the record, the teachers in our school never read the texts. If you get caught, they take the phone, turn it off, lock it in their desk, and bring it to the principal after class. You pick it up from the office at the end of the day.

This is what they do here also and the way it should be without very good reason or suspicion or threats of some kind.

 

[Tink9721]

That is fine but did they make you get ALL the notes you had written for the year? all the notes your Mom had written to you? maybe personal notes to you from a boyfriend (if you were older) No it was the one note you let yourself be caught with.

She was being nosy going back more than a text or 2 and especially if they were not dangerous texts. She didn't like they were talking about her and she nosily kept reading. Like I said doesn't she have better use of her time than reading a child's silly texts? Good to know they have that many administrators with so much time on their hands. I wouldn't want that to get out if I had that job.

I agree. Our principal has way too much to do already without taking the time to read students' texts. Especially since, in a high school with 1,200 students, a ton of kids get caught every day.

 

[golfgal]

Let's divert the attention away from what the boys did and put the attention on what the principal did..........I see this all too often as an educator and it is the parents making excuses for their kids behavior. When the boys were texting back and forth to one another during school, the principal had every right to read the texts. I hope the superintendent does the right thing and stands by the principal.

I see no issues with it--the kids shouldn't have been texting in the first place and I can see where the principal was checking to see if they were cheating on an assignment, etc.

Oh, how about this, YOUR child is being bullied through texting by another student-would you want the principal to look through the texts of the bullying student to help stop the problem??

 

[Hannathy]

I totally agree.

I will quote my favorite judge, Judge Milian of the People's Court . Say it, forget it. Write it, regret it.

Did they write it? YUP!! Did they get caught? YUP!! Suck it up, buttercup. Don't want the principal reading your "confidential and important" texts, then don't do it in class when you are not suppose to. Break the rules, face the consequences.

Maybe next time the principal should just ask them nicely to follow the rules so that no one gets upset.

I have no problem with her taking the phone, reading THAT text, and doling out punishment. I have a real problem with her going back and reading OTHER texts from before!. She had no need to do that.

 

[Ceila]

Why do some people seem to think that parents couldn't be upset with their child for breaking the rules and also upset with the principal for reading the texts?

If I was the parent in that situation, you can bet that my kid would have serious consequences for breaking the rules. And unless there was a policy in place stating that the administration was allowed access to all information on a student's electronic device, then I would also be very upset that they felt they had the right to read my child's private messages. This in no way is similar to getting caught passing a note in class. In that case, the teacher can read that note only. With a cell phone, there are texts from quite a long time held in memory. Apples and oranges.

 

[MichelleVW]

Why do some people seem to think that parents couldn't be upset with their child for breaking the rules and also upset with the principal for reading the texts?

If I was the parent in that situation, you can bet that my kid would have serious consequences for breaking the rules. And unless there was a policy in place stating that the administration was allowed access to all information on a student's electronic device, then I would also be very upset that they felt they had the right to read my child's private messages. This in no way is similar to getting caught passing a note in class. In that case, the teacher can read that note only. With a cell phone, there are texts from quite a long time held in memory. Apples and oranges.

Exactly!!! I would be mad at my child for texting during class, but I would be equally upset at the principal for scrolling through the phone.

 

[Hannathy]

Exactly!!! I would be mad at my child for texting during class, but I would be equally upset at the principal for scrolling through the phone.

yep same here!

 

[Freyja]

As a teacher I know the problems of students having their phones in class very well. However, I would NEVER read my students' messages, ever.

 

[Wishing on a star]

OMG!!!!!
I corrected that error in my prev. post!!!!

At least maybe it gave a few folks here some laughs!!!!!

 

[Wishing on a star]

As a teacher I know the problems of students having their phones in class very well. However, I would NEVER read my students' messages, ever.

Thank You so much Freya!!!!
It is so wonderful to see a teacher who knows some boundaries.

I think that perhaps things are very different where you are than here in the US right now.