No Electronics!

Why, oh, why do so many of my very young students have electronics that I still cannot afford?  In just the past two weeks, I have confiscated:

-five cell phones

-one PSP

-one iPod

-something that beeped that I didn't know what it was (a game, I think.  Not sure)

This irritates me.  I don't take the phones or stuff randomly.  They have to be doing something with it (in the case of the iPod and the PSP, they were playing games on them in my class) or it has to start making noise and interrupting the class.  The school policy that if your parents insist on you having the phone, you may (a lot of the parents feel it's a safety thing so they can call as they walk home) but you must keep it in your backpack at all times, shut off.

This means, the cell phone must remain in the backpack at all times.  

This does not mean in your pocket.

This not mean clipped to your belt.

This especially does not mean pulling it out to show everyone your cool phone.

For other electronic devices (iPods, cameras, PSPs, Nintendo DSes, etc) are not allowed.

For some reason, 6th graders have a hard time with this.  If they have it, they have to show it.  They want to show it off to each other.  The 8th graders are so much more subtle and sneaky, but not my students.  They'll have it on their desk, then act surprised when I confiscate it.

Each item that I take gets turned over to our grade level office, labelled carefully with the student's name, to await mom or dad coming to pick it up.

This really irritates the parents, generally, and I can't say I blame them.  They have to figure out a way to get to the school while the office is open (generally only while they're supposed to be at work, and not late enough for them to come after work) to get the item.

Sometimes they're irritated with their kid, which I don't blame them.  

Sometimes they blame me.  I am just following the policy that they all signed at the beginning of the year, plus it's not like I decided to text my friend in class.  If their child had shut their phone off or turned their phone on vibrate, it never would have come to me taking this.

Anyway.  I am tired of the whole electronics thing.  

And don't even get me started on hats and sunglasses.

Spring Break needs to be here now.