Naughty unruly students who use cell phones in class

[Ludmila]

I don't know how these people drive or even have real conversations with friends who are in the same room with them. Maybe if I finally start texting myself I'll understand it better. I find the process of trying to type on those tiny truncated keyboards agonizing, personally.

IMHO, it is the issue of falling into a habit. I constantly have few chats in ICQ with the different clientele and/or colleagues and I can at the same time write some document and speak on the telephone without detriment to smth. Though it is stressful and I enjoy relaxing in the solitude.
I gradually learned texting on the run and now when I do not wish to ring (for example, if it is cold outside, I am going and texting without any collisions).

And I also find the thought of being bombarded with messages everywhere, not just when I'm sitting at my computer, pretty appalling.

I deal with it by the few ways. I have few SIM-cards with different phone numbers which are known for the different parts of my acquaintances and two mobile phones. If I am busy or I do not wish to spend my attention on answering I either turn off one or both phones (but I do it very seldom) or I only make them muted (turn on the silent mode) and set off the vibration. Later I am checking the missed SMS and calls. The last tactic also helped me to fight my "fantom cell phone vibration thing".

I imagine it's very frustrating and aggravating for you when your students don't pay attention in class.

Yes, it is. But I remember well that we also were guilty of this issue in the 1990-1995 when we did not have the mobile devices and we did not pay for our education. Our teachers implemented the different tactics. But every idea was exerting influence on the different students. IMHO, the best solution was to quiet uninteresting students and communicate with others.
Distracted's suggestion is very elegant.

[Alelou]

Well, students will always find their ways to avoid paying attention if they are determined not to.

Ludmila, you may have this amazing brain that has grown stupendous multi-tasking abilities, but I can't help thinking that most of the people who think they're doing multiple things fine are not really doing as well as they think. Frankly I just don't buy that anyone can drive well and text at the same time. Studies show that people can't even have hands-off oral conversations on their cell phones and drive well.

[Escriba]

Well, when I was in College it wasn't a problem at all, since our generation wasn't born with the cell phone and they weren't so widespread, so we didn't use them in class. In fact, we students thought it was very rude to do so. Maybe it was something cultural?

I say this because in class we had three Americans (two boys and a girl), I don't know how since ERASMUS only worked (works) for Europeans. Anyway, one of the boys (he was from California, if I'm not wrong) attended class once with his cap on and put (visibly) a soda can on his table. We looked at him as if he were retarded. In fact, one of my classmates asked him if he was retarded. He didn't understand why we were making such a fuss of it. And we were like "Dude, you are showing a can of soda and wearing your cap! This is a class, be respectful."

But don't worry, I've been told that today's teens in my country can't turn off their cell phones for the life of them and texting during class is second nature to them

Frankly I just don't buy that anyone can drive well and text at the same time. Studies show that people can't even have hands-off oral conversations on their cell phones and drive well.

How can you drive and text at all? Oh, yeah, you have automatic gearbox.

[panyasan]

Well, when I was in College it wasn't a problem at all, since our generation wasn't born with the cell phone and they weren't so widespread, so we didn't use them in class. In fact, we students thought it was very rude to do so. Maybe it was something cultural?

I say this because in class we had three Americans (two boys and a girl), I don't know how since ERASMUS only worked (works) for Europeans. Anyway, one of the boys (he was from California, if I'm not wrong) attended class once with his cap on and put (visibly) a soda can on his table. We looked at him as if he were retarded. In fact, one of my classmates asked him if he was retarded. He didn't understand why we were making such a fuss of it. And we were like "Dude, you are showing a can of soda and wearing your cap! This is a class, be respectful."

But don't worry, I've been told that today's teens in my country can't turn off their cell phones for the life of them and texting during class is second nature to them

I think it's a cultural thing. When my husband worked at a high school, he told a lot of young kids who were trying to imitate the gangsta look that you don't wear a cap indoors. Teachers would demand that kids would take their caps off. It's considered a sign of disinterest and in that sense disrespect. [Maybe it has something to do that in the past the working class used to take off their hats and the high classes always kept the hats on - I don't know.] Same goes with the soda - not drinking in class, especially not drinks like soda. Cell phones were a different story: you can't use them and if you got caught, your cell phone was put under lock and key and you had to wait a couple of days to get it back. Still a lot of texting is going on.

[Ludmila]

I can't help thinking that most of the people who think they're doing multiple things fine are not really doing as well as they think. Frankly I just don't buy that anyone can drive well and text at the same time. Studies show that people can't even have hands-off oral conversations on their cell phones and drive well.

It is depends on the kind of tasks. I can do multiple trivial things, where it is sufficient to use of small percentage of the brain and others. If I have a serious talk with my friend or I am reading the interesting book I do not divert my attention away.
I can not drive even at the computer simulation. I can play such PC games only in the single mode. I have collisions with the other cars in the mode of the race.
I spend 12 minutes walking from my house to metro (subway, underground railway) and 15 minutes from metro to my office. I pad the hoof well and text at the same time, because I pay more attention to walking. I remember well the place of the buttons and the number of pushing for choosing of the third letters on both my different mobile phones (though I must at first concentrate on the used in that moment device). I know well PC keyboard and typing practically without looking on the buttons. It is acquiring skill. My boss and his wife can type by the "blind method".

I had read (in Russian) the interesting paper that we get accustomed now to perceive the info from RL and simultaneously to read (hear, see) the info from elsewhere via the social networks, mass-media. And the second channel becomes more and more important. I remember as my granma demand from her grandchildren to walk outside, sit on the bench, breath oxygen and leave the books and TV even if one or two hours. Now I do find time to look at night sky during coming home after the work, but very rarely. And I am thinking what I'll do at my laptop practically every day. Though I make two or three evenings per month without it.

Best wishes to you, Alelou, in this not light duty! I conducted myself only the laboratory works as the assistant lecturer (instructor) many years ago and I am very glad that I must not deliver a lecture.

[Aquarius]

Well, when I was in College it wasn't a problem at all, since our generation wasn't born with the cell phone and they weren't so widespread, so we didn't use them in class. In fact, we students thought it was very rude to do so. Maybe it was something cultural?

I say this because in class we had three Americans (two boys and a girl), I don't know how since ERASMUS only worked (works) for Europeans. Anyway, one of the boys (he was from California, if I'm not wrong) attended class once with his cap on and put (visibly) a soda can on his table. We looked at him as if he were retarded. In fact, one of my classmates asked him if he was retarded. He didn't understand why we were making such a fuss of it. And we were like "Dude, you are showing a can of soda and wearing your cap! This is a class, be respectful."

But don't worry, I've been told that today's teens in my country can't turn off their cell phones for the life of them and texting during class is second nature to them

Even 20 years ago when I went to college the first time , it was no big deal to wear a hat in class or drink a soda. I think here it isn't so much a lack or respect issue as it is an issue of we're paying for the class, so it isn't up to anyone to tell us what we can wear or if we can have something to drink because we're thirsty in class, as long as it isn't hurting or interfering with anyone else. Heck, I've even seen some students bring a sandwich or something to eat in class, because their schedules are so packed they don't have time to have a proper lunch. As long as they're being quiet and not bothering anyone, nobody cares.

Frankly, I feel the same way about the cell phones. People have different things that are important to them, various reasons for wanting to know what's going on if someone sends them a text or whatever. In my case it's a sick pet. I keep my phone on vibrate, and if I need to respond I keep it short...it really isn't up to anyone to tell me I can't as long as I'm not being any noisier than turning a page and scribbling in my notebook, or any noisier than someone who types their notes into their laptop.

[Bether6074]

I can't multi-task at all. Once at work while waiting on a customer I picked up the ringing phone and told the person on the other end that their total was $3.44. There's only so much my brain can handle.

[Alelou]

Well, Aquarius, I'm sure you're only dealing with texts that are important to you, like a sick cat. I wish I felt the same was true of the students I have to ask to put their phones away. It's not like they're not quick to come up with excuses when they have any.

I know I sound cranky, but it's not reallly that awful a problem. I enjoy teaching. I put a lot of effort into trying to make class interesting and involving -- but having that kind of competition for their attention is pretty irritating. And I'm not going to worry about it much from an A student, frankly, but the kids who are doing it excessively are not exactly breezing through.

[Aquarius]

Oh, I know what you mean, Alelou. I'm just saying that if they're not distracting anyone else, then the only one they're hurting is themselves. Their grade will suffer, and they have no one else to blame but their own dumb ass.

[WarpGirl]

Truthfully I believe that even if you are paying to take a class your teachers deserve your ENITRE attention and respect while class is in session. Even when I had the most Jackass professor known to mankind, I NEVER had my cell on or gave him less than my 100% attention. It's about common decency and respect for others. Whether you disrupt the class or not, respect for the instructor is incredibly important.

[Escriba]

As I said, I think it's something cultural. Here you don't wear your hat indoors, the same way you don't spit to the ground, you don't put your feet on the table, you put your hands on the table while eating (but not the elbows) or you offer your seat to the elderly or the injured people. We consider it part of civility, I guess. I even take my snow cap off when I enter into a bus.

You don't eat or drink in class because the teacher can't, and your classmates don't. It's rude to eat in front of people that can't or don't have anything to eat. Without asking permission, at least. And offering to share.

They're some of those pesky rules of politeness that countries have. Like taking your shoes off in Japanese houses or never offering your left hand to shake hands to a Muslim (just in case.)

On the other hand, my generation is considered not very polite to the older generations and the next generation is even worse. And all Spanish are considered rude to the emigrants that come from Latin American countries because whe don't utter a greeting when we get into a place where there are people and because we always use the informal speech ("tú") instead of the formal one ("usted") even talking to strangers.

The Star Trek Enterprise dub is hilarious because Trip and T'Pol, as officers, talk in the formal way and address themselves in that way, even in "Harbinger." I mean, after the sex, in the breakfast scene, they are talking formally. During the scene I was thinking: "Trip, you have just had sex with her, I think you can address her as 'tú'."

Truthfully I believe that even if you are paying to take a class your teachers deserve your ENITRE attention and respect while class is in session. Even when I had the most Jackass professor known to mankind, I NEVER had my cell on or gave him less than my 100% attention. It's about common decency and respect for others. Whether you disrupt the class or not, respect for the instructor is incredibly important.

Yeah, that's the policy here. And I know it because a teacher told a classmate off for passing a note in class. The classmate said he wasn't bothering anyone and the teacher told him that he didn't care. He was being rude to the teacher. "If you are in class, pay attention, if you can't or you don't want to, go away. Don't waste your time and mine."

[panyasan]

I didn't know Spanish had formal and informal speech as well! (In fact I do know very little of Spanish - I am sorry to tell). In Dutch you adress an elderly person (like your parents), a person of respect or a person you have a formal relationship with - say teachers, your boss - with "u" and younger persons or the person of the same age with "jij" or ''jou". Of course your boyfriend/husband you call him ''jij". The younger generation isn't very strict in saying this like my own generation - they very easily start to say "jij". The funny thing is, Germans have the name of being much more polite and formal in their speech - but they say "du" (the informal word) to their parents (people close to you), they adress God with "du" (Dutch use ''u") and the further away people are you adress them with "Sie". I hope I am right about this, because that's how my German teacher told me. I adress everybody with 'Sie" in Germany, so I should be safe.
Any way, the persons who subtitled Star Trek and also Enterprise use "jij" als translation when the crew members have the same rank and "u" when you speak to an Admiral or something.

[Escriba]

Then we are like the Germans The formal address ("usted") is used for unkown and older people. But nobody talks formally to their parents these days, it's considered very old fashioned. My dad, for example, doesn't do it with his parents (his mother in this case, since my grandfather died.) My mother, on the other hand talks formally to my dad's mom.

And we address God informally, of course. He's a buddy

The very strange thing that happens with Basque is that we supposedly have a formal and an informal speech, but almost everybody uses the formal way because that's what you learn in school. Only people that have raised in a farm or live in a very small towns use the informal way.

[panyasan]

Formul language is getting out of style here as well, but I always talked formal to my mother in law, even when I had a very good relationship with her. To go back to ENT: I just remember that in the Dutch subtitles T'Pol is using the formal "u" to Archer and the informal "jij" to Trip. Which makes perfectly sense.

[Escriba]

At least your version made a difference, in the Spanish version she talked formally to both of them.

I was trying to find if there was any Star Trek dub in Basque, just to shock you But there isn't. What there is, is a parody.

Star Trek Basque Parody (from 0:58 to 2:14.) The translation would be:

KIRK: Spock is a sissy!
SPOCK: Captain, your words don't have any effect on me. And by the way, I've listened to Xabier Lete's [a known Basque awful singer] entire discography and you couldn't bear even a song. As it's said, you don't have guts.
KIRK: Xabier Lete, eh? [he utters a Spanish expression that is untranslatable] I don't have guts, do I?! You'll see..
CHEKOV: Oh, man...
KIRK: From the discography of Xabier Lete choose a random song.
CHEKOV: Whoa... Yes, sir. A random song choice from the discography of Xabier Lete.
KIRK: Full volume.
CHEKOV: Full volume!

[We hear a horrible song. The crew can't stand it ]

KIRK: Is it Xabier Lete?
UHURA: I don't know, sir!
KIRK: Who is he?
SPOCK: Antton Valverde, screw you. [He is even more awful than Lete. Basque don't have swear words really, but some can be used like them, according to the context.]
KIRK: What was the song? (approaching Uhura) What was the song, Soraya? [It would be too long to explain why he's calling her Soraya]
UHURA: Bizkaiko txerriari jarriak [translation: (the verses) created (literally "put") for the pig of Vizcaya ]
KIRK: Antton Valverde, who can bear that man?!

I know, I know, Basque humor is... questionable.