Texting and teaching?
I haven’t blogged all term. Primarily because this term has been a pretty busy one for me. I would have liked to have written a few blogs but I just couldn’t come up with any topics. So it is now Easter break and I finally have something to write about.
You’ve seen my bio, you know I teach high school. In addition to teaching, I work in a boarding school and I’m a residential staff member. I have 18 boarders in my immediate care, in loco parentis, virtually full time, and another 50 or so on top of that that I supervise outside day school hours a few times a week. This year we got a new Head of Boarding, and my intuition told me he would be a positive influence on the boarding houses. My intuition was pretty right. He sometimes frustrates me, but overall he has made a positive impact on the boarding life of the school. An interesting suggestion he made was that we give all the boarders in our care our mobile phone numbers, and we save theirs to our phones. At first I thought this was a little strange, as last year I had to change my phone number because a student misused my number. But I can see it’s benefits.
I have been able to “catch” out some girls doing the wrong thing after other students alerted me via text message. I would like to share this story with you: recently, one girl thought it would be a good idea to sneak out of the dorms at night, and go to a party (consumption of alcohol tends to lead to silly decisions!!). Just like in the movies, she placed items in her bed and pulled the covers to make it look as though she was sleeping in it. She tried to get some girls to cover for her and not tell anyone – how she thought people would eventually not find out is beyond me. Within 3 minutes, I received a text message telling me she’d gone, how she’d snuck out, and where she’d gone to!! The situation was able to be dealt with swiftly and without any negative impact on the student who “dobbed” because no one knew who sent me the text – they thought I had decided to check on the girl on my own! Unfortunately the regular party-goers (and underage drinkers) are constantly causing problems for the students whom they think are “dobbing” on them (in actual fact I am just super sleuthy!!!).
Me knowing what she’d done didn’t stop this girl going to the party and proceeding to drink herself into a stupor (or so I’m told), but the process I went through following the text message (reporting to Head of Boarding and the girl’s parent, locating the girl, ensuring her safety) did help end my duty of care for the night, and allow me to sleep soundly knowing I’d protected the students from harm whilst they were in my care. And it also ended her time in our boarding house! And only because a student thought it was a good idea to send me a text message.
Would I give my phone number to a day student? Probably not. I’m a teacher, and I work as a dorm parent. The roles are separate, but as any teacher would know, 24/7/365 you are a teacher first, an adult second and a person last. So why do I think it’s a good idea for the boarders to have my phone number, and for me to encourage them to use it? Because it helps them feel safe.
Teenagers, and even many adults feel safe when they have their phones with them these days. You go for a run, you walk the dog, you duck in to the shops to grab some bread & milk, you go out for lunch – you take your phone. Students carry them on their person during the school day despite the risk that they be confiscated (we do not allow the use of mobile phones during the school day). It makes us feel safe. And sometimes it makes us feel needed – what if someone phones me? What if someone texts me? In the age where a mobile phone is no longer an accessory, it’s a necessity, I’ve got not problem using it to my benefit with my work.
I think many people will disagree with me. It is a very grey area. I’d welcome any comments or questions.
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