Text Etiquette
It's a hot topic, and it's on my mind, because the Spring of 09 was, for me, as a college instructor, the worst "texting" semester of my life. Students, even good students who I know and respect, seemed unable to stop themselves from texting anytime anywhere no matter how small the class (12 students, in one case) and how interesting the class discussion (re-writing the US Constitution is usually a bit of a draw).
I'm "on vacation" right now, but if you teach, "vacation" always has to go in quotes -- yes, I'm not actively teaching in a classroom, but I'm reading and thinking and rebuilding and restructuring and doing all the things necessary to my job that I don't have time to do when class is in session. And one of the biggest things on my mind is how to jiujitsu my students into setting down their f*ing phones and learning.
There is no prohibition that will work. No matter how many rules you make, no matter how draconian you make them, one of the features of texting is that the text-er believes him or herself invisible: forget the glassy eyes (skilled texters don't look down, but they do get a zombie stare on their faces), the forward hunched shoulders, and the light tapping coming from under their desks -- they believe they are not seen nor heard, and they have no concept of how they are disrupting the class, retarding the discussion, and preventing their own learning.
Most of the articles I've read on the subject are about etiquette: whether or not it's impolite to text at a meeting or at a dinner table, etc. And I think they're on to something. But most 19-year-olds are not particularly concerned with maintaining their Emily Post cred. They are, however, of the prime mating age, which means that they do not want to be embarrassed and they do not want to be considered nasty.
Which is when it occurred to me that the prohibition needs to be one not of politeness but of grossness. In this spirit, I've invented an acronym:
F.A.R.T.
F orbidden
A nd/or
R ude
T exting
I will teach this acronym to my students, and every time I catch one of them texting, I will say, "Kayla, you just F.A.R.T.ed in class! This is counting against your participation grade."
With a little luck, I will only have to say it once.
I've declared all classes electronics-free zones -- no cell phones, laptops, etc. -- and students seem surprisingly unhorrified. The inevitable believers in invisibility -- there's always one or two, as you point out -- I simply shame: that is, if I'm talking, or even if someone else's talking, I'll just fall silent or raise a silencing hand and stare fixedly at the texter until s/he figures out s/he's become the object of class attention.
I usually only have to do that once a semester. But I have built into the syllabus the even more draconian rule that if they're caught using electronics in class they have to take a hike & not return, & get counted absent that day.
Mark Scroggins said...
11:31 AM
Old fogies are old. So now the central quip of the current generation gap is that "none of those damn kids pay any attention." Of course they do; they are just better at tuning out the extraneous.
organic said...
12:36 PM
Wow, that's the stupidest comment ever posted at this blog -- and that's clearing a very high mark, my friend! Kudos Organic!! We'll have to get you a prize...
Amy said...
1:04 PM
Texting during a lecture is, by definition, tuning in to the extraneous.
Cris said...
1:17 PM
On second thought, organic, I'm being a bit too quick to judge you: I did make the joke about "mating age," which might imply that I'm talking only about young people. But in truth, my worst texter last semester was in her 30s - although I'm pretty sure she was single. ;-)
Also, I probably should have included more links to the studies showing that people who text while doing other things learn less etc. etc., and I should have pointed out that the studies have mostly been done on young people -- high school students in many cases -- because they seek out subjects who believe they are excellent multi-taskers, and they skew young. (The studies show that people who believe themselves excellent multi-taskers are, simply, mistaken -- age makes no difference.)
I've discovered that if you google the word "multitasking" the first 10 hits or so are news stories talking about the research -- so knock yourself out: it's interesting and enlightening stuff. And I'm sorry I called you stupid. I'm having a rough day.
Amy said...
1:29 PM
Organic's logic is perfectly solid -- for those who text in class, it's the class itself that's "extraneous." The college classroom is one of the places where you learn the opposite of multi-tasking: concentration & connected, concentrated attention, without which no real thinking or creation can ever take place.
As the official "old fogy" on this thread, I'd say that the complaint of "the current generation gap" is pretty familiar, going all the way back to ancient Greek classrooms, & even to some of Plato's dialogues, where Sokrates has all he can do to keep some of his interlocutors' minds on the subject at hand.
Youth is to be enjoyed, revelled in -- but one needs to learn to think like an adult at some point, or one ends up like that arrested 13-year-old Sarah Palin (older than me!).
Mark Scroggins said...
10:29 AM
I want to learn to cry on command (I'm close, I've been practicing.) I think if I just burst into tears a few times when someone disrespects my classroom with pernicious "multi-tasking", it will keep those whippersnappers in line.
Kristie said...
10:40 AM