Schools and Photography

[Pose]

I suppose cell phone issues are the new attendance issues. While I rarely miss a class per school year, I do my best to avoid strict policy. This issue becomes more difficult for me personally because I take only 12 credits per semester, so by dropping a class I drop below full time status. I could do without the added stress of classroom rules, as I simply want to take a class, learn, and move on. Being a pain to fellow students and teachers adds nothing of benefit to my goals!

[mwfanelli2]

I suppose cell phone issues are the new attendance issues. While I rarely miss a class per school year, I do my best to avoid strict policy. This issue becomes more difficult for me personally because I take only 12 credits per semester, so by dropping a class I drop below full time status. I could do without the added stress of classroom rules, as I simply want to take a class, learn, and move on. Being a pain to fellow students and teachers adds nothing of benefit to my goals!

I'm curious. What school do you attend and what is their cell phone policy?

I should mention that the college I teach at has a clearly stated electronic devices policy. That policy says no to everything! They do, however, let each professor make whatever exceptions are considered reasonable.

I used to allow cell phones if they were set on vibrate and all voice/text were answered in the hallway, not the classroom. But after last semester's gross abuse of the policy by a few students, I just banned them completely. I don't take the cell phones away, I just kick the cell phone and it's user out of the class!

I also do not allow iPods and similiar, non class-related cameras, running laptops, portable TV sets, oils and canvas, Ouija boards, jet aircraft tuning, etc. during class time. You might hate my rules! :-)

Also, I doubt that any student who does decide to drop my class would have difficulty making up the 4 credits in another class to keep their full-time status.

[MJS]

What do you teach Michael?

[mwfanelli2]

What do you teach Michael?

At various times, physics (calculus, algebra, and conceptual), light science, physical science (conceptual mostly for education majors), weather, and some math courses once in a while. During the summer, I did a two-week chemistry workshop for middle school kids. That was fun.

I make almost nothing compared to the low 6 figures I used to make (alas, easy money in, easy money out) but I enjoy going to work now!

[Medley]

Having Googled this story and read up on it, I now understand the argument a bit better.

The school has no policy on cameras in the classroom. It does, however, have a policy against creating distractions in the classroom. That is the policy that young Logan is being disciplined for breaking.

The lawsuit contends that no one was aware that the photos had been taken until they were discovered online, so the distraction was created when then photos were posted to the web. This was done at the Logan residence, from a privately owned computer, and the district has no jurisdiction to discipline it.

So assuming that Mr. Sableman is correct in stating that prior case law supports that position, the case will hinge on which action caused the disruption- taking the photos or posting them to the internet.

I believe that two questions are all that is neccessary to decide this:

1) If Logan had taken the photos, but had not posted them to the internet, would a similar disruption likely have occured?

2) If logan had taken similar photos of the teacher outside of the classroom, perhaps even off school grounds, and posted them to the internet, would a similar disruption likely have occured?

The school district wouldn't want me to be on this jury. My money is still on the plaintiffs.

- Joe U.

[MJS]

I have great fun catching cell phone users in the class. Of the 10 editing workstations in my classroom/studio, one has a really cheap pair of speakers with bad shielding. We have no problem picking up EMI or electro magnetic interference from any cell phone being illegally used in class. It ends up being a demonstration and a confiscation at the same time. They learn a valuable lesson about well constructed cables and a lesson in civility at the same time.