And they have the support of their parents.
In case you're too lazy to click, some snots are protesting a PARTIAL ban on iPods in school. They are protesting a ban on iPod use DURING CLASS. And the new policy never revoked their right to listen in the cafeteria. There are also provisions for certain classes with the teacher's permission.
They are very proudly speaking at a podium about how music helps them study. Jackasses. My kid might want his iPod in class. And I will probably let him watch way too much tv in his future years. And some day he might have some dreamy eyed kid's half cocked idea about something to protest or otherwise discuss in public and I might drive him down to town hall to do it. A hockey park where the library used to be, for instance. But there is no way I'll let him stand up and cry that his teachers are making him do school at school. What the hell is wrong with people? But the teachers shouldn't get tenure unless they can get these spoiled little douchebags to progress while their parents help them fight the fight over the right for distractions during school.
Isn't there something more important they could do with all of their protesty hormones?
Priceless. And people wonder why I don't want kids?!?!
ReplyDelete*This* is their battle? They have to walk through metal detectors to get into the building and then drug dogs and principals can search their lockers without a warrant. Some are strip searched for ibuprofen; others have to pass a piss test to play soccer. But take away their iPod and all hell breaks loose!
I read the whole story and the comments until my brain actually started to dry up, and I could feel IQ points slipping away. Must. Drink. Now.
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ReplyDeleteHere's the corrected version!
ReplyDeleteWhen my uncle was in elementary school, his gym teacher had a hearing aid. The kids used to go into class and pretend to talk while only moving their lips, causing him to jack up the volume on his hearing aid so that when they DID speak, they were deafening.
Mean, I know.
I like to play the same trick in reverse...walk into the classroom, get them quiet with something like flicking the lights, and then start talking while merely moving my lips. The effect wears off in a few seconds, but the look of confusion is priceless.
Then we talk about how iPods screw up your hearing. We also sometimes talk about how colleges are hotbeds of STDs, though, too, so my class is a bit peculiar.
Haha, BlackDog. You always crack me up. Colleges ARE hotbeds of STDs, but only if you're lucky.
ReplyDeleteI cite research on the first day of class that having your cellphone out on the table raises anxiety as opposed to having it off and out of sight, and then insist that they pretend the classroom is a timewarp to the 1950s where such things don't exist. Just for a few hours. I rarely have problems with it nowadays.
But to the point at hand: as Wombat says, I would support my future pimply adolescent in doing a whole bunch of schtuff that I actually think is retarded (it's what parents do) but I swear to Zeus, if they want to protest not being able to listen to their iPODs (or iHolograph or whatever it'll be by then), I will make them write me 10-page essay on discipline, entitlement, and how teachers know best. If I don't just flying elbow-drop them. Yeah, I'm going to be a great Mommy.
I don't know. This sounds like pretty forced "Snowflake Entitlement" spin.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who spent the day researching (well, 4 hours at least) with endless sniffling around me (damn flu season), I can vouch for the whole iPods in study hall. Can you imagine the horrors of being a *good* student, trying to study, while Whispering Wally and Stuffed-Up Sam are grossing you out?
In public spaces, I gladly retreat to my iPod. Why this school makes a no-tolerance policy on School Property where a no-tolerance *while in class* would make sense I've no idea. But I can understand wanting to cover up the sounds of high school during study periods.
And I'm going to call you CM-ers out on this. This article is not the entitlement snowflakery it appears to be. There is SO MUCH snowflakery to choose from, why bother posting about creating a studying atmosphere by blocking out the sounds of disgusting teenagers?
I have a really cool bridge. There's nothing wrong with it, but I want to sell it for a really great price. And I don't have the papers, but I SWEAR it's mine.
ReplyDelete"I just need it because the kid next to me keeps sneezing." is the biggest crock since "I don't want special treatment." "I tried really hard." and "My grandmother, a four time cancer survivor, actually died the night before the midterm."
I can't believe you would offer that as a valid excuse. "Study Hall" is not "blow off and wait between classes" period. If it were, I could understand. But it is supposed to be (and rarely is) used for actually doing work and studying. If you can cite a valid piece of research, other than your own desire to indulge in MP3 time (I don't blame you) during duty periods, that shows that students are more productive if they have an iPod to protect them during flu season than having to grin and bear it electronics-free, I will do the chicken dance in Times Square wearing any piece of RYS or CM prodo you choose. Otherwise, they can make up enough good excuses on their own, they don't need your professional assistance.
PS - I wasn't kidding when I said I don't blame you. Sometimes I pretend to be writing their next test while they take an exam. I'm really watching Cool Hand Luke on DVD (or at BEST, something featuring Neil de Grasse Tyson).
Ear plugs, kiddos.
ReplyDeleteMarcia has me there. Ear-plugs for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm calling out Monkey for calling us out. You're on the wrong side of this one.
ReplyDeleteSince every bit of research I've read on it says that listening to music in a language you understand DECREASES ability to focus, they've got nothing there.
Don't forget the joy of someone else's music leaking out of their ear and how much of a distraction that is. At one base, we had someone I called "Salsa Guy." I paced off the distance, and you could hear his music from well over 40 feet away.
This leads to our third issue--rapid onset of hearing problems in the young. If the school can do a little bit to prevent that, good.