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The Story is Late, But it's Still Worth Telling

It's been a couple of months now, but this is the story of two days in one third-grade classroom.

I got to know the kids pretty well during these two days.  Their regular teacher apparently ran  a very tight ship.  I let them get away with a few things, but let them know that they were only getting away with things because it was okay with me.

One kid was a natural leader.  Smart, personable, always ready with an answer.  I noticed him speaking with his stock broker on the way to recess on a cell phone.  One made out of paper.  "Yeah, yeah," he said.  "Sell high?" I asked?  "Yep," he'd reply.

He had fun with his phone each recess, but after lunch I noticed what must have been the result of a promotional deal in the lunchroom - everyone seemed to have a phone!  We were going to do an afternoon activity, and I explained that, because we were in class, they were going to need to power their (paper) phones down.

They had a variety of excuses about why this was simply unacceptable:

"But I'm expecting an important call!"

"But can't I keep it on vibrate?"

"How about if I just text?"

"Can I just use it to take pictures?"

No, no, a thousand times no...we're in class, and you need to power down your phones...and the same goes for LAPTOPS (this was directed to a girl who at this point was furiously typing away on a sheet of folded paper, who upon hearing this news slammed it shut, clamshell-style).

It was all pretty funny.  Keep in mind, their regular teacher would've had these things in the recycle bin before anyone had speed-dialed their bookie, and they knew it.

Below is the phone the ringleader made for me - he made sure to check and see if he had included a texting function:

I said "thank you", and modeled powering it down, shutting it, and putting it away until after class.

This class, having a tight daily ship, knew the rules.  Oh how they knew the rules.  And they were not shy about enforcing the rules with each other.  In short, they were tattlers like no tattlers I had ever met.  After about one hour of this, I remembered a trick I'd read on a sub message board: The Tattle Box.  I emptied a small box I found on a shelf, and told the kids (upon their return from recess, all with fresh tattles to report), "It's very clear that you all know the rules, and you're very good at reminding each other of the rules.  Here's what I'd like you to do, and please use your judgement...if someone is bleeding or otherwise doing something dangerous, I want you to come tell me.  In all other cases, I'd like you to write down your concern and put it into this box."

The box was overflowing in a span of 45 minutes:

It turns out they were very concerned that I read the notes, but beyond that, they were just happy they'd been heard. 

I cannot recommend this technique enough.  I imagine there are some offices where this approach to management might come in handy.

Is This Thing On?

I can only imagine what I'd look like if I wasn't attempting to get my money's worth out of my gym membership.

Sheesh.