Are teachers allowed to kick you out of the classroom for looking at your phone?

sinterklaas

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Wait, college student? As in university? My god, if that's what you meant you should report the teacher immediately, subtracting points from exams and kicking you out of class that you payed for? What the fuck?
 

Gottesstrafe

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tendaji said:
If the teacher has it in their rules in their syllabus, they are well within their rights to throw you out. You were warned of the rules against cellphones when you attended the class, you even signed that you were given, read, and that you understand the syllabus, which is basically your class contract.

Just turn off the stupid piece of machinery, it can wait till the end of class, of course if you are expecting an important phone call, you could always tell her at the beginning of class and take it outside. But for the most part an hour and a half or however long, without a phone isn't going to kill you.
I can't agree more. When the professor puts a warning in the syllabus, constantly reminds students during class, and makes it a highly publicized event when someone breaks aforementioned rules, you really have no one but yourself to blame. If you went through the effort of of setting your phone to vibrate before class, why couldn't that have been applied to simply turning it off? If you had to take a call or forgot to turn it off, leave the classroom and come back in when you're done. This isn't high school, you don't have to raise your hand to ask the teacher permission to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. You're an adult, start acting like one.
 

Pandaman1911

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Jan 3, 2011
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Yes. It's her classroom, she's allowed to do whatever she wants. If she's against phones, you shouldn't have had the damned thing with you. I agree with you, and I think it's extreme, and I think it's a load of crap, but what I think doesn't matter, and what YOU think doesn't matter, because neither of us is the teacher and neither of us is in charge.
 

OriginalLadders

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Yopaz said:
If you are in college the teacher can do whatever the fuck he/she wants. You're a grown up now, you can't expect to have the same lenience as when you're a kid. Phones these days comes with a function to turn them off. Use it.
Firstly, there is a code of conduct for college teachers, it varies but it's still there. They can't do anything they feel like. Secondly, it is at school that discipline should be instilled, at college you should be treated like an adult. Thirdly, it is possible to forget to turn off a phone, humans often forget small things.

Using the phone signals that you're only there because you don't have a choice. Yeah, that's probably not it, but this is a matter of showing respect. There is a rule against using phones, you obviously knew that beforehand.
That is an individual assumption, and he was not using his phone, he was turning it off, which I think shows respect for the rule. Though personally I don't understand why some people insist a phone is turned off when it can be set to silent and the owner can then check for missed calls and texts afterwards which they might not have received if the phone were off.

Yeah this is harsh and probably too harsh, but really this is life. When you're done with your education you might be fired for being late too many times or not showing enough interest. Learn from the experience and turn off your phone.
Fair point.

Actually from what I have heard being kicked out of class is not a valid excuse for absence since just like when you're sick or late it's your fault that you're not present in class.
That does not deal with the issue that being sent out was overly harsh. In my experience a student is only ever sent out of a lecture when they are causing an obvious disruption to it; his phone was on vibrate and so most likely could not be heard by others, coupled with the fact that he was turning it off. It was the teacher who turned it into a disruption by stopping the class because she noticed one student who hadn't been looking forward or at their notes for a few second. Or maybe she noticed him reaching into his bag, this is also irrelevant as he could have just as easily been reaching for a new pen or a bottle of water.

And, also in my experience, a student is only considered absent if they did not turn up on time, or turned up on time in an inappropriate state (eg. obviously drunk and/or abusive) and so were immediately sent out, or left of their own accord thereby missing most of the lecture.
 

Freeze_L

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Feb 17, 2010
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Your teacher is a bit loopy, from what you are telling me at least, I would go to the teacher first and ask her about it, then if she is being unreasonable talk to your adviser and the department head.
My chem professor has it listed on the syllabus that he can kick a student out and mark them as absent and deduct as much as 5% of their grade for using any electronic device besides a calculator at his discretion. Never heard of him doing that yet, its mostly for people showing up and playing angry birds (and if you can do that and pass then there is no reason for you to be in his class is there?) People have gotten calls and left to answer and responded to texts or had alarms go off and as long its not disruptive intentionally he does not care...
 

xXGeckoXx

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Michael Fahey said:
I am a college student, and I have a teacher who is hard core against cell phones in the class. (that and she just acts like all the students are children) When ever someone's phone goes off in their back pack, she writes their name down and when the next test comes around she subtracts points from them.

The other day my phone was on vibrate so she couldn't hear it, but it just kept going off so I took it out to shut it off. She caught me and asked what I was hiding, and told me to show the class. I put up no resistance and gave her no trouble, I just said "my phone was going off so I was shutting it off" and showed that it was indeed my phone. She then pointed to the door and said "good bye" I was baffled and asked "Are you really kicking me out?" and she angrily said "Yes, I have a zero tolerance on phones" once again I didn't fight this and just left. She also marked it as if I was absent for that day of class

I am just curious, are teachers actually allowed to do that? To subtract points from tests and kick students out and mark it against their attendance? I have the class tomorrow, I am not sure if she is gonna do anything else when I get there.
[xpost/r/otherthreadonthistopic] My school has a cell phones allowed policy. With today's technology I use my phone to store homework and due dates as well as contact my teachers. If people don't want to pay attention then fine but if they fail the class it is not on the teacher. Simple.
 

Robert Ewing

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She can punish you as she see's fit if you have a phone out, but she can't mark you as absent!

That almost seems like an offense, obstructing your learning. If you're serious about your attendance, then you should report her.
 

Redratson

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This isnt fukn highschool, this is the real world. It is not fair and will not bend to your will. Now grow the hell up and turn off the phone as instructed and learn.
 

I Have No Idea

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Ympulse said:
Michael Fahey said:
I am a college student, and I have a teacher who is hard core against cell phones in the class. (that and she just acts like all the students are children)
Well you are. You're taking that class to learn, not dick around on your phone.

Grow up, get some discipline, and turn your cell phone off during classes. ESPECIALLY in fucking college.
I'm pretty sure he included that fact just for context, to let us know that the teacher is a stickler against phones and that we would know why she kicked him out. He said his phone kept on vibrating and took it out and shut it off. He has discipline.
 

ace_of_something

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Michael Fahey said:
I am a college student, and I have a teacher who is hard core against cell phones in the class. (that and she just acts like all the students are children) When ever someone's phone goes off in their back pack, she writes their name down and when the next test comes around she subtracts points from them.
Hi! I've recently become a professor and I found out this. A Professor can kick you out of their classroom for pretty much any reason they want. If they're tenured that can include "i don't like his face"

The theory is 'you choose to be at college, if you can't follow instructions go pound sand'
 

asinann

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Daystar Clarion said:
She can mark you down for it, sure, but she's not allowed to mark you as absent.

You should report her.
He is in college, the instructors have the authority to do everything except hit you, sleep with you and throw you out of school completely.

Be happy she didn't just kick you out of her class for the rest of the term. She can also refuse to allow you into her class again after the term is over.

If you feel like she did something really wrong you can go to her department head, or if she is the department head, the dean of students.
 

Lev The Red

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it's written into my school's charter that a professor can write a set of classroom (we call them 'sections') rules and if a student breaks those rules then the professor has the right to kick you out of class. however, he/she can't mark you absent if you where there at the start of class and they can't permanently ban you from the class unless they go to the department head.
i have a few instructors that kick out students for using cell phones/computers in class. but they give warnings at the start of class, saying "turn your phones off now." if you take them out after that, they'll kick you out.
 

Bebus

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Feb 12, 2010
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Hard to tell if you mean American college, 18+, or British college 16-18.

Either way, doesn't really matter. My take on it? Kicking you out - fair enough. Buzzing phones annoys me more than it reasonably should and to be honest I would rather the bloody things confiscated. If you insist on breaking the rules like some 10 year old, expect to be treated like one. It's like the idiots who seem to think 'turn off your phone' means 'turn it to silent', then you spend half your film in the cinema distracted by the glowing screen of some mentally incompetent man-child who can't go for more than 5 minutes without checking his phone before getting twitchy.

Grr. Yes this is a pet hate, amplified by the fact the above situation occurred at a film I watched earlier tonight.

The other points you make seem a little petty, downgrading your work and especially marking you absent (I assume this is done for H&S reasons so actually becomes a legal issue) are over the top but hey, her rules if you break them expect to face the consequences.

Grow up and welcome to the world.
 

sdafdfhrye3245

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Sep 30, 2008
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While it's not right, you should grow up and turn your phone off. If you can't go an hour without talking to someone, you should probably get some help.
 

Yopaz

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Jun 3, 2009
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OriginalLadders said:
Yopaz said:
If you are in college the teacher can do whatever the fuck he/she wants. You're a grown up now, you can't expect to have the same lenience as when you're a kid. Phones these days comes with a function to turn them off. Use it.
Firstly, there is a code of conduct for college teachers, it varies but it's still there. They can't do anything they feel like. Secondly, it is at school that discipline should be instilled, at college you should be treated like an adult. Thirdly, it is possible to forget to turn off a phone, humans often forget small things.

Using the phone signals that you're only there because you don't have a choice. Yeah, that's probably not it, but this is a matter of showing respect. There is a rule against using phones, you obviously knew that beforehand.
That is an individual assumption, and he was not using his phone, he was turning it off, which I think shows respect for the rule. Though personally I don't understand why some people insist a phone is turned off when it can be set to silent and the owner can then check for missed calls and texts afterwards which they might not have received if the phone were off.

Yeah this is harsh and probably too harsh, but really this is life. When you're done with your education you might be fired for being late too many times or not showing enough interest. Learn from the experience and turn off your phone.
Fair point.

Actually from what I have heard being kicked out of class is not a valid excuse for absence since just like when you're sick or late it's your fault that you're not present in class.
That does not deal with the issue that being sent out was overly harsh. In my experience a student is only ever sent out of a lecture when they are causing an obvious disruption to it; his phone was on vibrate and so most likely could not be heard by others, coupled with the fact that he was turning it off. It was the teacher who turned it into a disruption by stopping the class because she noticed one student who hadn't been looking forward or at their notes for a few second. Or maybe she noticed him reaching into his bag, this is also irrelevant as he could have just as easily been reaching for a new pen or a bottle of water.

And, also in my experience, a student is only considered absent if they did not turn up on time, or turned up on time in an inappropriate state (eg. obviously drunk and/or abusive) and so were immediately sent out, or left of there own accord thereby missing most of the lecture.
Now what you need to know is that I am form a completely different countries. The law here states that a teacher in any class that isn't primary school (grades 1-10) can make a student leave the classroom if he/she is displeased with the student's actions. The student is blamed for not accepting the rules of that particular teacher. Student does something. student has to leave. Student is absent.

Also the teacher can't possibly know that when someone is using their phone it's only to turn it off. Is the teacher a mind reader? I would hope not. Yes that using the phone is disrespectful is an individual assumption. Not one he was unaware of however. He knew beforehand that the teacher was against use of phones and is thus expected to know of this individual assumption.

This is legal because in college you are an adult. you can't expect the teacher to hold your hand. You chose higher education deal with the rules or drop out. That's how being an adult works. Sure, this is harsh I wont deny that. Perfectly legal though.
Before you ask, I did do a fact check before posting this.
 

CotF1692

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I Have No Idea said:
Ympulse said:
Michael Fahey said:
I am a college student, and I have a teacher who is hard core against cell phones in the class. (that and she just acts like all the students are children)
Well you are. You're taking that class to learn, not dick around on your phone.

Grow up, get some discipline, and turn your cell phone off during classes. ESPECIALLY in fucking college.
I'm pretty sure he included that fact just for context, to let us know that the teacher is a stickler against phones and that we would know why she kicked him out. He said his phone kept on vibrating and took it out and shut it off. He has discipline.
Pretty much that, I wasn't angry and I didn't storm out or anything. I threw the comment on last minute because she just does, I am the quite kid who sits in the corner of the class usually. She splits friends up and assigns seats if she hears talking, we need to have our homework looked over and signed by other students, and things need to be turned in the minute class starts. Calculators are considered cheating! we even have several work sheets that are "I was grading you on your ability to follow instructions, not do math"

I respect the turning things in as soon as class starts, but I refer back to the whole paper clip comment I made earlier. There was one day I sent her an email informing her I could not turn my paper in because I couldn't even make it to class that day due to being sick in bed, she subtracted points for it anyway. This post is basically just me trying to defend myself from the whole "you are being childish!" thing

American college since I didn't point it out earlier.

I edited a few things at the end of my first paragraph.
 

JohnReaper

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Jun 8, 2009
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First things first, shouldn't have had the phone on,
second, kicking you out of class is acceptable,
third, and here's the elephant in the room, She can't effect your grade in that way, some FinAid can also be affected by tardyness/absent marks, and the teacher allowed to do as she will to you in the class, she can't say you weren't there when you were.
 

OriginalLadders

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Yopaz said:
Now what you need to know is that I am form a completely different countries. The law here states that a teacher in any class that isn't primary school (grades 1-10) can make a student leave the classroom if he/she is displeased with the student's actions. The student is blamed for not accepting the rules of that particular teacher. Student does something. student has to leave. Student is absent.
Okay, but that isn't necessarily the law in OP's country.

Also the teacher can't possibly know that when someone is using their phone it's only to turn it off. Is the teacher a mind reader? I would hope not. Yes that using the phone is disrespectful is an individual assumption. Not one he was unaware of however. He knew beforehand that the teacher was against use of phones and is thus expected to know of this individual assumption.
She may not have considered it a matter of respect, but a matter of disruption to the lecture, so it's still an assumption.

This is legal because in college you are an adult. you can't expect the teacher to hold your hand. You chose higher education deal with the rules or drop out. That's how being an adult works. Sure, this is harsh I wont deny that. Perfectly legal though.
The lecturers at my university are of largely the same opinion (and they are right), they see their only responsibilities as to give the lecture, making sure it is as free from disruption as possible and to answer questions student have regarding the material. The point is, how you study and how much you study is considered your own responsibility. Being ejected from a lecture for something that did not disrupt the lecture seems to me to indicate that the stick up the lecturer's butt has stick up its butt.

Before you ask, I did do a fact check before posting this.
I had no intention of questioning your facts, but it's nice to see someone actually doing some fact checking on the internet for once.