At the risk of being rude, are you a teacher yourself in the classroom on a daily basis?

It never ceases to amaze me how the behavioral problems of students in classrooms is, like everything else, immediately the fault of the teacher. Johnny is enjoying playing on his brand new 3GS iPhone in class? It must be because the lesson plan is boring or the teacher doesn't care. Give me a break.

I guess the reality is it's easier to blame everyone else except the student (at first) or the parents (next) for the behavior of their students. Every single class I've ever taught (and I primarily teach advanced elective courses) will invariably have the 1 or 2 students who feel as though the rules and policies do not apply to them. There'll be 20 students eagerly enjoying the lesson, using the AirLiner to share answers with the class on the LCD projector, or competing in our class competitions. They're engaged, learning, and having fun. And then you have the 2 in the back with their Nintendo DSs or their PSPs or their iPhones playing games against each other.

I guess I'm at fault because I was only 90.9% effective at engaging the students. I guess it's my fault that I explained the rules of the classroom and tried to punish students. I guess it's my fault when I followed county policy and had a security guard take their PSP to the office to be returned at the end of the day - and then got accused by the parents of stealing their PSP. (I would give my arm for video cameras to tape my classes every minute of every day!)

I agree that jamming probably isn't the solution here, but in our litigious society, anything we do about it tends to make a sue-happy parent come after the teacher, school, or district. What's your suggested solution?

That's a nifty idea, but I know our district has outlawed any practice that involves using grades as a means of disciplining a student. We're not allowed to touch their grades if the reason is anything other than a completed assignment, assessment, or some such.

Heck, we can have a student miss 160 out of the 180 days of school, and we're required by the district to give them every single assignment and assessment they've missed, and give them a grade for it if they complete it by the final day of class. If not, we're in trouble because we're "denying the opportunity for an education." It's the same policy that prevents grading down.

Amen to everything you said!

I teach in an "inner city" high school with a minority rate of somewhere around 65% or so. By definition of the vocabulary word, I myself would be qualified as a minority when I walk on campus.

If I try to punish all of my students for infractions like cell phone usage, cheating, disruptive behavior, etc, it is a statistical certainty that a majority of students thus affected will be a "minority". Still, I have been called a racist by parents at least three times over the last 4 years of teaching. Luckily I've had the support of my administration, along with a fair number of letters of praise from past parents of students that attest to my integrity and equity. It still shakes you a bit, though, to have someone call you a racist when you're just trying to do your job. (Reminds me of this whole Gates fiasco, actually.)

We're also not allowed to discipline students by punishment any longer. It's part of the county-wide PBS system (positive behavior system). We've had teachers written up for using referrals. You are to encourage positive behavior by giving out rewards, and presumably the worst attitude students will magically become attentive learners once they realize they won't be earning a pizza party. Never mind the students who have been caught with weapons on campus, of course.

We're on our umpteenth teaching methodology this coming year (I've gone through Bloom's, to Pioget's, to Curriculum Maps, to Avid, to Kaplan, to Write Score, to I don't give a crap). I've watched as the newest drive is to put every kid possible into my Advanced Placement Calculus course, including those kids who got Fs and Ds in every math class they've ever taken, because the "newest thing" in educational theory now is Kagan learning, and somehow the kids who have difficulty with basic Algebra skills will magically learn by being paired with the "MIT graduate by 18" student. I'm expecting osmosis learning to come next.

I got into teaching because I have a passion for helping students learn new concepts, but with the shackles of insanity that I face every day now in public school I've accelerated my plans to earn my Masters Degree and move on to teaching in the community college (or higher) level. The ability to teach and innovate young minds has been lost to bureaucracy and paperwork, along with constant parental threats. I don't recommend teaching in K-12 any longer to anyone I know either.

You are partially joking in your response, but you are more correct than, perhaps, you even realize.

I've been a public school teacher at a high school for 4 years now, and to be honest, cell phones are an utter nightmare. The cheating of students using texting to get answers is rampant, well beyond anything that, as teachers, we were never warned about. Students have become masters of texting "under the table", and it has gotten bad enough that I now feel the need to make 12 different versions of a test for the 6 classes I teach a day - versions A and B for each period. I know that if I don't, by the end of 1st period, all of my students in periods 2-7 will have the questions (and answers) by the time I get to them. The "rookie" teachers who haven't learned that realize it awfully quick when the grade distributions go steeply upwards by the end of the day. Even then, with the prevalence of iPhones and Blackberry phones, cheating is becoming even more widespread since students can easily websurf to the answers for test questions. I have to hawk around my room constantly looking for phones under desks. It's amazing.

As a county, we've tried everything to penalize the use of cell phones, to no avail. We've tried detentions (students never serve them), we've tried suspensions ("Oh, a day that I don't have to go to school, great!"), no deterrents worked.

Then we tried getting "tougher". We tried to take the cell phone away from the student until the end of the school day. That lasted about 2 weeks, until we were told we couldn't do that any longer because a parent decided to get a jazzy lawyer and sue the district. They, apparently, were convinced that we were endangering their student by taking away their ability to call for help in an emergency. Rather than fight it out in court (and risk losing, as these things tend to go), the county settled and changed the policy. Now, supposedly, the plan is to confiscate the battery, but let the student keep the phone. Of course, students now carry spare batteries, so it doesn't matter.

We were the school a few years back that had the lockdown that made CNN news, when a deputy sheriff and his police dog were both shot and killed less than 2000 feet from our school. It was a massive manhunt that made national news. We were locked down for about 9 hours, with about (literally) 200 police with assault rifles and body armor, with armored vehicles, and eventually they bussed us out of the school under very heavy armed guard. During that time, the cell phones became a fiasco. Every student with a phone was calling their parents, and every parent was coming to the school to try and get their darling children out, despite the reality that a gunman with 2 automatics who had already killed a cop was anywhere around. The police were stretched thin trying to keep the roadblocks up to keep the idiot parents away. Insanity.

It gets worse then that, of course. I've had cases where I pass back a test at 8am to a 2nd period class, and I get an email from our secretary at 8:30am saying that the students parent called and wants to talk to me about the grade their daughter got on the test. Last year the newest craze was students getting "disposable" cell phones and using them to call in bomb threats to the school. Of course, any time a threat comes in you have to go through the evacuation drill, just in case, and according to our resource officer it can be difficult for them to trace the "disposable" cell phones. Plus, as before, any time some drill does come in, it's only a matter for 15 minutes before a bunch of parents show up ready to check their kids out of school.

I couldn't be happier as a teacher than if they blocked every last cell phone on campus. I don't have a phone in my classroom (very few of us in our high school have one in the room), but we each have intercoms we can use to reach the main office, and we had no communication problems during the dangerous lockdown. I don't need to use a cell phone during the school day, at least not once in the 4 years I've been there.

I'm an 11th/12th grade teacher over in Polk County. I agree with 90% of the things you said, as I see them over here in Polk also.

We got saddled last year with a new evaluation system where 11% of our annual evaluation is based directly on the percent of students who receive "C" or higher in our classes. The higher the number who receive those grades, the more "effective" you are seen by the evaluation matrix. So...choose between academic integrity and self-preservation of your job. Choose now.

As to your FCAT Science assertion, I would respectfully disagree. Perhaps in the elementary setting (of which I have no firsthand knowledge) the test is primarily a reading test - I wouldn't be surprised. However, there is a fair amount of science knowledge directly tested on the Grade 11 FCAT Science. I teach Physics, so I'm [of course] forced into daily FCAT Science practice lessons, and I've looked at released tests and seen the material that is tested. (I've also "peeked" over students' shoulders as they've taken the real thing - which technically means I've potentially forfeited my teaching license for looking at test questions...oooooooo....). It's not a very rigorous knowledge test, but there's certainly questions on Earth/Space Science, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, etc.

You guys are getting the budget cuts worse than us, but we've heard it's going to be bad next year too. We're probably going to lose most of our Fine Arts programs, probably some Physical Education programs, and many of the A.P. and I.B. programs will be gone. That's what's wrong with Science education today, folks - when money shortfalls cause the advanced classes to disappear. I was gearing up to begin teaching AP Physics next year...but that's gone now.

Thank you! I am a public high school teacher in Florida. I am certified in three areas: Math 6-12, Physics 6-12, and Computer Science K-12. This year has been an epic disaster of a year, and we are having issues with student apathy to a degree I've never experienced in my years of teaching.

As I posted elsewhere in this thread, I gave an exam today to a group of 28 Precalculus students (honors level, theoretically). This was on a unit covering Trig Identities. We've been teaching the material for 3 weeks, and this was the culminating exam. Within the first 10 minutes, I had 7 students turn in a "Christmas tree'd" exam with no work. Within the next 40 minutes after that, I had another 10 students turn in exams that had perhaps half the problems attempted, and the rest left blank. The mean score was a 25 for that class (out of 100).

Now, on the face of it some would say I was an ineffective teacher. Let's not forget that over the last 3 years this same assessment was given to prior Precalculus classes, with mean scores of around 78-89, depending on the time of year (honestly!). Clearly that would seem to show there is some unknown variable at play for this year that didn't exist in prior years. I would argue that, more than likely, I am not the most significant contributer to this scenario; I have taught the same curriculum each year, and have offered the same "office hours" for students to come for help. This year, though, no single student has ever come for help.

Now, the part that burns me is when everyone wants to evaluate teachers based upon student performance. This year, in my district, 11% of my annual evaluation is directly based upon the percentage of my students who pass with a "C" or higher. Digest that for a moment. Can you see something inappropriate about that?

If a student "Christmas trees" my test, or refuses to try it, I can't control that. If a student on my roster is out for 4 weeks due to maternity leave (which I have 2 of this term), and is now completely behind, I can't control that. If a student's parent looks you in the eye at a parent conference and tells you their student is "too stupid to go to college", I can't control that.

But I'm getting evaluated on that? Could someone please explain that to me from the perspective of equity and fairness?

I don't entirely agree with blaming teacher unions, however. I'm not a member of a teacher union since, ironically, I don't feel that they are worth the money I'd spend - at least in my county. Our union regularly gets steamrolled by the school board, backed by the state. We can't strike (unlike other unions), so when push comes to shove we will always lose. The union fought the evaluation I described above to the hilt, and yet an administrative magistrate sided against the union (as always).

What I've always wanted to see done for my observations is something every privacy advocate would scream over: put cameras in my classroom and tape me every day. Seriously. Then, perhaps, you could see the students who are talking all the time (and the times I try to get them to be quiet). You could see the students who are sleeping all the time (and my failed attempts to wake them, mindful of the legal ramifications of touching students). You could watch my teaching methodology, my explanations, my interactions and accommodations. Get a full context over a semester, rather than looking at grades on a report card. And, quite frankly, let parents come in to school and watch video of their darling children as they merit the referrals they earn.

Another good reason is simple: the almighty dollar.

I was the product of a private school education from 2nd - 12th. (Catholic parochial) The bottom line was my father (and mother as well) were on me like ants on honey the entire time because it was in their best financial interest to do so. The private schools I was sent to were expensive (though not prohibitively so), and for a simple lower-middle income family, they made a lot of sacrifices to send me there.

If I were to screw around and get kicked out (which the private schools had no problem doing since they had waiting lists), my parents would have lost the $$$ they paid to get me in (non-refundable).

What's the difference with public schools? Parental apathy. I'm a public school 11th/12th grade teacher. I'm triple certified in Mathematics 6-12, Physics 6-12, and Computer Science K-12. (/. is like my second home)

Just today I gave my Precalculus class an exam on Trigonometric Identities. (You know, things like the Pythagorean Trig Identity, Cofunctions, etc.) Out of 28 students in this class (an honors class), I had 7 "Christmas tree" the test in the first 10 minutes (including bubbling 25 answers for a test with only 20 questions on it). I had another 10 beyond that stare at the wall for 45 minutes or so and turn in a test with half the answers left blank. The final mean score was a 28 out of 100. Last week the Honors Physics class dropped me a mean score of 47 on a test on Fluid Dynamics. (Buoyancy, Pascal's Law, Bernoulli's Law, Pressure, etc.)

The root problem? Students don't care, and you can't get parents to care either. I've tried calling 3-5 parents on a daily basis for almost 2 weeks, never receiving an answer - parents have even gone so far as blocking our school numbers on their phone. One parent I reached told me that their child was "too stupid" to go to college (so much for trying to support your child). I've also had 2 of the students miss about 5 weeks of this semester so far because they were out for maternity leave (for themselves).

Now...how do we, as public school educators, combat those problems? With all apologies to President Obama, teacher merit pay isn't the solution by a mile. I could have 3 doctorates, be a textbook author, and be a nationally recognized educator (I'm not, of course), and yet the common reality is you can't teach someone who isn't there physically or mentally, who doesn't have parental guidance/support, and who feels that they will simply get by with a basketball scholarship.

I agree - up to a point. I don't agree that schools are all doing a miserable job. You know the phrase "garbage in, garbage out"? It really does apply to K-12 students.

I've taught 10th-12th grade for 4 years now at an inner-city style school (59% minority rate, 78% free/reduced lunch), over a variety of Math/CS subjects, including Precalculus, AP Calculus, Honors Physics, and AP Computer Science. You'd think I would have the top of the stack, the elite students, if you will. If I do, it demonstrates the problem with some U.S. Science & Math students in the 21st century: the students at some schools (at least mine) have no desire to put in the effort required to master a difficult subject.

Students are looking for classes they can pad their schedule with that look good on college transcripts, but which require very little work. If it's an AP class, they want the AP teacher that gives out extra credit like candy, assigns 3-5 problems a night for homework, and gives "open book" tests.

I came from a tougher school of thought, so in return I expect work from my students; I assign 1-2 hours worth of work every night, every test is "closed book", every quiz is unannounced, and there's no such thing as extra credit. You should hear the crying of unfairness and cruelty. (The funny thing is for the 4 years I've been at my school, my AP class has had the highest passing rate of all AP courses taught at our school.)

My AP Comp. Sci. course, for 3 years in a row, was filled with ambitious MySpace, Facebook, or other "texters" who thought a CS course was going to be something where we sat around all day and wrote the next "How L33T are you?" quiz. Some thought we'd be writing the next Line Rider game the 1st class. When I tried to get them to understand OOP, or to think of what a Model & View architecture really meant, it blew their minds. A simple assignment (almost pointless, but done anyway to try to get something out of them) of picking an everyday real life object and writing down all of the things it's made of and things it can do, netted me about 20 papers all describing a pencil as being made of lead, eraser, and plastic, which can write and erase. Deep stuff.

You should have seen how well they handled writing a simple "Guess a number" game. Basic IF structures (logic) completely eluded them.

It's not their math skills that was hurting them (although you'd be scared to see how many AP Calculus students I routinely teach who can't grasp working with reciprocals or fractions in general work) - it was their inability or lack of desire to employ critical thinking skills. If it wasn't something that could be put on the back of an index card (to cram the night before) or typed into their cell phones (to cheat from the day of the test), they wouldn't do it.

We have to get past that laziness, that lack of work/study ethic, in K-12 education before we tack on anything else. CS, done well, cannot be learned in any meaningful fashion if there's no desire to use reasoning, deductive logic, or problem solving skills.

I pray it's not this bad at other K-12 institutions around the country, but I'm fearful that it's the same everywhere. It's the chief reason I'm pressing onward with my MA or MS to get my foot into the door of college teaching. I know you still get your share of lazy students there as well, but they might just want to work hard and pay attention, and I won't feel like I'm just spinning my wheels every day I try to teach another young mind. And I'm fully aware that I'm not helping the problem, if I'm even able to, by "bailing" on the K-12 arena, but there comes a point when your work begins to feel like an ice-cream salesman standing in Fairbanks, Alaska.....you just have to move your stand to somewhere you can get something done.

P.S. This year the county canceled my AP Comp. Sci. class and rolled my BC Calculus course into my AP Calculus course as an "independent study". Due to budget cuts, having 12 or less students means the class gets folded. So much for even the wannabe texters...

In the same spirit of respect, I have to disagree with what you posted.

If you read the entire opinion, the following was mentioned:

- The government sought permission twice from a magistrate judge to gain access to the guy's email records. (So it's not a warrant, but it WAS an official court order)
- The government had to demonstrate to the magistrate that the records they sought contained information "relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation" (So it wasn't a blind or frivolous fishing expedition)
- The government was ordered by the magistrate to delay giving notice since the judge felt there was a credible chance of the guy tampering with evidence
- The judge sealed the court orders related to the searches

My point is, unlike other abuses of government warrantless work, at least this one had some measure of judicial review involved. That makes this case different, IMHO, than other warrantless wiretapping and such, and care should be taken to not draw conclusions about either with a broad stroke here.

The court also felt that not only was the case "not ripe" for ruling (which has a very clear and painstakingly discussed meaning in the opinion), but that the guy partially argued on the wrong grounds. They almost suggest he MIGHT have had a shot of having his case heard if he'd argued 1st Amendment rather than 4th Amendment (since he alluded to the idea of a "chilling effect" when it comes to emails) - but he didn't, he argued 4th Amendment.

In fact, from reading the opinion, it seems as though this guy completely "screwed up" his entire arguments. It sounds as though he sued on the grounds of future, potential searches, rather than on particular admissability of the emails that were gained during the prior 2 searches. It definitely was an issue that the guy sought to overturn ALL of 2703(d), for everyone, rather than just his particular case. The court makes great pains to state how they refuse to make a potential constitutional ruling for a general class situation where each person's particulars may be widely different.

I'd say the court did a reasonable thing with this decision, all things considered. The guy clearly should have known from his Yahoo TOS that his emails weren't going to be fully private in the first case - and in fact it was pointed out in his own TOS that "emails will be provided to the government upon request." (That argues, possibly, that the government may have been able to get the emails from Yahoo without any court involvement at all - depending on how Yahoo wants to proceed)

All in all, seems like nothing more to see here to me. Let's focus on FISA, where the real problems are, not on this non-case.