Are teachers allowed to kick you out of the classroom for looking at your phone?
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Basically they make their own rules, you're there on sufferance, you follow the rules or you leave.Michael Fahey said:
Is it really so hard to follow the rules? are they asking you to do handstands or balance spinning plates?
I've seen a lot of people responding to this thread stating things such as "you should turn your phone off"... however such a response does not answer the questions asked. The question clearly states what is to happen if such a "rule" is broken, not whether rules should be broken to begin with.Michael Fahey said:
OT:
1) With regards to asking you to leave the classroom, college is something you pay for (directly or via taxes, which is irrelevant)and as such you have certain rights in recieving said education. It is possible for the college to set up rules as to when such rights can be denied (such as after excessive or extreme negative behaviour), however for a minor infraction such as looking at a phone (providing it did not in-fact disrupt any portion of the class - eg. loud ringtones) or even where you are attempting to remove a disruption (such as a vibration) then removing you from the class will be an over-step and should certainly be challenged.
2) With regards to marking you as absent on the register, doing such a thing is not only a potential violation of Health and Safely (as you are in-fact present in the building at the time and as such this could have an adverse affect and lead to possible injury during a fire) but it is also a gross violation of the use and purpose of the register. You did in-fact attent the lecture and as such your punctuation and attendance should not suffer adversely for your actions during such a lecture. Behaviour is to be recorded and used to inform furture employees if a reference is required, but any such behaviour should not be allowed to tarnish a completely seperate category of attendance as this is also something that will be required if a reference is requested before employment.
As such, and as with the first point above, this is certainly a miss-use of both the register and the position of the teacher and such actions should certainly be challenged.
3) With regards to editing exam marks based on personal behaviour in class, acting in such a manner is not only damaging to a students grades in providing an unfair reflection of their understanding and capabilities, but it is also a gross misuse of power by the teacher. Such actions will certainly be against regulations and as such is a step that should certainly be challenged. If such a challenge was to fail at your school, it is certainly a practice that is best brought to the attention of the governing educational body for your area.
I understand that my post is somewhat longer than the others in this thread, but I hope due to this, that it goes some way further in helping you with this issue.
I can understand that in school. Not the marking you as absent, but the making you leave the class.
In college we're considered young adults, so teachers no longer took our phones off of us if they went off, they might send us out of the class if we were texting or something, but again, not marking us absent, because that would be lying. Also, some college students received EMA which was dependent on class attendence, and no teacher, regardless of how much they hated phones, wanted to be the douchbag that took away your bus/lunch money for the week.
In uni, if your phone goes off, all that happens is you feel a bit embarrassed and hurry to turn it off. The lecturers don't have the power to remove it from you, because after all, uni students are for all intents and purposes adults. So it would be nothing short of theft. So you do get people texting and stuff in lectures, but at the end of the day, if the're paying to not pay attention to the lectures then the joke is on them.
In college we're considered young adults, so teachers no longer took our phones off of us if they went off, they might send us out of the class if we were texting or something, but again, not marking us absent, because that would be lying. Also, some college students received EMA which was dependent on class attendence, and no teacher, regardless of how much they hated phones, wanted to be the douchbag that took away your bus/lunch money for the week.
In uni, if your phone goes off, all that happens is you feel a bit embarrassed and hurry to turn it off. The lecturers don't have the power to remove it from you, because after all, uni students are for all intents and purposes adults. So it would be nothing short of theft. So you do get people texting and stuff in lectures, but at the end of the day, if the're paying to not pay attention to the lectures then the joke is on them.
You already knew that she had zero tolerance for phones. Turn it off completely before you go into her lesson.Michael Fahey said:
I'm not on her side- she was being too harsh there, but you should really learn to deal with unreasonable people in positions of authority. You're going to meet a lot of them.
If you knew that she had a zero tolerance policy for cellphones, why didn't you turn your cellphone completely off before her class? That's what I would have done, and it would have saved you all this trouble. I don't think it is too much to ask for someone (especially a college student, so an adult basically) to turn their damn cellphone off for 50 minutes. Unless you are expecting an emergency phone call from your mom who is in the hospital, then turn it off. If you are expecting an emergency call, let her know and take it outside if you get the call. Simple.
On your side though, I do think you should tell the dean about her marking you absent. She can take points off a test to be sure, but most colleges have policies against professors marking you absent when you were clearly there.
On your side though, I do think you should tell the dean about her marking you absent. She can take points off a test to be sure, but most colleges have policies against professors marking you absent when you were clearly there.
It's their class, they can kick you out for pretty much whatever they want within their university's allowed parameters.
If it's outlined in her syllabus then yes. She can do that. I've seen teachers kick out classmates for surfing the web, being on their phones, texting etc.Michael Fahey said:
It's considered a disruption of class and therefore she can kick you out so long as she outlined her policies in the syllabus.
I just put my phone on silent (not even vibrate) for that very reason.
What the hell? Do none of you have jobs that require you to be on call?
Kids?
Elderly parents?
Yes, I turn my phone on vibrate. It is annoying to be interrupted by a loud, obnoxious ringtone in the middle of a lecture. But I leave it on in case of an emergency.
I've had to leave several lectures in just this past year because I've had calls that something was happening that immediately required my attention. One day my mother got into a serious car accident and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. One day my mother-in-law (who has MS) fell out of her wheelchair and couldn't move. One day one of my officers was hit by a fucking car during a patrol.
Add that to the fact that I'm in charge of four other officers, and it means I have to field calls at all hours of the day.
Kids?
Elderly parents?
Yes, I turn my phone on vibrate. It is annoying to be interrupted by a loud, obnoxious ringtone in the middle of a lecture. But I leave it on in case of an emergency.
I've had to leave several lectures in just this past year because I've had calls that something was happening that immediately required my attention. One day my mother got into a serious car accident and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. One day my mother-in-law (who has MS) fell out of her wheelchair and couldn't move. One day one of my officers was hit by a fucking car during a patrol.
Add that to the fact that I'm in charge of four other officers, and it means I have to field calls at all hours of the day.
Nope, neither. She can kick you out/mark you down if it's during a test obviously (on suspicion of cheating), but during normal class? Hell no. Report that shit to the dean and get her stupid ass disciplined (and anyone she ever marked down, including you, refunded their points)Michael Fahey said:
actually, rutgers has a horrible program to help disabled peopleChar-Nobyl said:
besides im just telling you what ive experienced my whole life from school. if theres one thing i learned besides math, writing and sciences its that teachers abuse their power all the time and from what ive read here it dosent get better in college. why should i go some place where i know im not going to get an education at all and just have a miserable time
That is incredibly extreme and could be illegal. Don't ever do that.THAC0 said:
OT: You shouldn't have your phone on, but her reaction was extreme.
There is the magical power that profs have that the universities called Tenure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenure_%28academic%29
Unfortunately for cell phone users the more likely that a prof has tenure, the more likely they do not use phones on a regular basis and don't sympathize. Unlike one of my profs who's cell phone goes off in class regularly.
Unfortunately for cell phone users the more likely that a prof has tenure, the more likely they do not use phones on a regular basis and don't sympathize. Unlike one of my profs who's cell phone goes off in class regularly.
I'm pretty sure you can report her for that.
My teachers never kicked anyone out but they would give you detention if you used it during class.
My teachers never kicked anyone out but they would give you detention if you used it during class.
Not here they aren't but since I don't know what country you're from, I can't really comment. You really should have specified in the OP or at least in your profile. Here the teacher would most likely face some form of administrative punishment for doing that.
I'm going to assume you're from the US though, so probably. From an outside perspective it seems authority figures have the right to do as they please over there - I don't mean to troll but that's the impression I've gotten.
I'm going to assume you're from the US though, so probably. From an outside perspective it seems authority figures have the right to do as they please over there - I don't mean to troll but that's the impression I've gotten.