Newbie tip: Call from school. Or block your number. Or get a google number. But don’t leave a personal number on caller ID.
Looking at my phone log, I was struck by my many fails, expressed in short phrases. Full mailbox. No answer. Phone does not work. Wrong number. Left unanswered message. Think I reached Javier, but he hung up on me.
One of my favorites, a fail I had never encountered before: “This phone does not accept incoming calls.” That phone belonged to a parent who took his two boys out of school for six weeks to go visit relatives in Puerto Rico. A few times, I managed to reach mom. Dad remained a man of mystery. Dad’s boys and I were mostly on our own.
Why am I calling? The following are common reasons why I might call home. At this point in time, no one except myself and a parent or guardian are usually involved. This is everyday teaching stuff, and the reason why 28 kids in one room does not resemble home teaching.
Frequent calls: Student needs to talk less to friends (and anyone with a mouth sometimes) in class. Too social!
Student is not doing homework and/or classwork.
Student needs to focus.
Student may require new paper, pencils and other materials. These items are not being brought to class.
Student has low or slipping grades. Possible failure warnings are essential and the sooner the better!
Student should have his or her phone in a locker. If not, that phone should never pop out in class.
Less common but not infrequent:
Student is doing great!
Student struggles to arrive to class on time. Tardiness is thumping student up the side of the head. (I don’t exactly phrase it like that, but a few minutes here, a few minutes there, and sometimes “Axel” slides bit by bit into a worsening state of confusion, especially when these minutes are spread across classrooms. “Axel” may try to take a bathroom break during each class throughout the day too.)
Student has challenges focusing on material in class. While these communications are often versions of “needs to apply” himself or herself in class, repeated calls on the same student should trigger questions. Lack of focus may imply larger issues, requiring tracking, documentation and eventual interventions.
Student showed deliberate disrespect, such as cursing at the teacher or other students. Subtle forms of this problem may include humming, whistling, tapping, water bottle tossing, or overt phone usage.
Detention alerts.
A few rarities that warrant an occasional call:
Student would benefit from tutoring, either with me after school or with an outside tutor. (I truly hate it when the parent or guardian says something like, “She does not feel like it.” I am sure she would rather play or go to the mall after school. I would too. But I am worried about this kid and I probably have good reason to be.)
Student needs to get the XYZ form signed and turned in.
Rudeness to the substitute.
Rudeness to school staff such as cafeteria workers.
Skipping. One student spent a whole day in the boy’s bathroom. I can’t imagine the stink, but no doubt it’s otherwise a great place to socialize.
Clowning in class. (Although if I make one call on “Markie” early in the year, I may be making regular calls on Markie. That boy who likes to stick pencils in his nose to get a laugh will keep finding novel things to do with pencils. I may have years with no clowning calls at all, but that one kid can make his way regularly onto every page of my phone log.)
Misbehavior with persons who are objects of attraction involving inappropriate words. Inappropriate touching will usually be passed along to administrators and social workers immediately and even words may be passed straight up the ladder. But kids are clumsy at expressing themselves and not always be alert enough to realize their attentions are unwanted. I may try to manage this problem before it escalates into sexual harassment.
Eduhonesty: When Ray’s mom hung up on me because I called to say he deliberately skipped detention, I was sympathetic. One striking feature of call logs has to be the number of parents who receive call after call after call. My colleagues are phoning the same kids that I am with a few exceptions. I understand why parents or guardians stop answering when they see the school ID on their phone. Especially in middle school, behaviors can skew quickly sideways.*
Phone logs tend to look alike across the years. Those talkers without pencils are as ubiquitous as the weeds in my lawn. I do battle with the weeds, the talking, the lack of supplies, and the aggravation of proliferating cell phones. That’s part of the social/emotional aspect of teaching. To properly explain the day’s mathematics, I must command my group’s attention. Calling home helps me to get that attention.
Unfortunately, my most problematic kids tend to have those full message, wrong number, disconnected, and otherwise unavailable phones. My school’s office will try to track down numbers for me, but sometimes I am stuck. Then I start writing letters. Teacher-readers, sometimes letters work. Sometimes Mara’s mom simply forgot to contact the school when her number changed. A letter or two are worth the time to post.
Hugs to all of you in these homebound times!
*I believe test pressure and the standards movement often contribute to these sudden behavioral changes, as students react to the anxious feeling that they are unable to meet demands. But that’s another post, one I have written before.