What’s Up with Texting? A Teacher Asks
By Allison Cohen We see letters like “ttyl” and wonder what in the world these kids are saying (talk to you later). Teachers see kids who have become so adept at texting that they can send messages from the pocket of their pants to avoid detection, and we wonder what they are up to. I recently had a conversation with about 90 of my students (all high school juniors and seniors) and asked them to give me the heads up on current texting practices. As a teacher, I have always been concerned that students would use this technology to cheat on a test by texting answers to classmates. My students informed me, “Please, that was so two years ago.” (Yes, we adults will never keep up with students’ use of technology; if we know about it, then it’s already passé to them.) It turns out that students are generally too afraid of getting caught to cheat using text messages. Only 13 percent of my students reported that they witnessed or knew of someone who cheated using a text message. They said it was too difficult to send the information, and the likelihood of getting caught was way too high to run the risk. The vast majority of students said that most of the text messages they receive during a school day were from their parents. Parents remind them of appointments, make travel arrangements for after-school activities, or just check in to see how a test went. Many school districts forbid wireless phone use during the school day and require that wireless phones be turned off during school hours. My school requires that violators’ phones be confiscated and turned in to the main office where parents must personally come by the school and pick up the phone. Students said that most parents don’t see the rationale behind such a rule and will continue to text their children anyway. This puts students in a bind: if they don’t respond to parental texts, they upset their parents; but if students do respond to parental texts, they violate school policy. Probably one of the least understood aspects of texting includes the foreign—to adults, anyway—abbreviations teenagers use to communicate with one another. I have included some of the more common abbreviations (provided by my students, see answers below) Test Your Knowledge: What are they saying? . answers below I’m not sure which might worry English teachers more: accepted use of poor grammar and abbreviations used in texts, or a predictive text program, such as T9 mentioned above, that automatically completes the spelling of a word. Yet most of the English teachers with whom I spoke don’t see a cause for alarm. Just as teachers preach the dangers of relying on spell check, we must now make sure students recognize the difference between a message and a well-constructed paragraph. Anecdotally, I notice that my students seem to be much more adept at capturing tone in electronic communication than adults, even if it is sometimes accomplished through the use of emoticons. :-/ As an educator, one of my concerns is that texting makes it easier for students to engage in nefarious activities. I have heard of instances where students use text messages to set up meetings for drug usage, etc. While this is certainly not the norm, it is an area of concern for any school, as is harassment or other forms of bullying that may be accomplished through texting. Students need to be aware that any school official with reasonable suspicion (or police officer with probable cause) can search the text history of a student’s phone to find out if they are engaging in illegal activities. Some students seem to think that taking the battery out of their wireless phone is enough to prevent such a search, but the reality is that most wireless phones use the same battery now. Replace the battery, and it is very easy to track texting history. While students feel that this is an invasion of their privacy, parents should advise them that it is simply an effort to keep them safe. What’s In: What’s Out: What parents can do to open communication lines: ——————————————————————————– Allison Cohen teaches Advanced Placement Government, Introduction to Philosophy, and World Religions at Langley High School in Fairfax County, VA. She is a graduate of The College of William and Mary where she received her Masters in Education. Answers to the QuizContributed by: BNetSavvy
For most teenagers, texting has become an integrated part of their social networking. It is, however, still a mystery and possibly a cause of concern for many parents and teachers not familiar with the phenomenon.
Do students use texting to cheat?
Who’s texting during the school day? (Hint: It’s not the kids)
What’s the current text speak lingo?
However, students shared that these abbreviations are being used less often because of T9 (software that automatically completes words for the user). My students said that their younger siblings tend to use abbreviations more than they do and that girls tend to use them more than boys. Should teachers worry about how texting may affect a student’s writing skills?
Should teachers worry about how texting may affect a student’s character?
