hmmm...

I would consider it the same as talking in class, or  doodling.

Is it an issue if there is one text one day out of 30?  probably not.

Is it an issue if it is a constant distraction ? 

How is it impactting his/her mark?

Here's why?

To be honest, if a teacher or subject is boring or too difficult  to a person, they will doodle, text or talk or fidget.

If they are in puppy love with someone, they will moon over someone and not do stuff

If they are enamored with somethign new, they will play with it

I would be looking at the reason they were doing it, and then trying to address it with them and help them to understand  the logical consequences and some strategies.

but one or two texts...no, not an issue, lol, other than during a test.  now that would be an issue

In my university classes the fact that students are texting is pretty much known to all professors. Some teachers have an issue with it, and if they do, they will bring it up on the first day of class. But after that, there isn't really much they can do, as long as the phone is on silent and they aren't being obnoxious about it, or distracting other students.

I text quite often in class, but I keep my phone on silent and I usually sit near the back so it's not obvious. When presentations are taking place I don't use it at all, or in smaller classes. I figure, I'm paying about 600-700 per class, if I want to discreetly use my phone, then I will.

I volunteered in a high school last year where cell phones were not allowed, and for good reason. Texting caused high levels of drama in the classroom and were a communication tool for bullies and mean girls. They were too distracting and the teacher would spend wayy to much time trying to make the students comply with the no cell phone rules.

In high schools I say no way to cell phones, university I say it's the students choice as long as they arent disrupting other students or the prof.

Sorry - there was a typo in the title - it should be 'texting'  not 'testing'.   But there is no way to edit it,and we've started the discussion.

Pinga - I compared it in my mind with the passing of notes that we did in junior high / high school.  

"Check out the new boy - do you think he's cute?"

"Did you see what Gretta's wearing today?  Who does she think she is?"

"This teacher is a jerk."

"Meet me after class to go to the mall."

"I've got something to tell you about Jeff and Sally."

"Who in the Dickens wrote "A Tale of Two Cities"?

Mostly harmless, some to get information for an assignment, some to cheat on a test, most just boredom and idle chatter.    Teachers generally ignored it, or gave the kid a 'look'.   Sometimes it got disruptive.   Some teachers would just convescate the note  - some would make us read it to the class (embarrassing).   

Wesoly - I agree.  In university its up to the kids to decide how much attention they will give to a lecture - as long as they don't interfer with others who might be distracted by too much extra stuff going on around them.  I also think that the prof has a right to decide if he will lecture to a bunch of inattentative students and therefore she can ask that they refrain from using their cell phones, or order them out of the class if they are bothering her or other students.    

For high school, its different.  Students are still learning to take responsibility for their own actions.  They still need guidance as to what is appropriate behaviour.  An occasional short, silent, discrete text probably does no harm.   Spending the class time texting is rude and a wasteful use of time.  

But what does the teacher do if he finds the student wasting time and disrupting learning by using their cell phone?

What do the parents do if they discover that their kid is 'texting all the time' (as my granddaughter told me she does)?

If smashing their phone is not appropriate, what is?

This isn't entirely a kid issue.

I have issues with people texting while they are talking to me. I think it's rude, and it certainly means that they are not giving our interaction their full attention. And I'm not shy about telling them so, but ultimately, I have no control over other people's behaviour.

I think texting all the time is normal behaviour for our generation. Kids are growing up in a world where being connected (to your friends, media, etc) is extremely important to them.  Adolescence is a very difficult time and fitting in with peers is a teens number one priority. It used to be that if you wanted to talk to somebody, you would phone them and leave a message and wait for them to call you back. Now, if they dont text us back within 10 minutes, we get impatient and wodner what's taking them so long.

I can see how it can be hard for a parent to know what to do, because you dont want them to become so obsessed with their social life, but really...this is the world they were born into

It depends on when the texting is being done and the grade.  During instruction, no.  I do recall that much of class time was not actual instruction though, it was a time to work.  If you didn't get it done in class then you had homework.  I don't think texting is all that distracting to other students, if the phone is on silent it makes no more noise then flipping a page in a textbook or entering data into a calculator.  If a student can't finish their work in class because they wasted their time texting they can spend more time at home doing homework.  Maybe some guidance for younger kids regarding this.

In high school, if a student wants to sit their and text even when the teacher is instructing I wouldn't care.  Again, as long as it is silent they are only going to harm themselves and not others.  It might even keep some of the more disruptive students quieter.  If they flunk a class because of it, they can only blame themselves.

As someone who has taught high school and currently is teaching at a university, I can tell you that texting is definitely not like passing notes, chatting or fidgeting. These are relatively easy to interrupt and to get the student back on track. And a lot of time is spent getting students on track as it is - that's a discipline that most haven't learned and need some guidance (that's too weak a word) along the way if they have a hope of been able to concentrate on anything but their own vanity in their working lives. (And focusing/concentrating is one of the skills teachers hope to pass on. Contrary to popular opinion, education isn't just about "memorizing stuff").

  I've had WAY too much drama of trying to convince students to concentrate on the task at hand only to have her (sometimes him, but there seemed to be more drama from the girls) insist that she just HAD to read the next four messages/ or just couldn't shut down her BFF. If as chemgirl says, it's only harming themselves, that would be one thing. But that's almost never the case. When one does it, it rapidly becomes a justification for everyone doing it, and you can just about write off the class.