Fair enough. I'd expect my son to have more respect and hope he wouldn't need a jerk like that to show him how much greater a jerk he was.

I am not convinced that this is genuine footage of a real class in session.  It could easily be a 'set up'.

However, if it is true (and if it was my kid) I would -

expect my child to wear better fitting pants at school

refrain from using his cell phone in class

not allow him to take his replaced cell phone to school for a while

I would send a registered letter to the Principal and to his governing authority requesting that they -

a) review the video and

b) respectfully ask the teacher to replace the cell phone with another of similar value

c) explain to the class why his behavior was inappropriate

I'd have a chat with the principal since the teacher crossed a line there. Seizing the phone is appropriate, smashing it ... not so much. I would also point out to my son that texting in class is not allowed and that if it happens again, he's losing the phone.

Mercifully, my son has refrained from overuse/abuse of his phone. I put $10 in prepaid on it and it generally expires long before he uses it up so I'm pretty sure he's not using it too heavily. We only got him a phone as a way to reach us in emergencies since he's taking public transit home and, eventually, to school as well. I'm amazed, however, at how many of the kids in his class are packing full blown smartphones (iPhones and the like). The one kid we carpool with in the morning has an iPhone 4S (the latest version).

Mendalla

As a teacher, one of my goals is to teach my students how to respond appropriately to all sorts of conflicts.  I expect that they will be able to deal with conflicts with others without resorting to verbal abuse, violence or damage to property; I model this (as best as I can) by responding to conflicts and problems appropriately myself. 

IF this is real (and I doubt that it is...it seems more like a set up to scare the kids in to never texting in class) then the teacher absolutely needs to replace the student's smart phone, apologize to the student in front of the whole class, and I would expect some kind of remedial program related to student discipline.  As a parent, I would be going to the principal and higher up if these things weren't happening.  I'd be willing to take it to the media, too, if necessary (not as a first step, but if the school board wasn't being supportive of my child.)

Regarding the kid's behaviour, obviously texting during class is distracting to others and shouldn't happen unless it's allowed.  The punishment needs to fit the crime, though.  Our usual response to students having cell phones and ipods and other "banned technology" is to confiscate it until the end of the day or week, or in some cases require the parent to come to the school to pick it up.  Destroying it is never acceptable.

I agee with the above - the teacher far outstepped his authority in destroying property that belonged to someone else.  He also exhibited inappropriate behaviour.   

As others have said, I would speak to the teacher and the principal.  I would demand that the phone be replaced.  I would demand an appology.  If I couldn't get it, I would try going to a higher level.  I might also see if it were appropriate to have my son transferred to another class or school - as I think this teacher might retalitate for my 'interference' and take it out on my son.

I would also speak to my son about texting during class.  Unless he had a very good reason that couldn't wait until after class (Like me texting that I'm at the front door to pick him up for his dentist appointment, 'where are you?'  and him texting back that the teacher wouldn't excuse him from the class.)   I might convescate the replacement phone for an appropriate period of time and ask him to appologize to the teacher for disturbing the class.  

Hi blackbelt,

I would reprimand my son for neglecting his studies and generally being disrespectful of the teacher while in class.  He would be directed to make an immediate and contrite apology.  I wouldn't demand it from him as a coerced apology is meaningless.

I would lay a complaint against the teacher for destruction of property and I would make sure that all future contract payments for that phone are paid for either by the school or the teacher.  Just as the school would have grounds to expect me to pay for damage my son made to the school.  I wouldn't demand an apology from the teacher as a coerced apology is meaningless.

If compensation was not immediately forthcoming I suspect that the teacher could be charged with vandalism.  I also suspect that small claims court is an available vehicle to gather compensation.  

This presumes that the phone contract is in my name.  If it is in my son's name then I would advise him that as the injured party he has the right to lay a charge or go to small claims court.

Grace and peace to you.

John

That looks like a college or university lecture to me. As a parent, I would be obbviously angry that my kid's teacher is a total jerk and would want some answers as to why. but I think I would let my kid handle it as he looks like he's old enough to write up a formal complaint against the teacher, and has evidence to prove that the teacher was completey out of his mind

You are right Wesoly in that it would depend upon the age of the student.  I was thinking more of my granddaughter in her first year at high school (at almost 15 she could pass as 17 or 18 - which is a separate worry).   Her cell phone is a prized possession - and neither her nor her parents can afford to replace it.   Recently I texted her that I was parked across the street next to the ----Street exit waiting for her.  She quickly texted back  "OK"        When she came out ten minutes later she told me "Grammie, didn't you know I was still in class.  I could have been in trouble."

personally, the kid looks old enough to deal with it on their own.

as a parent, i'd treat this as a life lesson... if you get caught texting when you aren't supposed to be while you are WORKING?!?!  you get fired. 

learn from this one, kid... there are worse things in life than getting your cell phone smashed, i guarantee.

sighs - after careful consideration we decided that our kid needs a phone.  See my post above - kids 14 can look 18 so we can't presume that this kid was actually a young adult.   So we squeeze enough out of our grocery money to buy a basic phone - she works hard for six months babysitting to upgrade to a better one that she treasurers and takes care of.  Either by a mistake in judgment, or because she considered it important (like my example above) and quickly sends off a text.  

Can you really justify the teacher throwing a fit and destroying her phone?

Who is going to replace it?   As I said, she needs a phone.  Her mother needs to be able to get in touch with her.   Sometimes plans change during the day - mom is running late and can't pick her up for her appointment so she will have to walk - or she needs to pick up her little brother at his after-school program - or dance class has been cancelled.   

I agree with most of what was said above. I wonder why no one in the class said anything? I would have a talk with my child about respecting rules, but also mention that just because someone is in position of authority, you are allowed to question things when they also exhibit inappropriate behaviours.

most phones have an 'on-off' switch, from what i  know...

if a professor says 'no phones or texting during class', then that means you turn it off.

a few years ago, my daughter got an ipod for christmas.  we told her that it was okay to listen to it on the bus to and from school, but during school hours, the rule was 'no', so she had to leave it in her locker.  if she didn't follow the rules, she had to accept the consequences.

the teacher caught her listening to it during class, and took it.  she put it on her desk, and told my daughter that she could come and get it after school.  well, somebody stole it from the teachers desk during the day.

i told my daughter that as horrible as this was, the fact was that it was taken because she broke the rules.  we certainly didn't dissuade her from attempting to find out who took it and get it back, but we weren't going to replace it, nor were we going to fight to have the teacher replace it.  yes, leaving it on her desk was STUPID STUPID STUPID... would it have killed her to put it into her desk!?!?  but the fact remained that the reason it was in that teachers possession was because my daughter broke the rules.  next time she gets something like that, she better take better care of it.

and she has.  lemme tell ya, the fancy cell phone she has now??  she treats that thing like GOLD.

am i a crappy mom??  who knows... but i think that by NOT allowing your kid the opportunity to learn a life lesson, you are doing them a huge disservice.

I agree, this looks set up.  Why was it being recorded if it wasn't?  If the recording started partway in then I may have considered otherwise.

It doesn't look like a K-12 class to me, it looks like a university/college set up.  As long as a phone is silent, I don't see why a prof would have an issue with someone texting.  For all what he knows, it's related to the course.  I've seen profs look up information while at seminars, they can't have it both ways.  If it were me, I would start by asking the prof to replace the phone and depending on the worth may persue things through the university system then the legal system.

If it were my child, I would talk to them about following the classroom rules and depending on their relationship with the teacher would encourage them to work it out.   I may want to speak to the principal.  I have seen teachers overstepping their bounds, sometimes to the point of it being a safety issue, and would be concerned if this were a trend.

I think that it is a warning film.  I agree with the authenticity question.  I would show this to my class as a warning, at the beginning of the year, explaining that a previous class had agreed to make the film.

I've watched the video again.   Maybe if I could see the kids faces I might have a better idea, but from the back of their heads I really can't tell if they are 14 year olds in grade nine, or university kids.  One girl has her hair in a french braid - I know my granddaughter wore hers in a french braid in grades seven and eight.  The actual student with the cell phone looks to me to be about 15, but as I said it is hard to tell. 

When I was in university the students were considered adults.  Back then the profs didn't care if we fell asleep (if we didn't snore), or took notes or not, or ate a chocolate bar.  Most of them didn't care if we smoked, back then.  Some of them smoked while giving lectures.   I do seem to remember one who wouldn't lecture if the guys were wearing caps.  He would stand at the front of the room, silent, until the class figured out what was going on and told the a** hole to take his cap off.   So I really can't see a university prof getting upset about a silent cell phone (ringing, or conversation, would be another matter).   And if the prof did get upset, throw a fit, and distroy someone's property, it seems to me that it would be a matter for the student to resolve.

So, I'm thinking this is a high school class.   i would actually advise against keeping a cell phone in a locker.  It would be stolen.   I would expect the kid to turn it off, or put it on vibrate.   I would expect him to tell his friends not to call him or text him during class time.   But I would do my best to protect him against teachers who are bullies, who can't control their temper, who try to humilitate, and who destroy property.  

Sighs - Your case scenario is a a bit different in that the teacher conviscated the phone then failed to take care of it while it was in her possession.  It's a bit more of a grey area.  Still I think the onus is on her to replace the phone.   That would be what I would expect of my kid if he had someone else's property and he failed to take care of it.  

i'd expect my kid to replace anything that was lost or destroyed in her care as well.  but you can't MAKE someone else live by your rules. 

i trusted my daughter to be able to handle it herself.  and she did.  and like i said, she learned a VALUABLE lesson about following rules.

imho, an ipod or a cell phone is a pretty cheap way to learn that lesson... i would rather have my kid learn about how serious it is to follow the rules with their cell phone or ipod than their car or their health or their safety....

Looks like a university lecvture room to me.  Kid looks pretty old.  As far as the teacher knows the kid could be taking notes on his smart phone.

In my kids classes many if not most kids take notes on computers, ipads, tablets ad even on phones.  Notes, reminders, checking schedules.

Teacher should be disciplined, pay for phone and if he does't I would suggest my son take him to small claims court.  I woudl ensure teachers boss got a copy of video

We are past the days of schools banning cell phones.  teacher needs to focus on his lecture

Seeler, I agree that it's hard to tell the ages of the students as you don't see their faces well.  I was basing it on the set up of the room, the fact that some had laptops (not very common in K-12 where a few students will use them), the fact that a digital projector was being used.

I know my son usually has his phone with him, including in class (he is in gr. 10). And yes, he has the latest and greatest android technology that he purchased with his own money.  At my son's school (private) kids are allowed to have phones in their possession as long as they are turned off/silent and not used during class.  Exceptions are made if they know the student is expecting a text or call from a parent for a specific situation (ie. appointment, dad is in the hospital having surgery, brother has been ambulanced to hospital (which is relevant for us) etc.).

If they are caught using the phone outside those parameters then the phone is confiscated by the teacher and returned at the end of the day (or later for repeat transgressions).

If the phone was destroyed by the teacher I would follow a similar path to what has been suggested.  I would expect the phone to be replaced and I would have a discussion with the teacher and his/her superiors about the situation.  There would also be a serious chat with my son about appropriate behaviour during school classes.  However, in the case of an adult and a 15 year old, while I expect them both to "behave", I expect greater maturity and impluse control from the adult.  Such behaviour, if nothing else, would be poor role modelling for teens.

It doesn't look like a real incident to me...given that on the screen behind it says: "What is this class about?" It looks like the first day, and probably an enactment used by the teacher as a deterrent to show how seriously he takes the matter of texting in class. However, it is a miserable way to make a point, imo. I think young adults need to be given the benefit of the doubt that they are young adults, and what this teacher did was not a good example.

If it was real...it looks like it was either a highschool class, or first year college or thereabouts. I would take the teacher to task for destroying my property. He has no right to do that...class or no class (in this case I would say the teacher has no class ;) ) The teacher could have merely asked him to step outside if his texting was more important to him than paying attention to the lesson, and to not come back because it would disrupt the class and everyone esle is there to learn. I would say, you can either be here, or be outside of texting, but you can't do both...so if you are not willing to be present then please leave...then I would take marks off for lack of class participation.

This teacher is a bully.  Schools have anti-bullying campaigns.  Perhaps they should start with the teachers who, whether they believe it or not, are role models for the kids. 

John pretty much nailed it.

I would expect the teacher to confiscate the phone until the end of the day when it would be returned. Further punishment would be given at home. I understand those things are very expensive. Also when my child is older and anywhere on her own I will WANT her to have a phone with her in case of emergency.