I think not. After hosting a small group on Friday, and the prospect of hosting the same group tomorrow, I know that a 7th grader can’t function without a cell phone. Yes, this is an exaggeration. In reality only one of the three girls was attached at the ear to the cell phone. My daughter was not the one. Yes, she has a cell phone, but it is rarely charged and practically never on her person. The reason: we have not sanctioned text messaging; voice calls only. According to her every kid has unlimited texts. Some kids even text on the bus and during the switch of classes by standing with their head in their lockers to avoid the roving eye of teachers and administrators.
So my daughter has a phone she rarely uses and the other girl does not have a phone, which leaves “Miss Connected.”
The group were at my house from 10:30 a.m. til 4 p.m. working on a video on grammar, specifically prepositions. The girls had to write a song to a well-know tune and change the lyrics to include prepositions.
All was well before lunch. I heard singing and acting as the girls rehearsed for the video. I was preoccupied with some computer work and wrangling my younger children until 1 p.m. I started clock watching around 1 p.m. as I wanted to make sure that the girls finished filming, so that they could edit the scenes for the final version. Friday was the second day that the kids had met and really the project needed to end.
I began to notice that my daughter and her friend were waiting for “Miss Connected” to get off the phone. I thought she might be calling her mom, so left her to it. As the phone calls progressed, I overhead bits and pieces of the conversation. The gist of it was that this 7th grader was trying to find a ride to a local 7th grade football game. After quite a few calls she found a tentative ride. The girl’s mom could not drive her as she was having surgery.
After much prodding I got the group to finish the film, but I could tell that this girl was “going through the motions” until she could leave.
I have a few concerns unrelated to the cell phone. Why is a 7th grade girl going to a 7th grade boys football game? I got the impression that the girl was going to be dropped off at the game. Why isn’t this girl at her own sports games? Does anyone think that a 7th grade boy would attend a 7th grade girl’s soccer game?
But, I digress. So, we have a group of three girls working on a project for a grade with the distraction of the cellphone. Tomorrow, the group meets for the final time. All cell phones will be temporarily confiscated at the door!
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