Although Rod's technique of answering a student's phone seems appealing, I imagine that there might be instances where such a response is not appropriate or may simply not be perceived as so lighthearted as when, for instance, the offender is a nontraditional student; one that is much older than the professor! Also, I don't know that I have a right to demand the use of someone else's property even if in a lighthearted way and even if the owner's use of that property is inappropriate in that setting.
At any rate, I think I will consider clarifying in class that I would allow for exceptions of phone use (vibrate mode) in very unique cases where phones/beepers are a necessity, such as with a student who might also be EMT, if I knew ahead of time that I have such a situation in class.
With respect to the 5 point penalty that Louis and others might object too (and this penalty was one of the elements of the policy that I had some reservations about), I admit that it brings a potentially undesirable punitive element into the picture. However, it seems to me that 5 points off from one exam out of a total of 5 exams is hardly "off with your head"-type punishment. In addition, one should recognize that there is a tradition of using such relatively mild punitive measures in academia (e.g., penalty for late papers) that maligns the purity of the grade as academic achievement.
Well, thank you very much for your comments. They are appreciated.
Miguel
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