Cell Phone Hotel at Marlborough High School Helps Students Focus

From Marlborough Schools: The first step in educating students is building relationships with them and understanding their world. Gerry Padilla, Spanish teacher at Marlborough High School, fully embraces this philosophy. He knows his high school students want to use their cell phones, but he was constantly reminding them not to use them during learning time. It was a struggle every day.

Accepting the fact that his “no cell phone rule” in class was not working, Padilla searched online for different ideas to come up with an acceptable solution. He found a few ideas that teachers were using, like the typical individual shoe holder hanger or the storage box, but he wanted something different. Padilla’s wife, also a teacher, suggested he use some type of wooden structure like her students used to store their snacks. “When I saw the wooden structure, it reminded me of the old Howard Johnson Hotels, and that’s why I decided to name the wooden structure, the “Cell Phone Hotel,” stated Padilla.

On the Monday before the “Cell Phone Hotel’s grand opening,” Padilla mentioned to his students that a Cell Phone Hotel was being built. Each of them would have their own private room, their rooms would be cleaned every day, and room service could possibly be provided.

The intrigue worked. On the Friday before the opening, he told his students that a builder from Marlborough was going to provide electricity for each room beginning on Monday. Padilla encouraged them to bring in their power cords so they could charge their phones while they stayed in their rooms FREE OF CHARGE. He even purchased charging ports to support this.

Since implementing this idea less than two weeks ago, the majority of students have complied with the no cell phone in class rule. “As a teacher, it’s great that I’m worrying less about cell phone issues and am now able to provide effective teaching and learning opportunities for all my students with minimal disruption,” smiled Padilla. “It’s important for me to build relationships with my students and show them I care…real learning only happens when students feel understood.”

Images Via Marlborough Schools