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Post by Party@QB on May 14, 2017 14:34:55 GMT -6
Don't see them much in high school. MS seems to be eat up with them.
6th graders roll in one day and almost every kid has one.
I could see the benefit of them but the problem is although the person spinning it is focused the ones around him are distracted by him spinning it.
Or they want to trade and see who's is coolest which is a distraction to class.
If brought to FB field I would take that as a direct challenge to me not having enough going and we would start doing push ups and sit-ups to keep their minds occupied.
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Post by dytmook on May 14, 2017 15:59:02 GMT -6
I saw a kid with two of them yesterday at the farm I took my daughter too. I was like WTF do you need two of these?
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Post by fantom on May 14, 2017 18:31:18 GMT -6
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Post by coachd5085 on May 14, 2017 19:36:36 GMT -6
Keep in mind that in these cases, it isn't the spinners specifically "helping" these kids. It is simply that these kids have found a toy that they enjoy (in this case, the spinner). Do you teach? Yes. K-5.
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Post by marinercoach1 on May 14, 2017 21:07:19 GMT -6
in my classes, fidget spinner use is up but phone usage is down. So there's that.
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Post by rsmith627 on May 15, 2017 5:07:58 GMT -6
in my classes, fidget spinner use is up but phone usage is down. So there's that. That's a win. Probably less distracting than Snapchat or playing a game. At my school we have these things where kids store their phones for the hour. I don't use mine because they can use their phones during a lot of my lessons and honestly they aren't that huge of a problem for me (a kid or two every hour will abuse their phone but overall it isn't too rampant).
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Post by coachfloyd on May 15, 2017 6:18:33 GMT -6
Do these things have a legit purpose or no? They've been showing up on the practice field (we're t-shirt/shorts, no pads for spring) and I have no idea if it's a distraction or if these kids would be a lost ball in high weeds without it. Their focus is all over the place now, and I can't imagine it being worse, but I've been wrong before. if this happened I would have to see how far one of those things could fly.
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Spread 'em out
Sophomore Member
"It's not the load that breaks you down, but how you carry it." -Lou Holtz
Posts: 156
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Post by Spread 'em out on May 15, 2017 9:15:16 GMT -6
I've told my kids that they are only allowed to have a spinner in my class if they have it written as an accommodation in an IEP or 504 plan. If they don't need an IEP or a 504 plan, then they don't need that d@mn spinner in my room.
As for football, I agree with someone who posted above. If practice can't keep you engaged then up downs are probably a perfect way to fidget.
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Post by coachfloyd on May 15, 2017 10:18:13 GMT -6
I've told my kids that they are only allowed to have a spinner in my class if they have it written as an accommodation in an IEP or 504 plan. If they don't need an IEP or a 504 plan, then they don't need that d@mn spinner in my room. As for football, I agree with someone who posted above. If practice can't keep you engaged then up downs are probably a perfect way to fidget. btw I think these 504's and IEP are sometimes insane. There is one kid I had one time that anytime he got upset he could pull out his phone and listen to music. Thats nuts. We have stuff here where the kids that can't act right get to accumulate points for doing what they should be doing anyway and redeem them for crap. I call them treasure box kids. Like my young kids in school, if they do right, they get to pick out of the treasure box and bring another bouncy ball or some other crap home. I probably do more to undermine everything they are doing because everytime I sign their behavior sheet I ask them if they are going to get to pick out of the treasure box today.
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Post by coachddwebb on May 15, 2017 10:42:16 GMT -6
Like any tool for students, they have to be taught how to use them correctly. Even as a Special Education teacher, I can not see how they would be helpful durning practice or even on the field at all. I seen some students use them correctly and it has help them do better on test.
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Post by coachcb on May 15, 2017 10:57:27 GMT -6
No toys in my room. Period. I've taken a dozen away this year and I'll keep doing it. I give the kid detention if I have to take it away twice. Some parent tried to redo their kid's IEP to allow them to use it in class because of his ADD. I told her that her son would spend the entire math period in the resource room if his ADD was that bad.
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Post by coachfloyd on May 15, 2017 11:01:02 GMT -6
What do all these kids with ADD do when they get out of school and their job doesn't allow them to have an IEP or 504? How does this help them long term?
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Spread 'em out
Sophomore Member
"It's not the load that breaks you down, but how you carry it." -Lou Holtz
Posts: 156
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Post by Spread 'em out on May 15, 2017 11:11:55 GMT -6
I've told my kids that they are only allowed to have a spinner in my class if they have it written as an accommodation in an IEP or 504 plan. If they don't need an IEP or a 504 plan, then they don't need that d@mn spinner in my room. As for football, I agree with someone who posted above. If practice can't keep you engaged then up downs are probably a perfect way to fidget. btw I think these 504's and IEP are sometimes insane. There is one kid I had one time that anytime he got upset he could pull out his phone and listen to music. Thats nuts. We have stuff here where the kids that can't act right get to accumulate points for doing what they should be doing anyway and redeem them for crap. I call them treasure box kids. Like my young kids in school, if they do right, they get to pick out of the treasure box and bring another bouncy ball or some other crap home. I probably do more to undermine everything they are doing because everytime I sign their behavior sheet I ask them if they are going to get to pick out of the treasure box today. Oh God yes they are; you're 100% right. Now this was when I was student teaching, but we had a kid with an IEP (that was okayed by the effing state board of education) that stated his disability was that he was incapable of controlling himself from touching female students inappropriately. No joke, we had to put him in a corner and surround him by boys in a class that most definitely didnt need all of those morons grouped together. Always thought that a female student's pissed off father could probably cure that disability rather quickly if given the chance.
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Post by wolverine55 on May 15, 2017 11:19:58 GMT -6
I'm sorry but making fun of a kid while signing his behavior sheet--which is something he has to do and make sure gets done by the way--is just flat-out {censored}. Offer him something constructive or simply sign the sheet and move on. It's flat-out bullying which I would hope a professional educator would steer clear of...but apparently not...
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Post by fantom on May 15, 2017 11:30:52 GMT -6
No toys in my room. Period. I've taken a dozen away this year and I'll keep doing it. I give the kid detention if I have to take it away twice. Some parent tried to redo their kid's IEP to allow them to use it in class because of his ADD. I told her that her son would spend the entire math period in the resource room if his ADD was that bad. I don't know about your school district but where I taught if a kid's IEP said that he needs something, he gets it. Not my call.
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Post by 19delta on May 15, 2017 11:33:26 GMT -6
I've told my kids that they are only allowed to have a spinner in my class if they have it written as an accommodation in an IEP or 504 plan. If they don't need an IEP or a 504 plan, then they don't need that d@mn spinner in my room. As for football, I agree with someone who posted above. If practice can't keep you engaged then up downs are probably a perfect way to fidget. btw I think these 504's and IEP are sometimes insane. There is one kid I had one time that anytime he got upset he could pull out his phone and listen to music. Thats nuts. We have stuff here where the kids that can't act right get to accumulate points for doing what they should be doing anyway and redeem them for crap. I call them treasure box kids. Like my young kids in school, if they do right, they get to pick out of the treasure box and bring another bouncy ball or some other crap home. I probably do more to undermine everything they are doing because everytime I sign their behavior sheet I ask them if they are going to get to pick out of the treasure box today. I call kids with those kinds of IEPs 007 because they have a license to kill...
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Post by 19delta on May 15, 2017 11:35:46 GMT -6
What do all these kids with ADD do when they get out of school and their job doesn't allow them to have an IEP or 504? How does this help them long term? I say all the time that I really hope their parents enjoy spending time with them because kids like that will never learn how to function on their own and will end up living at home as an adult.
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Post by 19delta on May 15, 2017 11:37:32 GMT -6
No toys in my room. Period. I've taken a dozen away this year and I'll keep doing it. I give the kid detention if I have to take it away twice. Some parent tried to redo their kid's IEP to allow them to use it in class because of his ADD. I told her that her son would spend the entire math period in the resource room if his ADD was that bad. I don't know about your school district but where I taught if a kid's IEP said that he needs something, he gets it. Not my call. I think that is true regardless of where you teach. An IEP is a legal document. It is not optional no matter how ridiculous the modifications and accommodations.
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Post by 19delta on May 15, 2017 11:42:31 GMT -6
I'm sorry but making fun of a kid while signing his behavior sheet--which is something he has to do and make sure gets done by the way--is just flat-out {censored}. Offer him something constructive or simply sign the sheet and move on. It's flat-out bullying which I would hope a professional educator would steer clear of...but apparently not... This is true but is also one of my least favorite accommodations because it so seldom produces results. I call it the "magic planner". Little Johnny hasn't been doing his work so we are going to give him this enchanted piece of paper and magically he will start getting his work done. 🙄 Of course, mom and dad NEVER check the planner at home and still come up with all sorts of excuses explaining why their special little snowflake shouldn't have to do his work.
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Post by coachcb on May 15, 2017 11:44:32 GMT -6
No toys in my room. Period. I've taken a dozen away this year and I'll keep doing it. I give the kid detention if I have to take it away twice. Some parent tried to redo their kid's IEP to allow them to use it in class because of his ADD. I told her that her son would spend the entire math period in the resource room if his ADD was that bad. I don't know about your school district but where I taught if a kid's IEP said that he needs something, he gets it. Not my call. Yeah, that's how it goes. But the accommodations have to be reasonable and I'll argue until I'm blue in the face if the accommodations aren't reasonable. Plus, this kid's ADD is bad enough that we have the option of sending him to the resource room if he can't focus. Mom tried to make it his discretion but we shut that down in a hurry. We told her that he would just get detention and kicked out of the room if he couldn't focus and was being disruptive. So, it was better to just have him go to the resource room. Basically, she wanted to let him have his toy in the classroom AND be able to tell us off if we tried to ship him to the resource room.
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Post by mnike23 on May 15, 2017 11:57:44 GMT -6
Heck, school counselors have been doing that for over a decade now, it helps further justify their professional existence. And it allows the school an out on shoving that kid through to graduation because of their "label". That and mommy and daddy can draw a check for their kid's "disability". my kid has it, where is this mysterious check your talking about? have called it a joke ever since she was little, that quite possibly she was getting her newborn shots and was inoculated with it. a way for govt to make money. but..... she really is hyper as hell, its annoying. no meds and you cant have a conversation with her, as she wont even look at you for longer than 10 seconds. then picking at a piece of paper, the wall, petting the dog, watching the ceiling fan, on and on. but on meds. she can carry a conversation as best a 14 yr old can. she hates the meds, but its 100% necessary. she has a fidget spinner. not sure why but she does. other than, everyone has one. stupid/brilliant, e3ffing toy....
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Post by fantom on May 15, 2017 12:17:05 GMT -6
I don't know about your school district but where I taught if a kid's IEP said that he needs something, he gets it. Not my call. Yeah, that's how it goes. But the accommodations have to be reasonable and I'll argue until I'm blue in the face if the accommodations aren't reasonable. Plus, this kid's ADD is bad enough that we have the option of sending him to the resource room if he can't focus. Mom tried to make it his discretion but we shut that down in a hurry. We told her that he would just get detention and kicked out of the room if he couldn't focus and was being disruptive. So, it was better to just have him go to the resource room. Basically, she wanted to let him have his toy in the classroom AND be able to tell us off if we tried to ship him to the resource room. If your admin supports you on that, more power to you. If I had tried that, though, it would have been me, not the kid, getting called down to the principal's office.
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Post by coachcb on May 15, 2017 13:07:56 GMT -6
Yeah, that's how it goes. But the accommodations have to be reasonable and I'll argue until I'm blue in the face if the accommodations aren't reasonable. Plus, this kid's ADD is bad enough that we have the option of sending him to the resource room if he can't focus. Mom tried to make it his discretion but we shut that down in a hurry. We told her that he would just get detention and kicked out of the room if he couldn't focus and was being disruptive. So, it was better to just have him go to the resource room. Basically, she wanted to let him have his toy in the classroom AND be able to tell us off if we tried to ship him to the resource room. If your admin supports you on that, more power to you. If I had tried that, though, it would have been me, not the kid, getting called down to the principal's office. Sometimes I get support, sometimes I don't. But, I choose my battles wisely when it comes to the IEP bullchit. It takes a pretty ridiculous accommodation or suggestion in order for me to pick a fight. The fidget spinners are certainly something I would bicker over. I had a kid who wanted to bring his rubic cube into class every day for the very same reason and it turned into a Thunder Dome between the counselor and myself in that IEP meeting... That same counselor and I dueled it out when she wanted to make after school showers mandatory for a particular sophomore with terrible hygiene. I told her that under no circumstances would I supervise a ONE kid showering in the locker room. The kid had a shower and running water at home and I wasn't going to put my a-- on the line because he couldn't be bothered to shower or wash his clothes at home. Another parent brought in the home school curricula that her 8th grader had been doing (5th grade math) and wanted him to be working through that instead of the 8th grade material. There was no way the kid could be in a mainstream class but the counselor wanted me to "meet him halfway" (i.e. do 5th and 6th grade math). I pulled out the state definition of "reasonable accommodations" and showed her that teaching two-three grades below the course level was not considered "reasonable". So, they could either keep him in the resource room for math or he could receive the lower/base level 8th grade work.
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Post by dodson10 on May 15, 2017 13:19:59 GMT -6
in my classes, fidget spinner use is up but phone usage is down. So there's that. That's a win. Probably less distracting than Snapchat or playing a game. At my school we have these things where kids store their phones for the hour. I don't use mine because they can use their phones during a lot of my lessons and honestly they aren't that huge of a problem for me (a kid or two every hour will abuse their phone but overall it isn't too rampant). We had these for the first two weeks in our school. They told us to tell the kids that it was mandatory to put them in there during the class period. I told mine they could do that or put theirs in their backpack on silent. Either way I wouldn't care. The second week of school one of the kids phones shattered bc the teacher didn't bother to secure it very well. After the $400 phone broke, the school made an announcement that they never said they were mandatory, but merely a suggestion for teachers. Felt really bad for the kid too. On topic, fidget spinners are forbidden unless it's in the IEP. We have some crazy things in IEPs, but I don't fight them bc it's law. I have participated in every ARD for kids in my class, so I get my two cents in during the meeting rather than after.
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Post by carookie on May 15, 2017 17:59:09 GMT -6
That's a win. Probably less distracting than Snapchat or playing a game. At my school we have these things where kids store their phones for the hour. I don't use mine because they can use their phones during a lot of my lessons and honestly they aren't that huge of a problem for me (a kid or two every hour will abuse their phone but overall it isn't too rampant). We had these for the first two weeks in our school. They told us to tell the kids that it was mandatory to put them in there during the class period. I told mine they could do that or put theirs in their backpack on silent. Either way I wouldn't care. The second week of school one of the kids phones shattered bc the teacher didn't bother to secure it very well. After the $400 phone broke, the school made an announcement that they never said they were mandatory, but merely a suggestion for teachers. Felt really bad for the kid too. On topic, fidget spinners are forbidden unless it's in the IEP. We have some crazy things in IEPs, but I don't fight them bc it's law. I have participated in every ARD for kids in my class, so I get my two cents in during the meeting rather than after. I'm thinking, how many slick kids with sticky fingers can make some money off this. We move around a lot in my class, students are everywhere and so am I. Thats just begging for a less than scrupulous student to swipe it, and try to sneak it out. Also, as the OP mentioned, phones are rarely a problem.
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Post by rsmith627 on May 15, 2017 18:06:50 GMT -6
I'm thinking, how many slick kids with sticky fingers can make some money off this. We move around a lot in my class, students are everywhere and so am I. Thats just begging for a less than scrupulous student to swipe it, and try to sneak it out. Also, as the OP mentioned, phones are rarely a problem. That was actually a concern of mine as well. Like I said I don't use mine, but haven't heard of it being an issue in other classrooms that do use it. I'm shocked some wise ass kid hasn't swiped a phone just to prove a point. We move around a lot in my room as well, and I use phones in my lessons, so I really just have it up to make people happy, and to remind kids that it's there if phones do become an issue.
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famar
Sophomore Member
Looking to learn as much as I can from this site and all of the coaches here.
Posts: 208
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Post by famar on May 15, 2017 19:05:03 GMT -6
I'm an instructional aide in an alternative school. All of our kids are diagnosed with something and they all have IEP's. We have ADHD kids, kids with OCD, and kids with Asperger's, yet for the most part, these aren't the kids with these things. My rhetorical question, and it may have already been asked, is if a kid is supposed to spin this thing to help him or her concentrate, how can they actually concentrate on their school work if all they're doing is spinning this god*amned thing?
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Post by fantom on May 15, 2017 19:07:46 GMT -6
I'm thinking, how many slick kids with sticky fingers can make some money off this. We move around a lot in my class, students are everywhere and so am I. Thats just begging for a less than scrupulous student to swipe it, and try to sneak it out. Also, as the OP mentioned, phones are rarely a problem. That's why I'd never even consider this.
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Post by 53 on May 15, 2017 20:10:03 GMT -6
What do all these kids with ADD do when they get out of school and their job doesn't allow them to have an IEP or 504? How does this help them long term? I say all the time that I really hope their parents enjoy spending time with them because kids like that will never learn how to function on their own and will end up living at home as an adult. They'll also be drawing two checks though, so there is that incentive.
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Post by Yash on May 15, 2017 21:25:33 GMT -6
in my classes, fidget spinner use is up but phone usage is down. So there's that. That's a win. Probably less distracting than Snapchat or playing a game. At my school we have these things where kids store their phones for the hour. I don't use mine because they can use their phones during a lot of my lessons and honestly they aren't that huge of a problem for me (a kid or two every hour will abuse their phone but overall it isn't too rampant). I need one of those simply so all my kids can count to 40, and I teach high school.
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