They have actually banned mobiles at my kids high school in Norwich starting from sept 2018 and it was the best thing they could do. They can have it for journey to and from school but if they are caught with it in school they will be taken away until the end of the day. My son has had an awesome year so far and he agrees it was a good decision.
I’m a teacher and a parent. I think this is ridiculous on several levels. Our children are growing up in a technological world, let’s teach them to use technology safely and considerately, banning just increases the desire to seek access by being secretive- what are we then teaching our children? Phones are a way our children can access help/support/emergency services in a time of crisis. As a parent I would want my child to have access to a smart phone if they walked to school on their own or with friends. Yes teach responsibly using technology, teach them to seek to understand and respect others, to be kind and teach them to be safe.
Parents teach self control, boundaries, friendships through face to face interactions, family meals, conversation, teachers show how phones can be used responsibly, usefully and respectfully. Simply banning phones will do nothing but teach deception and resentment.
School is for being educated, learning to get on with people, learning how the world works, acquiring the skills and tools like reading, writing and arithmetic that are needed in adult life. Yes, smart phones are part of the modern world and kids may need to learn to use them, but they also need to learn to make a cup of tea, wash their clothes or make a meal - we don't send them to school with a kettle, a washing machine and a microwave. They don't need to be constantly attached to any tech item. The use of smart phones in any lesson other than a lesson about smart phones is counter productive. Do we really want our children to be indolent, obese and taking selfies with their tongues stuck permanently out?
Phones shouldn’t be in the classroom. My kids have to turn their phones off when they enter the school and they are not allowed to use them until 4.30 or when they leave. Works pretty well. Of course there are some kids who push it, but if they’re caught on the phones then they lose them until the end of the week. Sometimes they are told to use them in lessons if relevant but from yr8 onwards they have iPads so no need for phones. They talk to each other at lunch time. It’s healthy for them to be without them! Kids aren’t bothered at all either as they just accept it.
At both of my children’s schools they have to hand them in when they arrive at school and are given them back at the end of the day. Perfect.
I managed perfectly well with my trusty carrier pigeon in the 80's.
And how will you enforce this ?
I listen to the speech this morning while waiting in a post office queue and thought to myself what a load of bolloxs.. so many excuses for kids to have a phone in class.. by all means let kids have a basic phone while going to and from school (do you need a smart phone to advise anyone of an emergency) - but during the school day - have a break and get through your life by interacting with other humans like we always have done.
Schools are place for learning and we do not need phones to make it more fun or inclusive - we need more teachers and smaller classes and more money so that teachers can teach and do it within the school day - play time/break time should be that - not time getting either excited by or stressed up over what is going on on your phone.
Those who advocate the positive side of letting kids have phones in school need to look at the reality of letting kids use smartphones per se.. it is not, in my eyes needed - bring back libraries that are well funded, put decent computers in them if it is true that they can research better etc on mobile devices..
When you consider that the average kid is on their phone before school, during their breaks and after school - is this not enough - no wonder kids are so stress when the negative younger user of these devices use them to cause trouble or to visit adult sites - having said all of that - look at how us adults are addicted to mobile devices, maybe we should set an example for the kids to follow.. as an ex-SEN Teacher who also taught ICT, I fail to see how a classroom full of smartphones actually makes kids smarter.
I imagine most schools are like my sons’ school where they insist phones are switched off while in school. Transgressors have their phones confiscated. But, sometimes, phones can be a useful learning tool. Plus, kids have a phone available after school if they need to contact parents for emergencies etc.
It just takes a sensible but robust policy in school, rather than an outright ban.
I am fifty nine years old. If computers and smartphones had not been invented, I would not have been able to speak English. When I was a schoolboy I had to search through the thick dictionary for new English words. It was an extremely boring and gruelling job. I preferred to play sport rather than scouring the dictionary. Now this is a pleasure thanks to a smartphone. I finally can write something although I still make mistakes (you can not teach an old dog new tricks) but smartphones are not as bad as they are considered.
They should also ban them in the House of Commons during debates......
My kids school has already and it's brilliant!! Kids are actually socialising again properly.
My daughters school has already banned them, personally think it’s the best school rule there ever has been.
I teach college seniors and masters students. A good student last semester came to me and told me his new learning strategy. As a senior, he finally figured out that having a computer and phone available was distracting in class. He stopped using his devices in class and not surprisingly his grades increased. Technology can be used as an effective learning tool. The problem is that technology can also be extremely distracting. This student specifically told me that he did not realize how distracting notifications were during class until he completely eliminated them. Now, if this is true for a 22 year old who is dedicated to his studies, how much more so is this likely true for secondary students (and younger). I realize this is an anecdotal comment related to one student, but it is consistent with the general trend I have seen. Beyond the learning environment, studies are showing more and more negative affects associated with children and young teens and their use of smartphones and social media. Personally, I think a ban takes the issue too far, but use should be extremely limited.
Why not just train kids to understand their phone must be off during school hours. Its like being at work.
Funny, when in my sisters school. They use them to do work 😂😂 unless they giving the schools more money to invest in tablets etc. To do their work on.
Totally agree. There is no place for mobile phones to be in a classroom. They're too much of a distraction and teachers have enough to contend with.
They aren't banned already? We just had phones as I was at school and if they were seen they'd have been confiscated - why/when did that change? (Answer: when teachers lost the authority to discipline children).
And ban schools from putting homework and timetables on apps rather than the good old fashioned homework planners!
Ah OK then government, please provide every student with constant access to computers then 😂😂😂😂😂 Students look up information on phones for research during lessons, they use the calculators on their phones during lessons, they use interactive apps as part of quizzes in lessons... There are more and more app based educational software being created and marketed abroad because of the complete lack of hardware available in schools. It is not uncommon to not be able to access a class set of computers when needed, when you do, laptops are so slow they take 20 minutes to turn on, 10% will blue screen constantly, students end up having to share on what should be independent research which actually affects their coursework grades. Students need access to the Internet, they also know how to appropriately use social media especially during working hours... Where else are they going to learn Internet research skills and appropriate use of phones. The only times phones should be banned is during break and lunchtimes, that's when they cause issues, not in the classroom (well, not if you've got decent classroom control) On a separate note... Technology does not cause bullying... People cause bullying... Why don't young people know better? Technology is not to blame. #phonesdontbullypeopledo.
They are part of life now. Make them part of the lesson. Let them see what is online - what you can and can’t trust when looking for information.
A mobile phone could easily be used as a teaching tool, reducing the need for resources. Getting rid of today's technology is simply naive and rather old fashioned.
Why don't you just collect phones at the start of the lesson and at the end give them back? That way they're not disturbing class, and kids can still have access to them outside of lessons.
I have no clue how we contacted our children or visa versa for 50 something years prior to the cell phone....
They're banned (&rightly so) in many real life work places...kids grow up& concentrate on the task in hand!
And yet again someone who knows rock all about education makes a decision to try to resolve a problem they think exists. Why aren't they focusing on funding for schools and colleges which could actually make a difference.
I’m a teacher and a parent. I think this is ridiculous on several levels. Our children are growing up in a technological world, let’s teach them to use technology safely and considerately, banning just increases the desire to seek access by being secretive- what are we then teaching our children? Phones are a way our children can access help/support/emergency services in a time of crisis. As a parent I would want my child to have access to a smart phone if they walked to school on their own or with friends. Yes teach responsibly using technology, teach them to seek to understand and respect others, to be kind and teach them to be safe.
Parents teach self control, boundaries, friendships through face to face interactions, family meals, conversation, teachers show how phones can be used responsibly, usefully and respectfully. Simply banning phones will do nothing but teach deception and resentment.
School is for being educated, learning to get on with people, learning how the world works, acquiring the skills and tools like reading, writing and arithmetic that are needed in adult life. Yes, smart phones are part of the modern world and kids may need to learn to use them, but they also need to learn to make a cup of tea, wash their clothes or make a meal - we don't send them to school with a kettle, a washing machine and a microwave. They don't need to be constantly attached to any tech item. The use of smart phones in any lesson other than a lesson about smart phones is counter productive. Do we really want our children to be indolent, obese and taking selfies with their tongues stuck permanently out?
Phones shouldn’t be in the classroom. My kids have to turn their phones off when they enter the school and they are not allowed to use them until 4.30 or when they leave. Works pretty well. Of course there are some kids who push it, but if they’re caught on the phones then they lose them until the end of the week. Sometimes they are told to use them in lessons if relevant but from yr8 onwards they have iPads so no need for phones. They talk to each other at lunch time. It’s healthy for them to be without them! Kids aren’t bothered at all either as they just accept it.
At both of my children’s schools they have to hand them in when they arrive at school and are given them back at the end of the day. Perfect.
I managed perfectly well with my trusty carrier pigeon in the 80's.
And how will you enforce this ?
I listen to the speech this morning while waiting in a post office queue and thought to myself what a load of bolloxs.. so many excuses for kids to have a phone in class.. by all means let kids have a basic phone while going to and from school (do you need a smart phone to advise anyone of an emergency) - but during the school day - have a break and get through your life by interacting with other humans like we always have done.
Schools are place for learning and we do not need phones to make it more fun or inclusive - we need more teachers and smaller classes and more money so that teachers can teach and do it within the school day - play time/break time should be that - not time getting either excited by or stressed up over what is going on on your phone.
Those who advocate the positive side of letting kids have phones in school need to look at the reality of letting kids use smartphones per se.. it is not, in my eyes needed - bring back libraries that are well funded, put decent computers in them if it is true that they can research better etc on mobile devices..
When you consider that the average kid is on their phone before school, during their breaks and after school - is this not enough - no wonder kids are so stress when the negative younger user of these devices use them to cause trouble or to visit adult sites - having said all of that - look at how us adults are addicted to mobile devices, maybe we should set an example for the kids to follow.. as an ex-SEN Teacher who also taught ICT, I fail to see how a classroom full of smartphones actually makes kids smarter.
I imagine most schools are like my sons’ school where they insist phones are switched off while in school. Transgressors have their phones confiscated. But, sometimes, phones can be a useful learning tool. Plus, kids have a phone available after school if they need to contact parents for emergencies etc.
It just takes a sensible but robust policy in school, rather than an outright ban.
I am fifty nine years old. If computers and smartphones had not been invented, I would not have been able to speak English. When I was a schoolboy I had to search through the thick dictionary for new English words. It was an extremely boring and gruelling job. I preferred to play sport rather than scouring the dictionary. Now this is a pleasure thanks to a smartphone. I finally can write something although I still make mistakes (you can not teach an old dog new tricks) but smartphones are not as bad as they are considered.
They should also ban them in the House of Commons during debates......
My kids school has already and it's brilliant!! Kids are actually socialising again properly.
My daughters school has already banned them, personally think it’s the best school rule there ever has been.
I teach college seniors and masters students. A good student last semester came to me and told me his new learning strategy. As a senior, he finally figured out that having a computer and phone available was distracting in class. He stopped using his devices in class and not surprisingly his grades increased. Technology can be used as an effective learning tool. The problem is that technology can also be extremely distracting. This student specifically told me that he did not realize how distracting notifications were during class until he completely eliminated them. Now, if this is true for a 22 year old who is dedicated to his studies, how much more so is this likely true for secondary students (and younger). I realize this is an anecdotal comment related to one student, but it is consistent with the general trend I have seen. Beyond the learning environment, studies are showing more and more negative affects associated with children and young teens and their use of smartphones and social media. Personally, I think a ban takes the issue too far, but use should be extremely limited.
Why not just train kids to understand their phone must be off during school hours. Its like being at work.
Funny, when in my sisters school. They use them to do work 😂😂 unless they giving the schools more money to invest in tablets etc. To do their work on.
Totally agree. There is no place for mobile phones to be in a classroom. They're too much of a distraction and teachers have enough to contend with.
They aren't banned already? We just had phones as I was at school and if they were seen they'd have been confiscated - why/when did that change? (Answer: when teachers lost the authority to discipline children).
And ban schools from putting homework and timetables on apps rather than the good old fashioned homework planners!
Ah OK then government, please provide every student with constant access to computers then 😂😂😂😂😂 Students look up information on phones for research during lessons, they use the calculators on their phones during lessons, they use interactive apps as part of quizzes in lessons... There are more and more app based educational software being created and marketed abroad because of the complete lack of hardware available in schools. It is not uncommon to not be able to access a class set of computers when needed, when you do, laptops are so slow they take 20 minutes to turn on, 10% will blue screen constantly, students end up having to share on what should be independent research which actually affects their coursework grades. Students need access to the Internet, they also know how to appropriately use social media especially during working hours... Where else are they going to learn Internet research skills and appropriate use of phones. The only times phones should be banned is during break and lunchtimes, that's when they cause issues, not in the classroom (well, not if you've got decent classroom control) On a separate note... Technology does not cause bullying... People cause bullying... Why don't young people know better? Technology is not to blame. #phonesdontbullypeopledo.
They are part of life now. Make them part of the lesson. Let them see what is online - what you can and can’t trust when looking for information.
A mobile phone could easily be used as a teaching tool, reducing the need for resources. Getting rid of today's technology is simply naive and rather old fashioned.
Why don't you just collect phones at the start of the lesson and at the end give them back? That way they're not disturbing class, and kids can still have access to them outside of lessons.
I have no clue how we contacted our children or visa versa for 50 something years prior to the cell phone....
They're banned (&rightly so) in many real life work places...kids grow up& concentrate on the task in hand!
And yet again someone who knows rock all about education makes a decision to try to resolve a problem they think exists. Why aren't they focusing on funding for schools and colleges which could actually make a difference.