Banning mobile phones in school

is a hot topic which is about to come hotter, much hotter.

The government in this school has issued a decree banning the use of mobile phones in state schools. It has done so for a number of reasons. They suggest that learning outcomes are better when students don't have access to a phone during lesson times. There is apparently some research to suggest that this is actually the case. I have yet to read any of that research and I will wait until I do to decide on that matter.

There is also the even larger issue of phones being used to bully and harass and the footage of incidents of bullying being uploaded to the internet.  I agree that is an issue, a very serious issue indeed.

There have recently been a number of vile incidents in this state which have been made much worse by the fact that they have been uploaded for others to see. The bullying is being compounded by the complete humiliation of those who are being bullied.

I think bullying has increased since I was at school. Yes, it occurred but unless it was well hidden from me, my siblings and my teacher parents it was not common. We got teased and there was some name calling but vicious bullying was rare. If it did occur then it was other students who dealt with it. We sent the offenders to Coventry more often than not. I suspect the adults were aware of that but they left it up to us.

The current generations of students, those in the mobile phone era seem less able to handle those situations. Does the amount of screen time they are involved in have anything to do with their capacity to interact and maintain friendships have anything to do with that? I suspect it does.  I know students who tell me their lunch period is spent sitting with their friends - but they don't talk to each other. They play on their phones. 

It isn't going to be easy making sure students don't use their phones in school. How it is going to be policed is a matter for individual schools. I can think of a number of ways of doing it but some are expensive and others are time consuming or even both. 

There are some students who need them. They can be a safety issue or a medical issue. There is K... who walks to and from school alone. Her father is at work and her mother is not well enough to walk her to and from. She has been using her phone since she began to walk alone. She phones her mother when she gets to school and when she is about to leave school to walk home. She hands her phone in for the rest of the day. "It's not for playing on," she once told me. That's a good use. 

I know another child who was diagnosed with diabetes late last year. He uses his for medical purposes and the departmental policy allows for that but he is worried about having the phone taken from him by other students. 

And of course there are students who used theirs in a responsible way, to make essential calls to family or perhaps take a photograph for their class work. 

Of course there will be arguments for and against. I just feel for the teachers who have to try and stop their use. It is not going to be easy. It may not even be possible.