Banning mobile phones at school ... what message are we sending children?Credit:Alamy
Our phones house most of our lives now – camera,wallet,important documents,banking,social lives,and of course,a phone. Our phones are also the scene of a lot of darkness,especially for young people. Social media can at once provide community and connection,as well as cyber-bullying and dangerous behaviour. It has been linked to deteriorating mental health in teens.
And yet,I’m no fan of statewide phone bans at high schools. NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns recently said Labor,if elected,would ban smartphones between 9am and 3pmat high schools. Note that smartphones were already banned in primary schools by the former education minister Rob Stokes in 2020.
Deciding that all state high schools should ban phones is an electoral sugar hit because parents are always trying to get their kids off their phones,and isn’t it good the school will do something about it? Well sure,but banning them during the day doesn’t remove the root cause of a lot of the problems that happen on phones.
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Phones are definitely a problem,but more than anything they are symptomatic of the problem. Parents want their kids to be on their phones less,but they also want to be able to contact their kids whenever they need. In my time in the classroom,the phone accidentally pinging in a blazer pocket is more often than anything else a parent changing plans for that afternoon or reminding their child of something.
A statewide phone ban also takes away principal autonomy. “I’ll tell you how to run your school,thank you very much.” And yet,at the same time,the message is:“I’ve made this new rule. You figure out how to police it.”
I’ve been at a school at the start of a phone ban,and while it was successful,the first few months involved a lot of running around by teachers and writing student names on Post-its and sticking them to phones,hoping they didn’t fall off while carrying them down to reception to be collected after the school bell.