Monday, October 30, 2023

British Schools Ban Cellphones

Should American schools ban cellphones? England recently joined other countries in banning the devices in their schools.  The British government announced on October 2: 

Mobile phone use should be banned in schools across England to improve behaviour, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan announced today. 

New guidance from the Department for Education will back head teachers in banning mobile phone use throughout the school day, including at break times, to tackle disruptive behaviour and online bullying while boosting attention during lessons. It aims to support the wider work the government is doing to raise standards in schools by increasing students’ focus and reducing distractions.  

This ban supports the hard work of teachers and education staff – and continues to build on government’s reforms backed up by the highest level of funding for schools in history, in real terms, of nearly £60 billion by 2024-25.   

The move will bring England in line with other countries that have already implemented a ban, including France, Italy and Portugal. It follows warnings from the United Nations on the risks of smartphones in schools and government data that found around a third (29%) of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when they were not supposed to in most, or all, lessons.   

If schools fail to implement the new guidance, the government will consider legislating in the future to make the guidance statutory. 

Tom Bennett, school behaviour advisor said:

This is a fantastic move forward for ensuring that students are able to work, learn and grow in a place free from the distracting influence of mobile phones. Schools that have already banned them report that students are safer, happier and able to focus far more than they were before- and it’s popular with them too.

And heads should now be reassured that their efforts to keep schools mobile-free will be backed by the DfE. This is a positive and progressive step forward.

The guidance will set out limited exemptions where necessary - for example, where children require their phones for medical reasons.  

The ban builds on a £10 million investment in behaviour hubs which support up to 700 schools to improve behaviour alongside the appointment of a new behavioural taskforce led by DfE’s behaviour tsar Tom Bennett.  Press release.


 

I know, Kaylee and Colton just can't make it in school if the parent can't get through to them at any time on their cellphone.  Nothing good has come from allowing cellphones in schools. The schools functioned fine, indeed maybe even better, before every kid had a cellphone.  There would be munch gnashing of teeth but the kids would be better off for such a change.  

Unfortunately, this is the United States of America where self-indulgence reigns supreme and discipline is  a curse word and that, my friends, is the bottom line. 


27 comments:

Anonymous said...

And watch their attention span increase exponentially...

Anonymous said...

Excellent! This single act would eliminate or significantly reduce so many problems, including bullying, distracting, and cheating.

Parents whining about "but what if she/he needs to contact me?" in 3, 2, 1.

They are another addiction that society refuses to recognize.

Necessary Evil said...

HELL YES they should ban students cell phones on grade school campuses or there should be lock boxes at the schools for the kids to put their phones in until classes and extra curricular activities are over for the day. Phones retrievable at the time the students are leaving the campus.

There were no cell phones in schools when we were in school since there was no such thing as a damn cell phone and the world didnt come to an end.

Anonymous said...

We didn’t have smartphones, but in the late 90s and early 2000’s they would confiscate our Nokias and Kyoceras if they saw them or heard them.

Anonymous said...

But how are 15 year old girls going to film their ticktocks?

Anonymous said...

Install pay phone booths outside.

Anonymous said...

The cellphone lobby would immediately threaten to withold PAC money for their favorite politicians. Follow the money.

Re-election isn't anything; it's everything.

Anonymous said...

@4:23
I know, right?
How else is the world going to get its endless supply of softcore child pornography if white suburban teenage girls can’t TikTok all day and night?

George Boole said...

Imagine what kids would learn if they weren’t checking Facebook or TikTok every couple of minutes during math class. Some of the algebra concepts just might sink in if they were so bored they had to pay attention to the instructor.

Anonymous said...

What? How are the kiddies going to sext each other?

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't want to be a teacher trying to get everyone's attention when they've all got cell phones. What a nightmare. Lock 'em up until school is over. I like the idea of a behavior taskforce, too.

Anonymous said...

Just block the signal inside the building

Anonymous said...

EVERYWHERE should ban cell phones.

Anonymous said...

Some local schools already do. My kids’ school had a policy of no cell phones visible in class and if a teacher saw one it was confiscated and not given back until the end of the semester.

Anonymous said...

7:13 For the Win - this is the best post ever!!

Anonymous said...

How are the students at Madison Central going to film their hare-pullin?

Anonymous said...

Done been done. Out here in the country at the (name redacted to prevent doxing) School District, the administration prohibited the use of cell phones at school to round disapprobation, the parents as enraged — enraged, I say to you — or more than were the scholars. The scholars ignored the prohibition, the suspensions were through the roof, and teachers just looked the other way. After a couple or three years, the administration ended the prohibition, encouraging the use of phones in class as a measure of “embracing technological change” or some such bullshit school administration jargon.

Ban all you please. It ain’t going to work.

Anonymous said...

A little off topic yet still relating to cell phone addiction, one night during supper the wife’s cell phone started ringing in the other room. She scrambled away from the table to find it and answer before it stopped ringing, had her conversation, and then sat down at table again.

I said, “You know, if you were the last person on earth and had to choose between your cell phone and a vibrator, you’d choose that cell phone.”

And she looked at me with the most incredulous look on her face and said, “But somebody might call.”

Absolutely true story. Ab-so-lutely true story.

Anonymous said...

God help that woman if someone should call while the vibrator is in use.

Speaking of which, and this is a true story...back when pagers were popular, there was a really attractive girl in our recruiting office who would position her pager in just the right spot and she'd set it to vibrate and get her co-workers to page her number. Everybody got off on that but she got the better end of it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Some local schools already do. My kids’ school had a policy of no cell phones visible in class and if a teacher saw one it was confiscated and not given back until the end of the semester.

October 30, 2023 at 7:41 PM

Alex, I'll take things that never happened for $500.

Anonymous said...

@ October 30, 2023 at 6:24 PM - Not a complete solution. They can still access content saved on the phones and connect via bluetooth.

Anonymous said...

I've never understood why they were allowed anyway.

Anonymous said...

7:35am you just admitted that your wife preferred a caller over your dinner companionship and that she has to have a vibrator. Don't think you thought this through...

Anonymous said...

Our children in the United States must be allowed to keep their cell phones so they can call 911 and their parents when there is an active shooter. Protect our children in school, then we can have this conversation!

Enraged chopper/AK-47/AR-15,etc. owners in 3, 2, 1...

Anonymous said...

I agree with the UK on this subject.

Students (NOT SCHOLARS) have no use for a cell phone at anytime during the school day. They only create problems.

Anonymous said...

St. Joe in Madison prohibits cell phones by students. They are given back at the end of the day.

Anonymous said...

Districts have accommodated parents and students with options to maintain possession of their phones as long as it’s not causing a distraction to instruction. Parents and students verbally and physically attack school personnel if the student violates this one request. Parents and students would rather face disciplinary actions than turn over a phone until end of period of each class. Mind you these are primarily the students who are below grade level or utilize this technology to bully and cheat. Because what’s really that important that it’s need at all times. They aren’t running companies and the office phone is for emergencies.


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