Do you think cell phones should be banned in schools?

[DancesWithWife]

This was the headline on Portland tv station KATU. They had a poll asking their audience whether "Vancouver Public Schools is the latest district to consider banning cell phones in the classroom. It comes after the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics will limit cellphone usage when students return this Summer." 

I'm not sure how this would be implemented. This is a nationwide issue not just local. Here is a story on ABC news. 

 

But how would you feel if the brothers gave us direction not to use our smartphones during the meeting? I have seen an increase in those who use a smartphone instead of a tablet, even on the platform. I have no issue with what you use during the meeting whether phone, tablet, laptop or chromebook. I have seen smartphones being used to send text messages and viewing information not related to the meetings. Some are more obvious than others. 

 

[Dages]

They are banned in my area. My daughter switches it off when she enters her school and switches back on when she leaves.

[Mike047]

Some schools in the UK allow students to keep their phones with them, and others require them to lodge them with school authorities, or put them in secured lockers until school concludes. 

 

Using phones for social contacts during school time can be a big issue, but then some of our younger ones also use their phones during meeting times as well. 

[Dustparticle]

What I see is that as much as information that a cell phones carry, schools should be ban from it. 

[LeolaRootStew]

I would ban them in schools because kids need a place where they don't have to worry about being filmed and posted online without their permission. That kind of stress would have made me paranoid as a child and afraid to try new things.

[Tortuga]

The phones are a good form of communication during an emergency. There have been Active Shooter events at schools and the students were able to use their phones to communicate with authorities and parents. I don't think that parents would be willing to lose that communication link with their child. 

[LeolaRootStew]

10 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

The phones are a good form of communication during an emergency. There have been Active Shooter events at schools and the students were able to use their phones to communicate with authorities and parents. I don't think that parents would be willing to lose that communication link with their child. 

 

But they can have a bin on the teacher's desk for phones to sit until class is over. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

[Mike047]

On 6/22/2024 at 3:24 PM, LeolaRootStew said:

But they can have a bin on the teacher's desk for phones to sit until class is over. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I think in the circumstances Richard mentions, it would be of little use for the phone to be remote from the pupil. There seems to be no easy answer. 

 

If teachers are concerned about the misuse of phones in school, maybe there are other routes to follow to minimise the problem. It is a problem in the working environment as well, where employees use their phones, sometimes quite extensively during working hours, for social chit-chat.

[LeolaRootStew]

10 hours ago, Mike047 said:

I think in the circumstances Richard mentions, it would be of little use for the phone to be remote from the pupil. There seems to be no easy answer. 

 

I think it's a suitable option. If there was a school shooter, then all the phones would be easily accessible at the front of the room.

[Pabo]

In regards to possible school shootings, I can understand that the pupil would be best to have their phone close by themselves, not on a teachers desk. If they were on a teachers desk, if the shooter came into the front of the class or is within the hallway of the building, there would be little chance for a student to get their phone from the front. Also too, if you have a pile of phones in one spot, it will make it hard for the students to identify their phone and collect it quickly. 

 

Best solution is for the child to have their phone on their desk with the screen facing the teacher, that way, the student is not distracted by the screen if messages and/or notifications light up, but also the phone is within reach of the child in case of a emergency.

 

Whether a child has a smartphone or a dumb phone is another matter. Most kids usually get hand-me-down phones from either their parents or another family member. Not many with get the latest model unless their parents cough up for it, but it depends on how their parents view their concern of their child best interests, or what their financial situation may allow them too.

Edited July 1 by Pabo

[Dustparticle]

 Regarding technology has gone this far. I wonder if schools should be ban from cell phones?

[Katty]

This would be a good idea, when you consider how many kids are probably exposed to pornography as a result of a friend or acquaintance at school being able to carry around a mobile device that contains content such as that. 

[sully313]

Banned? No

 

Stricy enforcement to take them away and never be allowed back in if used outside of lunch time or any non classroom or teaching time, yes

 

My daughter is 13 and I’m learning very quickly how difficult this cell phone business is!

[Mike047]

Social media used to be reading the newspaper, and going onto windows meant leaning on the sill for a chat. Heigh ho.

 

When our children were naughty we used to send them to their rooms, as there was nothing there to interest them. It's the last place you would send them to nowadays!