Should smartphones be banned from classrooms?

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Are phones in the classroom a distraction, or a useful tool and an aid to learning?

Should they even be allowed in the playground? These are the weighty questions being pondered by Headteachers up and down the country as well as by national organisations such as the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, which promotes the rights, views and interests of children.

The Children’s Commissioner and the Head of a large Comprehensive School put forward their opposing views, and children get a say as well, in extracts from the media encapsulated here.

Over the past few weeks there has been much discussion in the media about whether schools should ban smartphones. This followed France’s new law stating that all children up to the age of 15 have to keep their phones out of sight while at school, from September this year as reported in the Guardian.

Lawmakers from Macron’s La République En Marche party said banning phones in schools meant all children now had a legal “right to disconnect” from digital pressures during their school day. The French don’t like to do things by halves, and some in President Macron’s party had initially sought to go even further, arguing that adults should set an example and the ban should be extended to all staff in schools, making teachers surrender their phones on arrival each morning. The leftwing MP Hervé Saulignac pointed out that, during the debate about children being dangerously addicted to phones and unable to concentrate on their studies, scores of lawmakers were sitting through the session absent-mindedly tapping away on their own phones.

In England, there seems to be some consensus that it’s not necessary to ban all mobiles, but that limits on the use of smartphones in schools is probably a good thing. The Observer of 1^st July 2018 published the views of Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England and Carolyn Roberts, Head of Thomas Tallis School in South London, which has 1,900 pupils aged 11-18.

Anne Longfield thinks there is a pretty persuasive argument for urging all schools to ban smartphones – her argument is that while the Internet is a fabulous resource for children, overuse or misuse presents some clear problems for them. They can look up facts on the Internet on school computers, but whether a private, personal smartphone adds to the school experience is debatable.  As the first generation to grow up with this digital reality, they need guidance and advice. Ms Longfield thinks there is a good, persuasive case for Heads to consider going smart-phone free.

Carolyn Roberts has not imposed a blanket ban in her school, but there are rules. Pupils may have their smartphones with them, but they must be silent and out of the way. They can use them at breaks, but if they become a problem, they are confiscated. The general approach is to teach the pupils self-moderating behaviour and learn to live with a phone without it dominating their lives. While she is writing her article, she looks out of the window where the pupils are enjoying the sun at break, and reports, “I can see about 600 of them, and hardly a phone in sight.”

She goes on to say, however, that “When they go to the next lesson, their phones will be silent in their bags. Perhaps they’ll use a phone if there aren’t enough calculators, or to take a photo of their homework. Perhaps they’ll record a conversation. Perhaps they’ll look up a fact. Perhaps they’ll use it in a digital safety lesson.”

Ms Roberts makes the point that she goes to meetings “where adults email, text and surf the Internet when they should be engaging.” (Echoes of M. Hervé Saulignac in France.)

In the BBC’s Newsround on 21^st June 2018, children were asked to comment on the news that a group of politicians want mobile phones banned in schools. There was a variety of opinions from both Primary and Secondary School pupils.

Lewis, Brooke and Brandon, aged 12, from North Tyneside said: “It is much better now that we do not have our phones in class. We can concentrate much more and it has certainly helped stop cyber bullying. We all think that it is a great idea.”

Millie, 14, from West Sussex felt that “You could just as easily use the library to research things, you'd probably focus better without your notifications pinging in your pocket, and you might even speak to friends face to face more. However, phones are so useful to do research quickly, do group quizzes, record homework in a place we can't lose it or forget it and it has a calculator built in. Phones could also help us be more responsible and you have to look after them, if you lose it then you might not get another one.”

What is the policy in your school? Has it brought noticeable benefits? Are the pupils happy with any restrictions that have been imposed on smartphone use? We’d like to hear your views!

Pat Heathcote, July 2018