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Parents push back against nation-wide mobile phone ban
Parental discontent was a theme that emerged last week when education ministers met at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to discuss both NAPLAN and mobile phone bans during school times, a move already planned for primary and secondary state schools in Victoria at the beginning of 2020.
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I worked in schools for over 40 years and there is no doubt that phones are causing a huge problem especially in secondary schools. I see many students who do not bring pens or books to class but only bring their phone! They then spend the whole lesson texting friends, their parents and who knows who else. These Professors who argue against banning them need to get into the real world ie classrooms and see what a major distraction to learning these devices are.
Weapons of mass distraction. On any reasonable cost/benefit analysis they would fail to be a net contributor to learning across virtually every category of student other than perhaps the high achievers, where they might be neutral at best (hint: those students don’t get them out, they are too preoccupied with activities such as listening, reading, thinking, questioning, discussing and researching). It isn’t just about cyberbullying, which gets trotted out as if it is the only aspect needing consideration. It is the immersion many students have in their phone, as if it is the only conduit through which the world can be lived. When I have asked students who are clearly obsessed with their phones whether they would rather lose an arm through amputation or their phone, there is often a chilling hesitation before they ask: “which arm?” Hardly any wonder that NAPLAN results for Years 7 & 9 writing have declined during the concurrent advent and rise in student-owned mobile phones and then smartphones.
Phones = games / text messages / music / Facebook etc. American spellchecking on phones is not a substitute for old fashioned handwriting and learning to spell. But, Governments have decided not to penalize students when they can not achieve a passing grade in Maths / Science / English, expecting teachers to take the responsibility for ongoing inability of students to cope with day to day basics of spelling, mathematical processes and logical problem solving. Why? Because students expect the phone / internet to answer all their questions for them. Phone are not helping the students become intelligent young adults.
Phones = games / text messages / music / Facebook etc. American spellchecking on phones is not a substitute for old fashioned handwriting and learning to spell. But, Governments have decided not to penalize students when they can not achieve a passing grade in Maths / Science / English, expecting teachers to take the responsibility for ongoing inability of students to cope with day to day basics of spelling, mathematical processes and logical problem solving. Why? Because students expect the phone / internet to answer all their questions for them. Phone are not helping the students become intelligent young adults.