Ban on Mobile phones at school – a good idea?
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr wants to declare schools a cell phone-free zone. But how have teachers dealt with the problem so far, and what do parents and pupils say about it?
Rinng-Rinnng. Or sometimes even: Ping! These noises can still be heard in Austria’s classrooms. But that is set to change: In the course of March, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos) wants to declare schools a mobile phone-free zone by decree. The ban will apply to both lessons and breaks in the first eight grades.
Ban on Mobile phones at school. Until now, it was up to the individual schools to decide whether and in what form to restrict cell phone use. But how did this work? What conflicts over cell phones are taking place at school? And how is the new general ban viewed? Teachers, principals, parents and pupils talk about their experiences.
A Mother’s comment: “Social life on platforms”
There is currently no ban on cell phones at her son’s school, says Valerie. “However, there was once a mobile-free week. The children weren’t allowed to take their cell phones or laptops with them. That was bearable for my son. He didn’t even use his cell phone at home that week. But he was happy to use it again afterwards.”
Her 13-year-old son has had a cell phone since the third grade of elementary school. Back then, he was given an old one without internet access. “Just to be reachable, but he never used it,” says Valerie.
Smartphones are forbidden during lessons at the Viennese secondary school her son attends today. If the children do use it, it is taken away by the teachers. Valerie thinks it’s a good thing that in future, cell phones will also have to be switched off during breaks. “The children have forgotten how to communicate with each other. There’s no interpersonal contact,” she says. And: “They have a completely different understanding of social life, which takes place on platforms and in apps. You have virtual friends – some of whom you’ve never seen in real life.”
13-year-old: “Actually good”
At school, the cell phone has to stay in the (trouser) pocket – even during the break. At least for the lower school pupils, says Paul. The older ones are allowed to use smartphones and laptops. “If we use it in class, most of the teachers take it away straight away,” says Paul. At least if you hold it in your hand for private purposes. Because in his school, where all classes are equipped with laptops, the devices are also used for learning. “Sometimes we also use the cell phone for a quiz or a survey,” says the Viennese.
What does Paul think of the cell phone ban? “On the one hand, I think it’s unfair that the sixth form are allowed to have them but we’re not. But on the other hand, people in the lower school certainly don’t always use them so responsibly. Many of us also sometimes gamble in class.” He actually thinks a uniform ban is a good thing.
In everyday life, Paul also uses his cell phone a lot for social media; his parents don’t allow Tiktok. He has limited screen time for Instagram, YouTube and the like. Sometimes 15 minutes, usually five minutes, for Netflix even 30 minutes a day. If he wants to use a program for longer, he has to swap time with the other apps, he says. After 9 pm, that’s it. He repeatedly discusses the amount of time he is allowed to spend on his smartphone with his parents, even though he knows “that it’s actually a good thing not to be on your phone all the time”.
Teacher comment: “Uncontrollable distraction”
An irritant for adolescent pupils: That’s the term “cell phone ban” from the perspective of middle school teacher Hülya. “It’s an invitation to join the resistance. I would formulate it differently and convince the pupils why it is better not to use a cell phone during lessons.”
The fact is for the teacher with 13 years of teaching experience in Lower Austria and Vienna: “The private cell phone offers an uncontrollable distraction and thus also danger, because the students can quickly get into the world of social media.” At the school where she last taught, the house rules stipulated that cell phones had to be kept in the locker.
However, Hülya also sees it as the school’s task to “impart knowledge and skills that are essential in society”. This includes cell phone use. “We live in a new age. For me, the question is: how do we deal with the advantages and disadvantages of cell phones at school?” One idea that concerns her is school cell phones – devices on which teachers can make security settings. Under these conditions, she can well imagine using cell phones for teaching purposes.
Read full article at Der Standard
Source- Der Standard– translated from the original German
Article – Oona Kroisleitner, Stefanie Rachbauer, Anna Wiesinger
Photo – Image by Gary Cassel from Pixabay