Omg I was so angry about this today.
Yes I 100% agree that phones can be a distraction! Yes I 100% agree that we should be doing more stop cyber bullying! Though banning the use of phones in class is counterproductive.
For one, by removing phones as a way to combat cyber bullying, it’s not going to work. What if students decide to bully another student through their iPads/laptops? Is removing the phone from the classroom really going to do much? There’s nothing stopping me from downloading social media on my iPad. I could still cyber bully someone if I really wanted to. Even then cyber bullying is something that happens outside of school :/
Maybe instead of telling schools to ban phones, maybe help schools teach students how to use their devices appropriately. The only time I’m really on my phone in class is to take photos of notes. I have found that when I’m too busy taking notes, I don’t fully digest what my teacher is actually saying. I find it easier to sit and listen then take photos of what they put on the board.
I have also had to use my phone for work, frankly because the government isn’t supporting us. There has been numerous occasions where I have had to use my phone in class, because we don’t have enough laptops. Is the government going to actually fund our schools to ensure that no one is left behind? It is ridiculous to expect parents to pay for things such as laptops/iPads. They want to implement this in government schools, but it’s not like many parents actually have the luxury of choosing what type of school they send their children to, because they wouldn’t have the money to spend on school fees. If the government wants to make sure that I’m not falling behind because I’m using my phone, then they should make sure that I am able access what my teacher is planning on using.
I mean you could argue that if our parents can afford to get us a phone, then they should be able to afford a laptop/iPad. But the thing is you don’t know everyone’s circumstances. I got the iPhone 4s as a second hand phone from my mum, because she upgraded to the iPhone 6. I had the iPhone 4 from 7-10 and I ended up her iPhone 6 because the 4 died and my mum was upgrading. We would never be able to actually afford for me to purchase a brand new phone or whatever device the school would expect me to purchase.
We also should be teaching students to resist the temptation of being on their phones all the time. I’m not saying it applies to every job, but my work expects me to carry my phone around with me during my shift. Obviously if I’m on Facebook during my shift, I would get myself into trouble. Though of course I have learnt to not constantly be on my phone when it’s with me, because my teachers have always been happy with me to use my phone if it’s school related.
I know at my school we have like 63 different languages, but everyone at reception only speaks English. What if there is some big emergency at home, but my parent is unable to pull me out of school, because they don’t speak English and are unable to effectively communicate with the ladies in the office? Like yeah I completely understand the meaning behind the rule of, if your parents need to talk to you they need to go through reception, but it is unrealistic to expect people to follow this, when we live in such a multicultural society.
I got so many more reason as to why this is a bad idea, but I feel like it’s already too long lol.
TL;DR people in government are a bunch of idiots, who fail to consider the world we live in.