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France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

theguardian.com

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Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#41

Post by Majestic121 »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #37

I think this is a bad move. When I was in school, I didn't want to carry heavy books all the time. I downloaded Shakespeare and other eBooks, and wrote my own script to convert the text into 1000-character iPod Notes. When someone forgot their book to class, I could share mine with them. Will other portable electronics be banned, or only communication devices? What about the Ti-84 calculator, which is still required…

Would you agree that using electronic devices to "download Shakespeare" is highly unusual in primary school, and that most kids just use their phones to play games/watch YouTube and other distractions?

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#42

Post by michaelgrafl »

latch wrote: post #17

Shouldn't this be a matter for individual schools or school boards (the article says some already have this in place)? I like the policy, but as I get older, I wonder why we have so many laws that control so much of what we can and can't do. I agree this one's pretty benign, but it still seems like an excess of authority. When I was in school, if I distracted another student or played on my calculator, I'd get in tro…

I agree with you in general, but I guess it's a matter of pragmatism and establishing social norms. Here in Austria the newly elected right wing government is going to cancel plans of banning smoking completely in restaurants (up till now there was a solution that involved having a separate smoking area if your premises exceeded a certain dimension). I'm not for a smoking ban, because I think it's too much of an intrusion into personal live style choices. But most people I know see the overturn of the smoking ban as a big step backwards, and I've kind of softened my position, because the beneficial effects on general health would probably be significant and maybe society would profit so much from getting rid of smoking cigarettes as a pastime, that the intervention would be justified.

Regarding your comment on the trouble you'd get in when breaking the rules as a young pupil: I think the authority of teachers (even here in Europe, but I could imagine even more so in the USA) has diminished a lot in recent years. I see this as problematic, but I think it's a good alternative to the disproportionally great authority that teachers used to have over their students just a few decades ago.

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#43

Post by jageen »

I think they must specify they banned smart mobile phones OR mobile phones

By reading all comments I think problem is in smart mobile phones. which have extra features for user entertainment which also act as distraction (for student during study)

Before coming to any decision we should not forgot that phone can also use as medium of communication with our guardian in emergency and emergency is something we could not predict.

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#44

Post by abootstrapper »

jageen wrote: post #43

I think they must specify they banned smart mobile phones OR mobile phones By reading all comments I think problem is in smart mobile phones. which have extra features for user entertainment which also act as distraction (for student during study) Before coming to any decision we should not forgot that phone can also use as medium of communication with our guardian in emergency and emergency is something we could not…

The school has a phone in case of an emergency. So do the teachers.

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#45

Post by pavelludiq »

I had a flip phone with no internet in HS, I played minesweeper on it about half a day everyday at school. It was the only way I had of staying awake during some of my classes. I literally fell asleep during class if I didn't have some stimulation. Not having that would've been a torture since falling asleep is a good way to get in trouble.

Before I had my phone I drew. About 90% of my ink expenditure in school was drawings.

I would've probably resented the hell out of a measure like this)

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#46

Post by saurik »

sgift wrote: post #39
Montezuma_II wrote: post #25

I think this is a mainly positive move. Mobile phones are massive distractions to children, especially in a school context. When it comes to young children, I am skeptic to the use of digital technology in education in general. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools.

> School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as being outside, and nailing reliance on books into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. Slightly paraphrased, same content. Care to elabora…

You can't rely on books as you can't carry enough of them with you for them to replace having to know things, and a phone is a fundamentally different thing from even an infinite number of books anyway, as it is a tool that let's you communicate--in private--with people around the world. It is totally legitimate for someone to have an issue with one of these objects and not the other entirely different object.

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#47

Post by rejschaap »

jacquesm wrote: post #40
sgift wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as being outside, and nailing reliance on books into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. Slightly paraphrased, same content. Care to elabora…

Phones tend to be distraction machines, books much less so.

Books are distraction machines on a different level. When I become immersed in books I tend to deprive myself of sleep, neglect my daily chores and procrastinate my work. I do feel much better about periods where I read a lot, otherwise I tend to incessantly grab my phone to check blogs, news sites and stock/crypto prices.

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#48

Post by isfield »

sgift wrote: post #39
Montezuma_II wrote: post #25

I think this is a mainly positive move. Mobile phones are massive distractions to children, especially in a school context. When it comes to young children, I am skeptic to the use of digital technology in education in general. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools.

> School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as being outside, and nailing reliance on books into children is not something we want to be doing in schools. Slightly paraphrased, same content. Care to elabora…

In the event of long term catastrophic power failure. Books don't stop working ;) slightly tongue in cheek (I'm no Luddite) also slightly not...

Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools

#50

Post by exDM69 »

Montezuma_II wrote: post #25

I think this is a mainly positive move. Mobile phones are massive distractions to children, especially in a school context. When it comes to young children, I am skeptic to the use of digital technology in education in general. School should help incorporate good habits into a child's routine, such as reading books, and nailing reliance on phones into children is not something we want to be doing in schools.

Cyberbullying is another big motivator for banning mobile phones. Perhaps even bigger than the distraction aspect.

It's also frustrating for teachers when bullying is happening online, outside of school hours but it still takes place between students in the classroom. It should not be the teacher's business but it obviously impacts schoolwork in the classroom.

I think this is a smart move unless someone can show a study that's showing positive impact from using smartphones in schools.

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