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.
If phones are providing children with a more stimulating experience than school, the schools themselves should improve their product, rather than banning the competition.
France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
151–160 of 358 posts
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#152Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#153As a high school level teacher, I appreciate the attitude that there are amazing opportunities for learning and skill development with computers. I agree with this wholeheartedly. That said, a majority of my students are addicted to social media (they are teenagers, after all) and cannot self moderate their attention and/or behavior on this issue. They are not, generally, breaking their attention away from class for some other kind of educational outlet (for which I am already fairly lenient when appropriate). They are sending their friends snaps, plays both games, and texting.
Of course, using phones in class is already against school policy, but it will remain and issue until I am able to take a phone away from a student. At a prior school, this was explicitly against policy becuase it was considered a liability issue as phones are expensive personal property that the school did not want to be responsible for them. Additionally, parents give minimal support and/or flip out when it happens. Very few have the willingness to keep their student's phone at home during the school day even when it is a known and acknowledged problem. Often, they simply don't want to argue with their teen about it.
I believe that we - as a American culture - are still too enamoured with our smart phones to effectively acknowledge the potential negative effects they can have on our attention/learning/cognitive development.
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#154I 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.
If phones are providing children with a more stimulating experience than school, the schools themselves should improve their product, rather than banning the competition.
If heroin is providing adults with a better escape, real life should step up its game!
Or, maybe we should teach our children a modicum of discipline.
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Books don't exploit every psychological trick there is to try to cram as many ads in your face as possible
I'm not sure when the last time was I saw an ad on my phone. The only example I can think of would be the Kindle app telling me of comparable books, which seems no different from all the tech books I have which have book recommendations on the last pages.
Are you running a flip phone? Because most smart phones I see these days have no less than 10 apps that can present ads or notifications at almost any given time.
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
It looks like your response is focused on the "download"/"wrote my own script" aspect of peterburkimsher's account, and that you want to make that more common. I believe that Majestic121 is trying to point out that this ban is for the younger grades. Elementary school students rarely read Shakespeare. Or am I wrong, and your intent is that reading Shakespeare in grade 6 should be "a normal thing that kids just do"? F…
Nah, you've guessed right - I would like it to be more common for kids to use their electronic devices for learning, creating, and generally solving their own problems (instead of creating them). Computing is a complex, but a very powerful tool; quite a lot about it is mindset, not skills. I completely agree that carrying too many books is a problem. We have that in Poland, too - the amount of books kids need to brin…
Agreed. (I can hear the cry out of "not all publishers" already.)
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
If phones are providing children with a more stimulating experience than school, the schools themselves should improve their product, rather than banning the competition.
So in your view a school's main product is entertainment?
If I had to guess, probably 80% of my school time was idle time so boring it felt like sensual deprivation.
There was little else to do than bullying each other.
If phones would've been a thing back then I'd remember rich experiences instead of the destructive time sink I remember now.
(Germany, school from 1996 until 2009; currently working on econ PhD)
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#158The way mobile phones are being used in the present day, by both children and adults alike, is unhealthy and at the very least it can be said that the potential ill effects are not very well understood. Much like how research into the ill effects of smoking were not properly understood during its heydays in the early 20th century when it was a sign of social sophistication and took many decades before a conclusive li…
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#159I 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.
If phones are providing children with a more stimulating experience than school, the schools themselves should improve their product, rather than banning the competition.
Re: France to ban mobile phones in primary, junior and middle schools
#160TLDR: As a high school level teacher, this would be less of a problem if teachers had stronger enforcement powers. Since we often don't - I would strongly favor a ban. If students need a computer, we have them available all day, every day. As a high school level teacher, I appreciate the attitude that there are amazing opportunities for learning and skill development with computers. I agree with this wholeheartedly.…
I'm all for moderation but the kids I have come across in my K-12 experience, if they're not paying attention, are generally pretty bored out of their minds with whatever else is going on in the classroom. Which begs the question; whose fault could that possibly be? The child's or the adult in the room?