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What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

theguardian.com

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Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#61

Post by tempest_ »

goles wrote: post #55
tempest_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those light phones are interesting products and I thought about trying one at one point but seen some mixed reviews.

They're expensive. ~300 USD, while the e-ink and design is nice that's a pretty big bill for something that does less than a modern phone that is also cheaper. Previous discussion (2020): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21943649 I think the most cost effective solution is probably buying the cheapest used A12+ iPhone one could find. Factory restore, then setup Assistive Access or parental controls, which can lim…

The price is steep but if I used it every day I could probably justify it.

The one thing that I noticed immediately is it seems to still use micro usb.

Without usb c it is a non starter, especially at that price.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#62

Post by Podgajski »

gambiting wrote: post #24
Podgajski wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can’t someone just make a phone. I don’t need a phone that plays music or can listen to podcast. I just need a phone that can make calls and make texts. I think their problem is they wanted this phone to still be like a smart phone.

You can still buy a super basic Nokia phone that pretty much only does that, and it lasts like a month of battery - I own one, it's great to carry around in places where you might not want to risk your super expensive smartphone. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-1-77-Inch-Feature-Phone-Singl... I'd happily give this to my own child so they can reach me in emergencies, but there is no risk of them going on TikTok or any…

Then, why didn’t that school Just give them those Nokia phones?

Because this is an advertising puff piece for the light phone. I’m going to guarantee you that someone in that company has connections to that school.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#63

Post by axus »

Podgajski wrote: post #6

I mean, I agree that cell phones can cause interruptions in schools, but doing this at a place like Buxton compared to some of the public schools I’ve taught in, well, that’s a whole different story. “Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.“ I mean, it’s one thing to take away a kid, cell phone and offer them nothi…

Google says enrollment was 78 students nine years ago, let's guess it's around 100 now; 25 kids per grade, managing those cell phones is a tractable problem compared to a school with 1000 kids.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#64

Post by mstudio »

Great, but this is a private boarding school. I'm more concerned about the (over) use of Chromebooks in public schools. It's trivial for kids to tab over to Youtube or a gaming site in the middle of class. I would've done the same thing if I'd been given a laptop for 6 hours a day in school. When I see my kids trying to write math equations or use a virtual ruler/compass to do math homework, it really pains me. Let's go back to writing things by hand.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#65

Post by Podgajski »

axus wrote: post #63
Podgajski wrote: post #6

I mean, I agree that cell phones can cause interruptions in schools, but doing this at a place like Buxton compared to some of the public schools I’ve taught in, well, that’s a whole different story. “Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.“ I mean, it’s one thing to take away a kid, cell phone and offer them nothi…

Google says enrollment was 78 students nine years ago, let's guess it's around 100 now; 25 kids per grade, managing those cell phones is a tractable problem compared to a school with 1000 kids.

And they cost $300 apiece! You have teachers buying just regular school supplies out of their own pocket in public schools.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#66

Post by ravenstine »

mstudio wrote: post #64

Great, but this is a private boarding school. I'm more concerned about the (over) use of Chromebooks in public schools. It's trivial for kids to tab over to Youtube or a gaming site in the middle of class. I would've done the same thing if I'd been given a laptop for 6 hours a day in school. When I see my kids trying to write math equations or use a virtual ruler/compass to do math homework, it really pains me. Let's…

I don't see why schools really need to provide access to the open internet. Providing computer access is fine, but the network should be internal. Wikipedia PR Britannica can me mirrored, as well as any videos that teachers decide to have cached.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#67

Post by mingus88 »

jonlucc wrote: post #31
forinti wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You wouldn't believe what an issue this can turn into. Some parents will fight for their kid's right to use cellphones.

At my work, there are certain areas that we are not allowed to have any cameras, and that includes all personal cell phones. I have a colleague whose daughter was at school during an active shooter incident, and she was able to use her phone but he was not able to receive her calls or texts. She was not killed, but I am glad she had a cell phone that day, and I wish he had his too.

The light phone mentioned in this article can still make calls and send texts

This seems to be more of a ban on social media apps in school, which I 100% support and honestly wouldn’t mind it being nationwide.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#68

Post by sixthDot »

axus wrote: post #63
Podgajski wrote: post #6

I mean, I agree that cell phones can cause interruptions in schools, but doing this at a place like Buxton compared to some of the public schools I’ve taught in, well, that’s a whole different story. “Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.“ I mean, it’s one thing to take away a kid, cell phone and offer them nothi…

Google says enrollment was 78 students nine years ago, let's guess it's around 100 now; 25 kids per grade, managing those cell phones is a tractable problem compared to a school with 1000 kids.

Big public schools could use jammers, but afaik those equipements are not legal.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#69

Post by dotnet00 »

falcolas wrote: post #52

I have one part approval for this (back in my day, off my lawn, etc). But I also think about how many general tools cell phones replace, and the sudden added cost is a concern. Flashlight. Probably not necessary 99% of the time at a school, until it is valuable. Calculator. "Approved" graphing calculator replacements are stupid expensive, in many cases more expensive than the phone they're replacing. Camera. We didn'…

Agreed, back when I was in highschool, smartphones were relatively new, and even then the benefits were obvious in the form of being able to use them for music in any sort of study hall and for the calculator, and in university it quickly became very normal to see people taking a photo of things they thought would be especially noteworthy (which was very helpful because professors would often be going too fast to note it down). My highschool had the additional option of bringing and using a laptop in class, which I always used and found to be far more convenient.

I get that social media and texting are distractions in the classroom, but I really don't buy that a blanket ban is the solution. That's just draconian and brings to mind all the other arbitrary rules/limitations I had/have to deal with as a student which just built up resentment and encouraged malicious compliance rather than any respect of the school.

Also brings to mind the old joke about teachers telling kids to solve even complicated equations (without convenient numbers) by hand because "you won't always have a calculator at hand", and how wrong that turned out to be.

Edit: Come to think of it, it's interesting that social media sites haven't thought to do something about this as a PR move. They could sell beacons (specifically to schools) which if the phone detects, it notifies the teacher. Not being able to get away with sneaking a look at a phone would quickly reduce the issue of having to tell kids to put their phones away.

Re: What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

#70

Post by dylan604 »

boeingUH60 wrote: post #42
dylan604 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An emergency like active shooter, not your child had an accident. During active shooter situations, the school isn't going to call the parents of the students. They have other things to worry about. The kids are calling their parents directly.

> The kids are calling their parents directly. To do what? Come save them Delta Force style? If such an unfortunate thing happens, the kids are dependent on law enforcement, not parents, for safety.

Hi mom! No, it's crazy, but I'm okay.

That would probably be the primary thing I'd imagine the parent is worried about. If you have a kid in a school with feckless police that stand outside while kids are getting shot at, then yeah, some parents probably are a better rescue option.

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