Mobile phones should be banned from the classroom?

If students in lesson are going to be using their phones, teachers should be allowed to confiscate them. You don't go to school to play on your phone but to learn.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by TSR2003

If students in lesson are going to be using their phones, teachers should be allowed to confiscate them. You don't go to school to play on your phone but to learn.

That would depend on what the specific use of the phone would be for.

I personally use my phone for personal research, calculators, coding, and variety of learning apps. I just make sure it won't be a nusiance to the rest of the class. Having said that, I am not in secondary education so I don't think my comments would count that much.

In the modern world environment where you have everything at your finger tips, I consider it crucial that pupils have the skills to make effective use of the technology as well as the resources available to them. Whilst I am not knocking on memorising information and have the discipline to do mental calculations, I don't think you would encounter many situations where people need to do that. As such, I think students would benefit more from practicing the skills and in the conditions they would encounter in the real world.

Yes phone should be confiscated when revising for exams since you don't use phones in exam conditions, but for usual homework and everyday study I don't see much point in confiscating them so long they use the phones appropriately. It's not like confiscating them will dissuade them from not using them for homework or outside of the classroom.

Unfortunately, I have not come across an app that would restrict access to the sort of uses allowed on phones such that the phones won't be used inappropriately during class (I don't think parental lock features restrict messaging or certain games for example, but I would need to check). If there is such an app, then I don't think there is really a problem so long the teacher is allowed to use such apps on request.

Reply 2

StriderHort

As above, it depends, in college/uni you are often expected to have one.

I'm all for banning random classroom use, but confiscation is tricky and puts teachers in a v dodgy situation, it's not like before where they were confiscating football cards, digital watches or even old Nokia things worth a few £, you're talking phones of up to £1000 odd which to me exceeds a teachers expected authority a bit, pretty much asking for further confrontation and parents storming into the school to further confront them, claiming damages or calling the police and going all Mumsnet etc.

Reply 3

gjd800

When I was teaching secondary we'd just C4 the kid with their phone out. Job done. Little to no confrontation apart from a whinge they'd be serving a detention and their Ma would be getting a phone call.

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by gjd800

I assume C4 is not plastic explosive in this context, as that seems like a slightly extreme reaction :laugh:

Reply 5

gjd800

Original post by artful_lounger

I assume C4 is not plastic explosive in this context, as that seems like a slightly extreme reaction :laugh:

It used to make me laugh as well! Consequence 4, the penultimate of the scale, or at least where I was. Contrasted with the R(eward)1-5.

Reply 6

EnigmaChess

As a secondary student, I think that a phone ban has similar consequences to banning other things such as gum; bans make the contraband more attractive. At the end of the day, if a student wishes to harm their education, they can do so. Phones can be a great educational and social tool if used correctly, which they probably would be if there was not so much strict limitation around them.

Reply 7

StriderHort

Original post by EnigmaChess

if a student wishes to harm their education, they can do so.

Nah. Students doing so disrupts the class, sets a bad example and they are more than likely using the phone to directly disrupt other pupils. We don't tend to let school, kids opt out of or set their own rules for good reason (they'll get more autonomy at college/uni to do what they want, just as these institutions will have more power to kick out timewasting pests)

Reply 8

EnigmaChess

Does someone using their phone under the desk really disrupt the class? Even so, what's more disruptive, a student quietly on their phone, or a teacher shouting at them for catching them?