Generally speaking, I tend to be somewhat of a libertarian when it comes to banning stuff, because it either doesn’t work or else has the opposite effect to the stated goal by creating a “forbidden fruit” cachet around the thing.
However, when it comes to banning the chilluns from using their cell phones at school, I’m all over the idea, and here’s one reason why:
One of the first UK schools to ban mobile phones has revealed their pupils are now more sociable and involved in activities than ever before. 12 years ago Burnage Academy for Boys, in Greater Manchester, banned phones — with associate assistant head teacher Greg Morrison now saying that ban’s made a “big impact” in the school.
Phones are not allowed among pupils at any point — including break times — until the end of the school day.
Last year it was named UK Secondary School of the Year at the 2024 TES Schools Awards in London, with judges praising it as an “inspiring and inclusive school where students thrive, love learning and achieve exceptionally well.”
Well well well, who could have predicted this outcome?
“Only anyone with a brain and common sense, Kim.”
I have a friend who is a high school principal for a rural school where this policy went in place this year. They have small faraday bags that are magnetically sealed and for which there are release magnets at the exits to the school. In ’emergent situations’, the bags are not so sturdy as to ward of destruction for the purposes of emergency communications, but they do show evidence of tampering, so if the students break it in day to day use, they bought it.
All that to say, his experience mirrors the note above: The level of interaction amongst students (in the lunchroom, in the hallways, etc) has regressed some 20-odd years – meaning kids actually TALK to each other. He says the lunchroom looks like it did when he went to high school, and has nothing but positive things to say about it. Now if we can just get the damnable things out of the hands of drivers…
“…get the damnable things out of the hands of drivers…”
Amen to that. I’ve been sideswiped badly twice in recent years, and both times by a twenty-something airhead bitch on a cell phone. More than $7,000 damage to my cars, and the judge fined them only $85 and costs.
Something wrong with this picture, especially after the cop who ticketed one of them said cell phone distracted driving was his second leading cause of accidents after drunk driving.
There was a story within the last year or two about a13-yr old who saved himself & a busload of his classmates when he observed their driver was no longer in control – heart attack or stroke, if I recall correctly. The kid managed to take the wheel & apply the brakes. He was the only one on board who noticed, the rest of the kids had their noses buried in their phones. Our hero’s parents didn’t allow him to have one.
Meanwhile, in Lesser Manchester…