There is a lot being said about students taking their mobile phones to school and whether or not they should be allowed to use them on the premises. Do we embrace technology as we are constantly reminded that ‘it is the future’? Do we ban mobile phones completely from school sites? Or do we find a happy medium? There may not be a right or wrong answer and mobile phone misuse is always going to occur. So, what do we do? The trick is to use common sense.
In years gone by at King Edwards Witley, a senior school in Surrey, a lot of the pastoral issues could be traced back to some form of misused mobile phones. As a result, staff, teachers and even the students agreed that new policies should be put in place to clamp down on the possible phone usage during the school day. In fact, the teachers went even further by limiting the amount of time boarders could use their phones after school to 50 minutes per day.
At first, students struggled to know how to use their spare time but there was a complete eradication of pastoral issues stemming from poor and naïve use of social media, proving it to be a valuable solution that other schools can learn from.
Generally speaking, schools try to educate their students, staff and even the parents on the acceptable use of mobile phones, covering topics like cyber-bullying and staying safe online. This is a crucial element of their duty of care to the children. However, children have had technology thrust upon them from a very young age and, while they are very talented at using these devices, they don’t always have the maturity to comprehend the responsibilities and dangers involved.
So, while there’s no right or wrong answer as to whether or not students should be allowed to take their phones to school, it’s certainly worth considering. Children are often forced to act beyond their age and with so many dangers associated with the online world, parents and teachers should continue focus on and closely monitor the use of mobile phones both at home and within school environments.