Time to hang up?

Back to school and back to the ban the phone use in schools discussion. Media was recently covered with headlines that the Netherlands is imposing a nationwide ban on phone use in primary and secondary schools. Meanwhile, France is piloting a similar ban across 180 schools for pupils up to the age of 15, seeking to give children a “digital break”. Students must hand in their phones upon arrival at school, and if the pilot proves successful, the ban will be introduced nationwide from January next year. In Slovenia, and elsewhere in the Adriatic region, there are no plans for a nationwide ban, phone use is still up to individual schools or municipalities. 

Case in point: at a parents’ meeting at my daughter’s high school last week, the principal only had one news to share us, “This year, we will require students to put their phones away during a class unless the teacher allows them for academic purposes.” Students caught disobeying the rule would face consequences, although these were not specified. It is the first week of school after all. Punish as we go.

This type of news most of us parents will welcome and support. Enough research is out there showing that mobile phones distract students and reduce their ability to concentrate, which negatively impacts their learning abilities. OECD research into digital impact on maths students finds that, on average, 30% of students are distracted by the personal phone use during class. 

In some schools in Slovenia, just like in France, students are required to hand in their phones upon arrival. This probably works well with younger students. But high school students are much more resourceful. They will hand in their “dummy” phone, for example, and keep their personal phone in the bag. 

While eliminating phones from classrooms makes sense, there is a caveat. Phones, whether we like it or not, are a fact of life. Just in the first quarter this year in Slovenia, we have made 324 million calls and sent 383 million text messages. 

In the USA, schools have embraced phones as educational tools, integrating them into learning through apps and digital platforms. I spoke to a high school teacher here in Ljubljana recently who has a similar approach and doesn’t believe in a nationwide ban of phones in schools. “They (the government) will not be able to stop it”.  As a maths teacher, she encourages the use of phones for academic purposes, such as using the Desmos app. 

The reality is that phones and other digital tools are an integral part of our children’s future. There is a fine line between eliminating phones from schools and teaching students to use phones responsibly. As to the latter, it needs to be incorporated into their education. But we are still exploring the how and the when.