Ongoing teacher shortages may have dominated the headlines in recent months, but this week the Minister for Education Norma Foley turned the conversation to smartphones, specifically her plan to ban them in secondary schools. The move, she said, was coming in response to research linking the use of devices to student distraction and cyberbullying.
The Minister’s plan has generated mixed reactions among parents and teachers, with some questioning its relevance, timing and even its ability to distract from other educational issues, while others have broadly welcomed the idea.
Donnchadh O’Mahony, a guidance counsellor at Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, says a smartphone ban would not top his priority list.
“There’s a massive teacher shortage that needs to be addressed as soon as possible – that doesn’t seem to get much attention from the Minister,” O’Mahony says, adding that the announcement is likely to have generated eyerolls from most teachers and principals.
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“There’s no big revelation here. Schools have been doing it for years,” he says. “Every school has a policy where there’s no phones. This isn’t groundbreaking – it’s a very hard thing to police, but I think schools do a very good job.”
O’Mahony’s school uses iPads, which he says are easier to monitor than phones because of their size. He explains that one concern is that students could record each other or a teacher, and it’s easier to spot this happening with an iPad than with a phone.
Sonya Heslin, teacher at Bandon Grammar School in Co Cork, sees Ms Foley’s initiative as “a badly timed announcement” that “needs so, so much discussion”.
“It’s a very divisive subject and needs lots of nuanced conversations,” Heslin says, adding that “an outright ban might not be feasible”.
On the other side of the picture is parent-of-two Claire Hunt, who views Ms Foley’s initiative much more positively. “I think it’s really depressing looking at all of our children staring into their phones, and I guess as parents we allowed it to happen. In a roundabout way, I think schools taking a lead on it, somewhat, gives parents a bit of control,” Hunt says.
They’re not concentrating, so what’s the point of being in the school? Teachers are not babysitters
She believes smartphones lead to bullying. “Obviously in schools, they’re not using them a lot, but I think most of them are sneaking on them at lunchtime. I think as a society we all need to acknowledge the fact that phone usage has got out of control,” Hunt says. However, she emphasises that while she is not a “nanny state” advocate, she would support “limits”.
Hunt uses the example of her 14-year-old daughter, who was recently at Irish college and was only allowed to have her phone for one hour in the evening. “Her point to me was she didn’t miss it, loved not having it, had no fear of missing out. And since she’s come back from Irish college she isn’t on her phone a lot,” Hunt says. She acknowledges, however, that any ban would need to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate children with particular needs.
Alan La Casse has five children. He feels the proposed ban is “ridiculous”, adding that “there are many much bigger issues affecting our schools.”
La Casse also rejects the idea that a ban could help to combat cyberbullying, describing this as “ludicrous”.
“Cyberbullying happens outside school hours, when they will have their phones back,” he says.
Mother of four Mary O’Grady can see the benefits of implementing a ban. While in theory her son’s school doesn’t permit phone usage, he has told her his classmates are “constantly looking at their phones”.
She says that within the students’ WhatsApp groups are recordings of “a teacher doing something”. O’Grady feels it is wrong. “They’re not concentrating, so what’s the point of being in the school? Teachers are not babysitters. They’re actually meant to be learning something,” she says.
[ ‘It was carnage’: Why schools are powering off students’ smartphonesOpens in new window ]
Mother of two Jackie Aungier feels that a smartphone ban effectively already exists in secondary schools, although she concedes degrees of enforcement may vary.
“Most schools have a ban written into the code of conduct already,” Aungier says. “Some ask students to use their phones for research etc. When collecting mine the office have asked me to text my student. Some schools confiscate phones for three days,” she adds.
Aungier believes “there will be a huge hoo-ha for the first few weeks then things will go back to normal”. She feels “it’s the Department [of Education] covering their backsides yet again and picking an easy option to look like they are doing something, instead of dealing with real issues.”
Dr Afif El Khuffash is a paediatrician and a father of two children. He does not agree with plans for a secondary school smartphone ban and he doesn’t think a ban will necessarily lead to a reduction in bullying. “Bullying is more about behaviour, not just the tools used,” Dr El Khuffash says.
“Taking away phones won’t stop it from happening in other ways. Phones can also be helpful for learning and staying safe. Instead of banning them, schools could teach students how to use phones responsibly and focus on creating a positive environment to reduce bullying.”
These phones are going nowhere. Why would we give them a weapon and not teach them how to use it?
Katie Kennedy has three children. She believes the Minister is introducing the ban “for attention”.
Her son is starting secondary school and, like his sisters before him, will be expected to put away his phone during the school day. “If the phone is taken out, it’s taken off them,” Kennedy says.
“Kids aren’t stupid. I think it’s disrespectful to them too. If they take it out it gets taken off them. The last thing any kid or teenager wants is their lifeline gone.”
She also believes the plan is “ridiculous”, because some of the students in secondary school are adults. She’s not a fan of phone bans in general. “I think it’s more about teaching your child how to have a phone than taking [it].”
“These phones are going nowhere. Why would we give them a weapon and not teach them how to use it?”
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