in the classroom
It ’ s quite evident that our parents are probably going to have a harder time adjusting than our students will
Distraction action
NSW students wave goodbye to their smartphones
By NCA Newswire and Erin Nixon
High schoolers with smartphone separation anxiety can wave goodbye to playground Snapchats and swimming carnival selfies with a hard-line ban on mobile phones across all public schools starting on the first day of term four .
Some schools have forked out for new storage lockers and lockable pouches but the vast majority of students will instead be asked to switch off their phones and keep them in their school bags all day , the ‘ off and away ’ option .
Others schools , such as the temporary Bungendore High School near the ACT border , will require students to hand in their phones at the front office in the morning and collect them at the end of the day . The ban also applies beyond the borders of the school gates , to include all school-related events such as camps , excursions and sports carnivals .
Schools that choose to let students keep their devices on them could be in for an uphill battle , with some leaders saying ‘ off and away ’ alone has caused problems for their staff in the past .
At Crestwood High School , principal Tania Wright had already instated a ban on phones in the classroom prior to the government mandate but found that without investing in lockable pouches , the rules weren ’ t always respected by students .
“ The reality is that … at times the phone does emerge and it ’ s just a distraction , and then a conversation ensues [ with the teacher ],” she said .
“ It ’ s more class time that ’ s eaten up in order to get the student then to put the phone away .”
A spokesperson from Yondr , the US-based lockable pouch manufacturer now synonymous with the policy , says the number of schools buying its products has doubled since the legislation was announced in April .
Many of its more than 200 NSW customers are public schools . Yondr declined to confirm costs for the pouches and locking system , but it is understood the system costs over $ 20 a head .
The company ’ s educational partnerships manager , former school teacher Ash Jackson , said the pouches have the added benefit of letting students keep hold of their devices without being able to access them .
“ It removes that ongoing classroom debate , it ensures consistency … as to how the policy is implemented , and it also removes that liability for any loss or damage to mobile phones ,” he said .
Asquith Girls ’ High School has taken up the low-budget ‘ off and away ’ option , but deputy principal John Wigan said pouches would have interrupted lessons if phones needed to be used in class .
The all-girls public school has already seen a huge shift in student socialisation since trialling the ban in term three , while parents have been harder to convince than the students , he said .
“ I can ’ t oversell it enough – the handball courts that we had to have painted on specifically for the trial days have become the hottest property in the school ,” Mr Wigan said .
“ Certainly , parents had some of the most vocal concerns about their ability to contact their child whenever they needed to throughout the day .
“ It ’ s quite evident that our parents are probably going to have a harder time adjusting than our students will .”
Asquith students Zahli Hayes , Nidhi Malhotra , Hayley Paterson and Zoe Winchester have been finding the positives in the new policy .
Year 7 student Zahli said her parents bought her a phone as a safety measure , but so far having it off at school has been “ really good ”.
“ I ’ ve been enjoying the trial days because like I ’ ve been able to spend more time with my friends and we ’ re not all addicted to our phones , we ’ re playing handball together ," she said . ■
educationreview . com . au | 25