Education ministry in the Netherlands says tech is a distraction from learning and will only be allowed if specifically needed
It is not a ban but a guideline. The guideline says that smartphones should not be used in class unless it has an educational or medical reason. Schools themselves can decide whether they want to allow smartphones in the class or not. That said, apparently there is a huge problem with children using Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok or any other social media, and research has shown that allowing smartphones in class is a disturbance and leads to lower student performance.
My 16 yo high schooler thinks removing phones from the classroom is a great idea (southern US). According to him ithe number of students who are on their phones instead of paying attention is too high, he’s even fallen into that trap. His middle school tried to have kids turn in their phones before they entered the room, several just snuck them in and a few were stolen. The school eventually gave up. In HS his teachers are so overwhelmed and under staffed they don’t even try to enforce rules like this.
As a teacher I’m no of this at all. Having the option to let the students do research on their own devices is one of the things that really helps and also is close to their day to day life. Also them having tablets for taking notes makes giving out worksheets so much easier. No longer throwing around hundreds of pages of paper per day.
It also gives us as teachers the opportunity to teach students how to perform online research responsibly, how to check for sources, and to question their credibility. Left to their own devices, it’s really easy to get swept up in rage-bait propaganda. It’s extra work for us, but important for society.
Similar policy in most, if not all, UK schools. Phone out in class? You’ll get it back at the end of the day in my kids’ school
Do they realy think this will stop procrastination?
No, but that’s not the point. Mobile phones and apps are specifically engineered to draw your attention as much as possible. Children are especially vulnerable to distractions, and so to me it makes sense to serverely limit their usage in the classroom.
Not everything has to be as black and white as “stop”. A step in the right direction is a good one.
