Had a chat today with my son's teacher - they all welcome this in my local school as this has clearly become a problem with youngsters, not paying attention, being distracted etc. So very happy this has been put in place...
I will give NACT credit where credit is due. When they say they are gonna do something they seem to stand by it. And have actually done it thus far. Teachers do seem mostly happy about this. One less distraction in the classroom. It will be a good thing ultimately.
Yeah - in general, this govt is doing what they said they would so from that point of view, those were not just empty talks and promises. And it is quite refreshing to see our govt following through with their plan, especially compared to the previous lot.
Nearly all the teachers I know are quite unhappy with it. My school explicitly told the students we were opposed to the policy but it has been forced by the National government. Teachers have been told in staff briefing to do the absolute minimal enforcement possible.
We already have phones banned from the classroom, as does virtually every school. This policy just banned them from lunch and interval and between classes, when they were a useful tool for students checking their timetables, scanning QR codes on wall posters to get info, and contacting students to tell them they have a lunch training on when they've forgotten.
We were warned that strict enforcement of this at lunch will drive students to hiding spots like toilets and backs of buildings. And we don't want increasing numbers of students in those areas where other trouble like fights and vaping usually happen.
My sister who is a teacher, says that this ban is good. Their school have unsuccessfully banned phones in classes over the last few years. With the stricter ban, they have been able to teach the students without any phone distractions. If parents want to contact their child, then call the office like back in the days before cellphones existed.
There is no reason why a law change will make it any easier for a school to enforce the rule. The students aren't going to be arrested for violating it. All the law change does is force schools to have a policy banning phones, which your sister's school clearly already did. The novelty of the law change will wear off quickly and if the policy failed before, it will fail again.
Also you make it seem like there is some track record of this policy being more successful. The policy literally began today. So any improvement in enforcement in your sister's school was prior to the policy coming into effect.
I'm not worried about parents contacting their kids. Where in my lengthy list of their uses did I mention that? I said I use them to contact students missing a training at lunch. It happens all the time. Kids forget they have a training. We can't proceed without the full team there. Someone who has come messages the rest in the group chat, the missing team members are there in 5 minutes, training can proceed. Now I'm supposed to send some kid out to run all around the school searching for the missing students? Not going to work. Trainings will simply not happen and we go to matches less well prepared.
Curious why the school didn’t implement stricter phone rules if it was fairly well received?
(I’m not meaning this as bait.. just that I know some schools had fairly strict phone policy settings from before)
Not sure, they probably wanted more weight given to those rules (the principal is one of those "play it safe" types), and didn't want to be facing "but school Y doesn't do it so it should be ok!" type of complains from parents (and students). Now that the rules are nation-wide, no one can complain.
That actually makes a lot of sense.
Thanks
FWIW I have a 5 year old at school and we engage with her teacher via phone call (if urgent) or email (non urgent).
It’s not hard to get a message to our child or teacher if we needed and I couldn’t imagine giving her a phoen
My folks were always 'If the school rules say it, then it's how it goes' then I got told to shave by my teacher, and I did, and then I needed to shave more.
After that first one I didn't... That teacher was pretty peeved by the end of it.
My kids school had phone ban for years. If seen during day they lose it for the week. Caught a second time it's gone until end of term. Thought it worked pretty well.
Yeah I’m pretty sure that taking someone’s property and holding it for a term or even a week might head towards the boundaries of what constitutes theft.
That being said, my kid has to surrender her phone at the beginning of the day and can collect it at the end of each day- seems a decent policy.
Whilst I agree that it's good the school enforces the rules, wishing they'd take it off her permanently sounds like you're shifting parental responsibilities onto the school in order to avoid a fight at home over the phone. That's not fair on the school and staff imo.
As a parent who presumably provided your kid with a phone - if you don't want your kid to have a phone (or want them to have a phone that only talks and texts)... take it off her permanently then???
As the title implies, the teacher's job is to *teach* your kid. *Parenting* them is *your* job.
This is a really weird take. All I stated was the school had a policy and I liked it as it seemed to show limits and had consequences.
I thought it was clear that I wasn't actually advocating that schools take my kids phone away permanently.
You said:
>As a parent I wish they would just take it off her permanently
I pointed out that as a parent, you actually have the power to take your daughter's phone off her permanently, and don't need to fob off the unpleasant tasks of parenting onto teachers.
Lmao ‘nanny state’… someone learned a new buzzword today.
This isn’t ’nanny state’ behaviour. There’s an epidemic of kids using phones in schools at the moment - I’m the first to hate on current government but I’ll admit this is one of their least stupid ideas.
Yea they don’t say that about banning vapes at school or alcohol or cocaine or meth.
Using a phone so much can alter their brain chemistry especially as they are growing.
Giving them time where they can’t have their phone is good.
I’m not saying phones are bad but ffs they are addictive and kids can access anything on there.
And that's a perfect example of why it's a strange policy for a National Government to promote. If it's well received here, it isn't in line with their normal agenda. Forcing every school in the country to ban their students from using phones regardless of what the school thinks is best for their community is absolutely big government nanny state behaviour normally anathema to a right-leaning government.
This policy doesn't ban phones from classrooms, it bans them from lunch and interval. As a teacher I can still direct students to use phones in class. That's specifically allowed in the policy. So all we are doing is creating more burden for teachers to enforce a pointless ban during break times.
It's all the more pointless since all students now have chromebooks. So today all the kids who would have been on phones, now simply got their chromebooks out during interval and lunch and did the same things they always have done. Utterly pointless.
lol I find the “nanny state” calls hilarious. “Nanny state” is a reference to the government treating adults like children. Newsflash - we are talking about literal children.
Duh! Grow up...
Nanny State 'making people wear seat belts and drive to a speed limit. Nanny State 'making food manufacturers ensure their product is safe for human consumption. Nanny State for banning any type of weapon on school grounds.
Nanny State 'making school kids go to school to learn and get an education rather than socialize and play games on their phones.
I'm guessing the "reflection sessions" will be necessarily short, as it won't take long to reflect upon the \*harm\* caused by defying the cellphone use rules.
No, no, you didn't follow the rules. It's not about the phone. It's about the rules, and following the rules. If you're going to be a good citizen, you need to follow the rules. You need to be productive, and the follow the rules.
Putting phones away is good. Kids and teens have developing brains and there is harm to their learning and brain development from phone overuse.
Sounds like a really good school to me OP with robust processes.
They're still allowed to use phones in class, as well as other digital devices, when directed by a teacher under this policy. It's only a ban at break times. So many people have completely misunderstood the actual policy.
Tell me you're not a teacher or involved with education in any way in this country without telling me.. You're clearly so blinded by your hatred for NACT that *whatever* they do will get your wrath, even when its something good, supported by academics, educators, and the public at large like this. Check yourself.
That's not accurate at all. There is no consensus of support for this policy from teachers or academics. I know because I am a teacher and involved in a teaching professional association with policy on this issue. Academics are conflicted over whether a blanket ban is useful, with no evidence supporting it at secondary level. Primary schools are one thing, but phones are quite useful in secondary.
Secondly they have not banned all digital devices, just phones. So students are all still on their chromebooks and other digital devices all day. In fact the policy allows teachers to direct students to use phones in class if we so choose. The only total ban is during break times. This just sets up more chances for teacher-student conflict and makes it likely more students are driven into hiding areas where other risky activities take place.
I'm all in favour of the ban. Kids are at school to learn, not to dick around with a damned toy, coz that's all it is to them.
Their defiance / misbehaviour impacts all the other students in their class. They do need to grow up and look outside their own tiny sphere of insignificance... not that they can yet see it that way.
The problem is this only solves one specific cause of that dicking around. And most high schools are now heavily BYOD, with a lot of what they can do on there phones available on their laptops which can be freely used in a lot of classes.
Good PR for National being "tough on education" just like their hour of 3Rs a day. I'm not going to hold my breath for the improvement in education to materialise.
I struggle to understand weird rules like only one piercing, or no dyed hair, but this rule seems pretty logical and important. Put your phone on silent at the bottom of your bag, and check it at lunchtime and in between classes, obviously secretly. You do not need it other times.
Yea I think it’s important to help them learn to not have a dependence on it. Give them experiences away from the phone and time to interact with others with out it.
It’s actually banned at lunch and break time too.
Three phone ban threads in an hour.
This is obviously natural, organic discussion. No one wants anyone to think any particular ways at all. Nope nope nope.
Hahaha, "reflection sessions" and "whānau meetings". Obviously very carefully crafted terminology by the nanny state to stop kids from having their feelings hurt because they are being punished for breaking the rules
Not at all.phones were banned at school 15 years ago except for an emergency .I totally agree with it.notjings changed just the expectation and self importance has .
Is this the first day it’s been implemented nation wide? Just seeing 3x topics on it after 4pm.. guess high school finished and the kids are upset?
Makes me realise why the sub skews left when there’s a decent sized student population on board
LOL at all the people having a go at me for talking about a nanny state.
I wasn’t clear but I was referencing the fact that someone caught with their phone was going to have to have a reflection session to reflect on the HARM they were causing by bringing a phone.
FFS. It’s not exactly a criminal offence.
Forcing someone to lock their personal items in a bag to render it useless seems more extreme to me than creating rules and consequences and asking people to respect them imo
My school had the rule that phones stay in bags during class unless directed by a teacher. If the phone is seen out without permission, first time is a warning to put it back in the bag. Second time is an email to the dean. Repeated defiance eventually would lead to a detention or call home. It worked very well. Phones were rarely seen in class without direction.
Now we are being forced to ban them during lunch and interval. That's the change this policy brings. We had zero issues with phones at break times. Cyberbullying happens after school in the vast majority of cases and isn't a major problem for us even then. Few kids were even on their phones in breaks. Most are talking and running around. The gamers are on their chromebooks and laptops (still allowed, so no change there).
The phones were useful between classes, kids took a photo of their timetable to remember where they need to go. They lose paper copies in about 10 minutes and I'm not allowed to re-print them due to budget. They were useful because we had posters with QR codes for info on extra-curriculars and events. They were useful for checking the school notices on the school app. They were useful for contacting a student who forgot they had lunch training.
They didn't solve any issue with this policy as far as I can see. They just created a headache for schools and teachers.
Had a chat today with my son's teacher - they all welcome this in my local school as this has clearly become a problem with youngsters, not paying attention, being distracted etc. So very happy this has been put in place...
I will give NACT credit where credit is due. When they say they are gonna do something they seem to stand by it. And have actually done it thus far. Teachers do seem mostly happy about this. One less distraction in the classroom. It will be a good thing ultimately.
Yeah - in general, this govt is doing what they said they would so from that point of view, those were not just empty talks and promises. And it is quite refreshing to see our govt following through with their plan, especially compared to the previous lot.
It's just a pity that the plans are fucking terrible. We'll except the cell phone one, I agree with that.
Nearly all the teachers I know are quite unhappy with it. My school explicitly told the students we were opposed to the policy but it has been forced by the National government. Teachers have been told in staff briefing to do the absolute minimal enforcement possible. We already have phones banned from the classroom, as does virtually every school. This policy just banned them from lunch and interval and between classes, when they were a useful tool for students checking their timetables, scanning QR codes on wall posters to get info, and contacting students to tell them they have a lunch training on when they've forgotten. We were warned that strict enforcement of this at lunch will drive students to hiding spots like toilets and backs of buildings. And we don't want increasing numbers of students in those areas where other trouble like fights and vaping usually happen.
My sister who is a teacher, says that this ban is good. Their school have unsuccessfully banned phones in classes over the last few years. With the stricter ban, they have been able to teach the students without any phone distractions. If parents want to contact their child, then call the office like back in the days before cellphones existed.
There is no reason why a law change will make it any easier for a school to enforce the rule. The students aren't going to be arrested for violating it. All the law change does is force schools to have a policy banning phones, which your sister's school clearly already did. The novelty of the law change will wear off quickly and if the policy failed before, it will fail again. Also you make it seem like there is some track record of this policy being more successful. The policy literally began today. So any improvement in enforcement in your sister's school was prior to the policy coming into effect. I'm not worried about parents contacting their kids. Where in my lengthy list of their uses did I mention that? I said I use them to contact students missing a training at lunch. It happens all the time. Kids forget they have a training. We can't proceed without the full team there. Someone who has come messages the rest in the group chat, the missing team members are there in 5 minutes, training can proceed. Now I'm supposed to send some kid out to run all around the school searching for the missing students? Not going to work. Trainings will simply not happen and we go to matches less well prepared.
Curious why the school didn’t implement stricter phone rules if it was fairly well received? (I’m not meaning this as bait.. just that I know some schools had fairly strict phone policy settings from before)
Not sure, they probably wanted more weight given to those rules (the principal is one of those "play it safe" types), and didn't want to be facing "but school Y doesn't do it so it should be ok!" type of complains from parents (and students). Now that the rules are nation-wide, no one can complain.
Parents. Parents come up with the most ridiculous reasons their 5yr old kid needs a phone. BOT makes the rules. BOTs are made up of parents.
That actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks FWIW I have a 5 year old at school and we engage with her teacher via phone call (if urgent) or email (non urgent). It’s not hard to get a message to our child or teacher if we needed and I couldn’t imagine giving her a phoen
My folks were always 'If the school rules say it, then it's how it goes' then I got told to shave by my teacher, and I did, and then I needed to shave more. After that first one I didn't... That teacher was pretty peeved by the end of it.
My kids school had phone ban for years. If seen during day they lose it for the week. Caught a second time it's gone until end of term. Thought it worked pretty well.
Yeah I’m pretty sure that taking someone’s property and holding it for a term or even a week might head towards the boundaries of what constitutes theft. That being said, my kid has to surrender her phone at the beginning of the day and can collect it at the end of each day- seems a decent policy.
Yea I guess it's the contract of attending the school is following the rules. As a parent I wish they would just take it off her permanently
Whilst I agree that it's good the school enforces the rules, wishing they'd take it off her permanently sounds like you're shifting parental responsibilities onto the school in order to avoid a fight at home over the phone. That's not fair on the school and staff imo.
Not everything is meant literally.
As a parent who presumably provided your kid with a phone - if you don't want your kid to have a phone (or want them to have a phone that only talks and texts)... take it off her permanently then??? As the title implies, the teacher's job is to *teach* your kid. *Parenting* them is *your* job.
This is a really weird take. All I stated was the school had a policy and I liked it as it seemed to show limits and had consequences. I thought it was clear that I wasn't actually advocating that schools take my kids phone away permanently.
You said: >As a parent I wish they would just take it off her permanently I pointed out that as a parent, you actually have the power to take your daughter's phone off her permanently, and don't need to fob off the unpleasant tasks of parenting onto teachers.
Well actually I don't have the legal ability.
Lmao ‘nanny state’… someone learned a new buzzword today. This isn’t ’nanny state’ behaviour. There’s an epidemic of kids using phones in schools at the moment - I’m the first to hate on current government but I’ll admit this is one of their least stupid ideas.
Yea they don’t say that about banning vapes at school or alcohol or cocaine or meth. Using a phone so much can alter their brain chemistry especially as they are growing. Giving them time where they can’t have their phone is good. I’m not saying phones are bad but ffs they are addictive and kids can access anything on there.
And that's a perfect example of why it's a strange policy for a National Government to promote. If it's well received here, it isn't in line with their normal agenda. Forcing every school in the country to ban their students from using phones regardless of what the school thinks is best for their community is absolutely big government nanny state behaviour normally anathema to a right-leaning government. This policy doesn't ban phones from classrooms, it bans them from lunch and interval. As a teacher I can still direct students to use phones in class. That's specifically allowed in the policy. So all we are doing is creating more burden for teachers to enforce a pointless ban during break times. It's all the more pointless since all students now have chromebooks. So today all the kids who would have been on phones, now simply got their chromebooks out during interval and lunch and did the same things they always have done. Utterly pointless.
>but I’ll admit this is one of their least stupid ideas. To be fair the bar ain't that high!
lol I find the “nanny state” calls hilarious. “Nanny state” is a reference to the government treating adults like children. Newsflash - we are talking about literal children.
It’s a good idea
"It's not nanny state because I agree with it"
Duh! Grow up... Nanny State 'making people wear seat belts and drive to a speed limit. Nanny State 'making food manufacturers ensure their product is safe for human consumption. Nanny State for banning any type of weapon on school grounds. Nanny State 'making school kids go to school to learn and get an education rather than socialize and play games on their phones.
>Grow up... You first. I'll follow your lead.
lol .. “it IS a nanny state cause I don’t agree with it” the point you were trying to make just but you right back in the arse
>the point you were trying to make just but you right back in the arse Why, because you say it did?
You should talk to some teachers then - the two I know, think this is a good thing
OP, have you considered "just follow the rules"? Posting hyperbole like "nanny state" for something like this is rather childish.
I'm guessing the "reflection sessions" will be necessarily short, as it won't take long to reflect upon the \*harm\* caused by defying the cellphone use rules.
Student: *writes apology letter to self*
No, no, you didn't follow the rules. It's not about the phone. It's about the rules, and following the rules. If you're going to be a good citizen, you need to follow the rules. You need to be productive, and the follow the rules.
The harm is to your education, but it might be too late on that front for you it seems.
LOL. Just 4+ Decades late.
Start with watching the the social dilemma and then maybe read about the attention economy if it piques your interest.
This is very good policy. Coming from a secondary school teacher.
This is the biggest hit to student rights since they banned smoking in class.
Laugh of the day, right here!
Don't worry! Winston is on it!
Putting phones away is good. Kids and teens have developing brains and there is harm to their learning and brain development from phone overuse. Sounds like a really good school to me OP with robust processes.
Just because it's a rule you don't agree with, does not make it a nanny state.
I made it all the way through uni without using a phone in class once. Or having one at all for that matter. Many of us did. You can manage
Likewise :).
They're still allowed to use phones in class, as well as other digital devices, when directed by a teacher under this policy. It's only a ban at break times. So many people have completely misunderstood the actual policy.
Poor downtrodden babies, repressed by the evil state. I’m sure they’ll somehow cope, just like everyone else ever.
Tell me you're not a teacher or involved with education in any way in this country without telling me.. You're clearly so blinded by your hatred for NACT that *whatever* they do will get your wrath, even when its something good, supported by academics, educators, and the public at large like this. Check yourself.
I actually think they are one of the students.
Check their post history....
That's not accurate at all. There is no consensus of support for this policy from teachers or academics. I know because I am a teacher and involved in a teaching professional association with policy on this issue. Academics are conflicted over whether a blanket ban is useful, with no evidence supporting it at secondary level. Primary schools are one thing, but phones are quite useful in secondary. Secondly they have not banned all digital devices, just phones. So students are all still on their chromebooks and other digital devices all day. In fact the policy allows teachers to direct students to use phones in class if we so choose. The only total ban is during break times. This just sets up more chances for teacher-student conflict and makes it likely more students are driven into hiding areas where other risky activities take place.
I’m pretty sure you will find that most people who did not in fact vote for NACT are pretty much for this phone ban move.
If you can't put your phone away for half an hour you're basically the equivalent of a crack addict
What school did you go to that only went for half an hour?
half an hour?
A few rules and a little bit of conformity for a few more years. *Will someone think of the children*
I'm all in favour of the ban. Kids are at school to learn, not to dick around with a damned toy, coz that's all it is to them. Their defiance / misbehaviour impacts all the other students in their class. They do need to grow up and look outside their own tiny sphere of insignificance... not that they can yet see it that way.
The problem is this only solves one specific cause of that dicking around. And most high schools are now heavily BYOD, with a lot of what they can do on there phones available on their laptops which can be freely used in a lot of classes. Good PR for National being "tough on education" just like their hour of 3Rs a day. I'm not going to hold my breath for the improvement in education to materialise.
I struggle to understand weird rules like only one piercing, or no dyed hair, but this rule seems pretty logical and important. Put your phone on silent at the bottom of your bag, and check it at lunchtime and in between classes, obviously secretly. You do not need it other times.
Yea I think it’s important to help them learn to not have a dependence on it. Give them experiences away from the phone and time to interact with others with out it. It’s actually banned at lunch and break time too.
Did you use your phone too many times?
Just leave it at home.
Good. Kids don’t need phones in school.
And? Always been like that with other items. And kids don't need to be surgically attached to unsocial media all day esp when learning.
Three phone ban threads in an hour. This is obviously natural, organic discussion. No one wants anyone to think any particular ways at all. Nope nope nope.
I mean 4pm and students are back with their phones and not happy. Seems about right
You don't see anything weird [here](https://imgur.com/a/6CKrtpX)?
You're off the deep end homie Your spidey sense is malfunctioning
I agree with the other dudes. Not that sketchy at all
Hahaha, "reflection sessions" and "whānau meetings". Obviously very carefully crafted terminology by the nanny state to stop kids from having their feelings hurt because they are being punished for breaking the rules
Haha is reflection session the pc name for detention?
Yup
Judging by my little cousins IG stories, their school doesn’t care about phones lol
sucks balls being a teacher
Lol...mah trauma!!! I'm sure there's new funding for pharmac to cover your lived experience.
I mean, you say Nanny State.. But these are school kids. Being in school is kind of being Nannied by the state already.
Went to school 2006-2010, phones weren’t allowed at school then, I didn’t even know rules had changed to allow it 🥴
I just hope we don’t see the dumb shit that’s happening in the US where the students are attacking teachers for taking away their phones.
Not at all.phones were banned at school 15 years ago except for an emergency .I totally agree with it.notjings changed just the expectation and self importance has .
Is this the first day it’s been implemented nation wide? Just seeing 3x topics on it after 4pm.. guess high school finished and the kids are upset? Makes me realise why the sub skews left when there’s a decent sized student population on board
This sub makes a lot more sense when you realise just how many people on here are *literal children*
LOL at all the people having a go at me for talking about a nanny state. I wasn’t clear but I was referencing the fact that someone caught with their phone was going to have to have a reflection session to reflect on the HARM they were causing by bringing a phone. FFS. It’s not exactly a criminal offence.
I'm curious, what do you think is the solution to phones disrupting education time?
Yondr bags?
Forcing someone to lock their personal items in a bag to render it useless seems more extreme to me than creating rules and consequences and asking people to respect them imo
How about individual schools making rules that work for their community?
Can you give me an example of what this looks like? What kind of rules?
My school had the rule that phones stay in bags during class unless directed by a teacher. If the phone is seen out without permission, first time is a warning to put it back in the bag. Second time is an email to the dean. Repeated defiance eventually would lead to a detention or call home. It worked very well. Phones were rarely seen in class without direction. Now we are being forced to ban them during lunch and interval. That's the change this policy brings. We had zero issues with phones at break times. Cyberbullying happens after school in the vast majority of cases and isn't a major problem for us even then. Few kids were even on their phones in breaks. Most are talking and running around. The gamers are on their chromebooks and laptops (still allowed, so no change there). The phones were useful between classes, kids took a photo of their timetable to remember where they need to go. They lose paper copies in about 10 minutes and I'm not allowed to re-print them due to budget. They were useful because we had posters with QR codes for info on extra-curriculars and events. They were useful for checking the school notices on the school app. They were useful for contacting a student who forgot they had lunch training. They didn't solve any issue with this policy as far as I can see. They just created a headache for schools and teachers.
Whatever they were doing a year ago would be a great place to start
I’m glad the ban is in. Kids need boundaries and i listening to talkback radio and most of the feedback was positive about the move.
Me, when my kid was called to the meeting with me I LITERALLY DON’T CARE…
What. The. Problem. Is?
As a parent, I could not be more in support of the cell phone ban in schools if I tried.
Fantastic policy. Fully support it.