AS students went back to the classrooms last week following the summer holidays, they faced a new reality.
That seems like a sentence all too familiar for students who have already endured two years of disrupted learning, becoming just as well versed in Microsoft Teams and Zoom as they are in Algebra and the function of mitochondria.
Ahead of the 2022 state election, the Labor Party pledged to implement a ban on mobile phone use in schools if it triumphed at the polls.
Following a landslide victory in March, Labor formed government and that promise is now being fulfilled.
About 20 high schools introduced the ban from the start of term 1. By the end of term 2 all of South Australia’s 160 high schools will have been required to transition to a zero-phone use policy.
Phone bans aren’t necessarily new though, with some schools already limiting their use years before this new model came into play.
However the State Government have gone an extra step. Students are expected to place their phones in a lockable pouch which they can then collect at the end of the day.
It’s part of a line of thinking that by limiting phone use, students’ focus will improve and instances of bullying will decline.
Sounds great right?
In theory yes; in practice, maybe not.
Students have already begun finding ways to get around the ban, using things like magnets to break the lock.
It’s not hard to see the line of thinking from the State Government. Social media and smart phones can have a negative impact on everyone, regardless of age.
While the effort to curb cyber bullying is admirable, it only hits part of the problem.
It’s all well and good to attempt to limit that during school hours, but what about once the bell rings?
It has been said that the push came off the back of high profile incidents at high schools which saw fights filmed and uploaded to TikTok and other social media platforms.
Yes, if the ban was in place it would have stopped the instances from being filmed.
But if a tree falls in the woods when no one is around, does it still make a sound?
