Editorial: Classroom cellphone ban gives teachers a fighting chance

The new New Zealand Government has moved to ban cellphones in schools.

Editorial

EDITORIAL

When Kiwi students go back to school over the next few weeks, many will experience a big shock: cellphones will be banned in classrooms.

For many teachers, parents and older Kiwis who experienced strict regimes of desks in rows, absolute silence and blackboards, it seems like a long-overdue move.

The Christopher Luxon-led Government included the phone prohibition in their 100-day plan after being elected last year.

While the ban officially comes into force in Term 2, the Government expects most schools to do it themselves from Term 1.

A number of schools, including Diocesan School for Girls, Otago Boys’ High School, Ashburton College and Rotorua Intermediate, already have cellphone bans in place during school hours.

Luxon has said it’s a “logical, common-sense” and practical way to address New Zealand’s ailing education system.

Education Minister Erica Stanford expects it will reduce distractions and improve grades.

“New Zealand schools and overseas jurisdictions that have already imposed restrictions on cellphones in the classroom have reported better concentration and engagement in class and an improvement in student achievement and wellbeing,” Stanford has said.

A recent Unesco report found widespread phone use in classrooms increased disruption levels and had negative impacts on students’ performance.

App notifications took students away from learning, affecting their focus, recall ability and comprehension.

Some Australian, British and Spanish schools have already made the move, and studies show a positive reaction.

But not everyone agrees it will make much of a difference for Kiwi kids, who are among the most regular users of digital technology in the world.

In fact, the Ministry of Education here has told the Government there is only “marginal” evidence banning phones in school will raise student achievement.

A ministry regulatory impact statement said the timeframe given for it to formulate and deliver its advice was very short and came with several constraints.

“The evidence we are relying upon to inform our advice regarding the current state of cellphone usage in schools is largely anecdotal and does not capture the experience of the whole sector,” it said.

Other international research has rejected the notion of phone bans as having much of an impact on the performance of a 21st-century student.

And while teachers can take away students’ phones at the classroom door, pupils will no doubt try and circumvent the ban with secret measures and loopholes like smartwatches and other devices.

But with New Zealand school students’ performance falling in maths and science, coupled with rising behavioural problems in the classroom, surely removing the distraction of phones, and the addictive qualities of social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, will help our kids make the most of their education and give our teachers a fighting chance at making a difference?