Dear Editor, – As an educator, I believe implementing a strict mobile phone policy at home, ideally after 8pm or 9pm, would greatly benefit students’ well being. Parents could play a valuable role in enforcing this policy by securing their child’s phone in a specially designed pouch until the following morning.
Often, I have noted through in-class surveys that the majority of teenagers tend to go to bed exceedingly late. Many of them do not retire for the night until the wee hours, well after their parents have done so, resulting in a lack of concentration or even challenging behaviour the next day. Sufficient sleep is essential for consolidating memories of the day’s learning.
In our school, a successful ban on mobile phones has been in operation for three years. If any phone is spotted, it is immediately confiscated and only returned to a parent by a member of the senior management team. However, the real challenge lies in exerting control in the home settings, where these devices were originally purchased. It requires parents to make some tough decisions, but it is an essential step they need to take, much like schools have. – Yours sincerely,
NIAMH BYRNE,
Fairview,
Dublin 3.
Dear Editor, – In the school my granddaughter attends in England, there is a strict prohibition on mobile phones.
Yet, the pupils always find innovative methods to circumvent this rule. They often claim to have left their phones at home, hide them in their bags or even bring decoy phones which they readily surrender for safekeeping.
Evidently, if a student wishes to retain their phone, they have multiple strategies at their disposal to bypass a ban of this nature. – Yours sincerely,
JO BURDEN,
Dublin 4.