Limiting the use of phones in schools helps students focus on studying

Circular No. 32/2020 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates the behaviors that students are not allowed to do. This Circular stipulates that "Students are not allowed to use mobile phones or other devices while studying in class that are not used for learning and are not permitted by teachers". Currently, many schools have applied measures to limit students' use of phones in school, even banning the use of phones in school, including during recess. There are many different opinions on whether or not to ban students from using phones in school?

Opinions of students, teachers, parents, and administrators about students using phones in school:

Student: “I strongly agree with the idea of ​​limiting cell phone use on school grounds.”

Parents: “Banning students from using phones in school will help them focus more on studying and not be distracted from their studies. However, for high school students and above, banning them from using phones is inconvenient, because phones help them look up software and learn knowledge for their studies.”

Parents: "The consequence of students bringing phones to school is that they will play less, talk less, not interact with each other, just sit and watch their phones. Banning students from using phones in school is very reasonable."

Teacher: “The school’s stance is not to completely ban students from using phones in school. The school divides each area into areas where they can use them and areas where they cannot.”

Nguyen Hue Secondary School, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City has applied regulations restricting students from using cell phones in school for many years now.

There are still many different opinions on whether or not students should be banned from using phones in schools. However, most students, parents, and teachers support limiting the use of phones in schools, especially banning their use during class time for subjects that do not involve phones. In fact, regulations restricting students from using phones in schools or banning the use of phones in the classroom are no longer new to many schools today.

For the past 5 years, Nguyen Hue Secondary School, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City has applied regulations to limit students' use of cell phones in school. During her 4 years studying at Nguyen Hue Secondary School, Da Nang City, Truong Nu Tra My, a 9/3 student, has always strictly followed and strongly supported the regulations to limit the use of cell phones in school. According to Tra My, smartphones are very useful, used to look up information, photocopy documents for studying and contact family and friends, but in class, they should not be used to focus on listening to teachers' lectures. If you need to look up information, you can do it after class or at home. If the teachers can answer questions, you should ask them.

According to Truong Nu Tra My, if they want to contact their families, teachers are willing to lend them their phones: “I also use my phone, but when I enter school, I turn it off or turn off the ringer, and do not use it to avoid affecting the learning of my classmates. I strongly agree with the view that the use of phones on school grounds should be limited. If phones are allowed in class, students will not focus on studying but will use them to play games or use them for bad things, affecting their health and learning.”

Many parents, students, and teachers support the policy of restricting students' use of cell phones in schools. Illustrative photo

Currently, many schools still allow students to bring their phones to school, but when entering the classroom, students must turn off their phones or switch to silent mode and are not allowed to use them. Students are only allowed to use their phones during class for subjects approved by teachers to look up information. The area where students can use their phones is from the school flagpole to the outside gate to contact their parents and relatives to pick them up. This has also been a mandatory regulation on the use of phones for students at Nguyen Hue Secondary School, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City for the past 5 years. Mr. Vo Thanh Phuoc, Principal of Nguyen Hue Secondary School, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City, said that the purpose of limiting the use of phones in schools is to help students concentrate, focus on studying, listen to teachers' lectures, and not affect the class.

According to Mr. Vo Thanh Phuoc, using phones is an essential need, so the school does not absolutely prohibit it but only limits and regulates the areas where students are allowed to use it: “In the classroom, students are not allowed to use it, only using it at the request of the teacher to access information sites is good. But on the contrary, if students do not do it properly, some students abuse it when using it for other purposes, such as playing games, taking offensive images or unhealthy content, the school does not allow it. The school has regulations on areas where phone use is restricted to ensure the quality of teaching and learning.”

Concerns about children being addicted to games and neglecting their studies. Illustration photo

In fact, for a long time, there has been a situation where students bring their phones into the classroom and secretly use them for personal purposes during class time such as watching movies, playing games, taking photos, recording clips and posting them online... There are many different opinions on whether or not students should be banned from using phones in schools, but most parents, students and teachers support limiting their use. Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc, a parent of a student, believes that it is necessary to be flexible in the regulations on phone use for students in schools: "I also do not agree with letting my children of primary school age or in grades 6 and 7 use smartphones. Because that does not ensure their health, when they do not know how to control their use of mobile phones as well as how to control unhealthy content on social networks."

Circular No. 32/2020 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates the behaviors that students are not allowed to do, including the regulation: "Students are not allowed to use mobile phones or other devices while studying in class that are not used for learning and are not permitted by teachers."

This regulation only prohibits the use of phones in the classroom, not prohibiting students from bringing phones into the classroom. Currently, many schools in different localities have different ways of applying it, leading to a lack of consistency and uniformity. Ms. Le Thi Huong, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Tri province, said that currently, the application of information technology and smartphones in the school environment is also very convenient. In many subjects, students need phones to look up information and photocopy documents. Therefore, it is not recommended to absolutely ban it, but it is necessary to guide its use in a reasonable and flexible manner, especially the management role of teachers in each subject.

It is necessary to strengthen physical education and collective extracurricular activities to help students limit their use of mobile phones.

Ms. Le Thi Huong added that depending on the actual situation, each school has a way to manage the use of phones for students in school appropriately: “For a long time, some private schools have also restricted students from using phones, while public schools have not had any regulations prohibiting their use. Because this is a content that has its good points but also its limitations. During the learning process, when students need information, they can look it up on their phones to help them study better. If students are self-disciplined and in control, it will be very good, but I am afraid that students will be addicted to playing, using their phones to play games during class, for example. If teachers thoroughly understand this right from the beginning of class and ask students to turn off their phones, it will be very good. If teachers manage well, the issue of phone use will also be very good.”

Source: https://vov.vn/xa-hoi/han-che-su-dung-dien-thoai-trong-truong-hoc-giup-hoc-sinh-chu-tam-hoc-tap-post1124211.vov