Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 20: While teachers and parents unanimously agree that nothing should come in the way of a proper education for children, one thing teachers do not see eye-to-eye with parents on is the issue of allowing mobile phones in schools.
The CBSE had a few years back issued a circular to all its schools asking them to restrict use of mobile phones on school campuses, citing the many distractions and scope for misuse that come with the mobile phones.
However, a recent survey by software giant Adobe says parents are not averse to letting their children carry mobile phones to school. For them, the knowledge that their child can contact them whenever there is a problem allows them peace of mind. But teachers argue the ills of carrying mobile phones to schools far outweigh the positives.
“Use of mobile phones among children leads to distraction, lack of concentration, anxiety, fear and even misuse. Parents should know that their children are safe at school, and should stop trying to constantly monitor their child 24*7,” says Sakti Prasanna Mohanty, a teacher at an upscale private school in the city.
“There is a recent school of thought that believes in giving children exposure to modern technology from a young age in order to keep them updated. While there is nothing wrong with that, parents should understand there is a fine line between giving children the right amount of exposure and giving them too much, too early. Mobile phones can very easily lead to misuse among adolescent children,” says Srabanti Roy, a teacher at a well-known playschool in the city.
“Parents’ concerns are understandable, and if they so badly wish, only the most basic phones should be given to the children, without fancy features such as internet, camera and what not,” says Bhuvi Jain, an expert on child counseling. Jain says it is important children do not get caught up in a rat race of who has the fancier phone among their group.
“Once children fall into that trap of your-phone-versus-mine, from then on begins a spiral of consumerism that draws them away from the little joys of life. The mobile phone becomes their ‘best friend’, restricting their abilities to form healthy bonds with their friends and having an active outdoor life, something that we’re witnessing all too often,” Jain adds.
“Some believe mobile phones, with all their features, offer an excellent platform to students for learning on the internet. While this is true to some extent, it is also true that schools are evolving and adapting to modern formats of teaching such as smart classrooms and e-learning. These concepts are revolutionizing the way children are taught at schools. Mobile phones have little to no advantage over these wonderful teaching tools, and so should be banned from schools,” says Kalpana Das, headmistress of Unit-VI Girls’ High School.
Misuse of the freedom that comes with mobile phones is one issue that both teachers and parents worry about. “There is no way of knowing what the child is surfing on the internet. There is frankly too much scope for distraction, which is why I would not want my child to carry a mobile phone to school,” says Lipsa Patnaik, a homemaker in
the city.
Some parents say it is a difficult choice that they are forced to make of whether or not to send their children to school with mobile phones. “It is simply a compromise we have to live with,” says Sandhyarani Behera, a working woman who has a daughter studying in Class-VI at a city school.
“I know the downsides of giving mobile phones to children from such a young age, but I would rather spend my day peacefully in the knowledge that my child is just a phone call away from me. Today’s world is a very different place from what it used to be in our time, and as a parent, one can never take enough precautions to ensure their child’s safety,” Sandhyarani says.
