Parents back call on phones
As both a teacher and a mum-oftwo, Chrystal Hapuku has seen just how much of a distraction phones can be for teenagers at school.
‘‘I think overall they’re just a barrier to learning. Students get preoccupied with the message . . . an update, a like. That becomes the focus.’’
But with her eldest daughter Olive-Rose now at college, she also understands that a phone is a must when it comes to socialising for teenagers. ‘‘What we’ve seen though is now she’s almost got to be part of social media channels, otherwise she’s missing out on interaction with her friends. It’s almost like you’re cut off socially if you don’t have a phone and that’s the conundrum that a kid is in. Parents don’t want them to be in that situation, you want them to be included.
Olive-Rose was nearly 13 when her parents thought about buying her a phone. Their younger daughter, 9-year-old Stella, doesn’t have one, like her sister she’ll have to wait until she’s 12.
Hapuku says she’s happy with the phone policy at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, which Olive-Rose attends. Her understanding is that while students can bring phones to school, they must be stored in their bags and can’t be used in class.
Nelson mum Kelly Watson has two daughters attending Nayland College. Teachers decided on phone use on a case-by-case basis.
Her oldest daughter, 16-year-old McKenzie, was allowed her phone in tutor time, but 13-year-old Lexi was not.
She supported teachers banning phones in their classrooms.
‘‘My youngest one talks about messaging her friends who are in the same room as her, it creates behaviour which goes against the norm of what we are meant to be, people as a whole are very sociable.’’
But she said parents and teachers also modelled the behaviour.
‘‘When my son started new entrants, I walked into his class through school time, and saw his teacher texting. These kids are witnessing it, and then we are telling them they shouldn’t be using them at school, when we are demonstrating that is a normal behaviour.’’
Her daughters knew if their phones were confiscated from them because they used them when they shouldn’t, then she would support the teacher. ‘‘My kids know that having a phone is a privilege, not a need.’’