Cunning kids beat ban using old tech
A group of Auckland high school students have found a way around the Government’s cellphone ban with an old piece of kit — walkie-talkies.
One 16-year-old spoke to the Weekend Herald about how he and his friends had been using the walkietalkies to talk to each other during morning tea, lunch, and while walking to classes.
“At these times it is mostly just talking about how the class went or anything else random we have thought of. At break times the conversation is more about where we will meet and whether something different is going on like a lunchtime club or a sport,” he said.
None of his teachers had taken any issue with it, he said, as the Government’s new law does not apply to any devices other than cellphones.
He and his mates have had an enthusiastic reaction from their peers: “I think more people will likely get some too after seeing their usefulness . . . If the phone ban wasn’t in place then we wouldn’t have had to do this.”
Vaughan Couillault, president of the Secondary Principals’ Association, was impressed with the student’s “innovation”.
As principal of Papatoetoe High School, Couillault had yet to see students use walkie-talkies but many had “burner phones”.
As the new legislation specifically mentions cellphones, the walkietalkies would not be confiscated during break times and students were welcome to use them, he said.
Other devices students were using instead of phones, mainly to listen to music, were iPods and speakers. Students were also using laptops during break times to communicate with their peers through email, as social media sites were banned on school WiFi.
Grant Pollard, acting leader of the Ministry of Education’s Operations and Integration Group Te Pae Aronui, said regulations only applied to cellphones, not walkie-talkies.
“Schools can make decisions about the management of other devices like walkie-talkies in consultation with their community.”
The boy behind the walkie-talkies said he thought the cellphone ban had some merits.
Not having phones “gives us more of a reason to plan activities during lunchtime”, but having the walkietalkies enabled him and his mates to connect.
“The way I see it, using walkietalkies provides a solution to the negative effects of the phone ban.
“Because the walkie-talkies are designed purely for communication they can’t be used as a distraction for games or the internet, a problem that the phone ban seems to have been introduced to solve.”
The cellphone ban started on the first day of Term 2, after National campaigned on the policy throughout last year’s election, saying banning cellphones in schools would help lift achievement rates.
“To turn around falling achievement, students need to focus on their schoolwork during their precious classroom time.
“That means doing what we can to eliminate unnecessary disturbances and distractions,” the party said.