So Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, thinks that mobile phones should be classified as "potentially offensive weapons" (BBC Tech News, 26 June 2007). No surprise there: although one can only sympathise with the awful situation that colleagues find themselves in when being victimised through the use of mobile phones. But is banning really the solution, and can it practically work? Mobile phones are getting slimmer and easier to hide by the day and children are perfectly capable of texting "blind" (i.e. with their phones out of sight and in a bag). That we have a problem with some children is undeniable: the media jumps on to every instance of "happy slapping" posted on Youtube, but exactly how big is the problem in relation to overall phone ownership? I'm not sure that I've read any statistics on this; is it another case of media hysteria?
I'm minded to think of those Luddites who saw the Industrial Revolution as a threat to their economic well-being and way of life and can't help but think that there are still many teachers in the profession who are harking back to a simpler age without IT. Mobile phones and mobile computer technology are rapidly converging to the point where it will soon be impossible to distinguish between phone, mp3 player and Personal Digital Assistants. And, are we protecting children from adults with mobile phones and banning them in schools too? I know of at least one instance of a teacher photographing children in a Manchester school that resulted in sacking, and can think of many occasions where I've seen or heard a teacher take a phone call or send a text.
No, banning is retrograde and offensive. Mobile phones are here to stay and the education sector needs to find an accommodation with them through promoting responsible use, anti-bullying policies and education etc, while cracking down on the cyber-bullies. You never know, in a few years time we may regard them as essential tools of the trade and they may well be the way children communicate with the school's network, instead of via the clunky pc in the corner of the classroom.