The students at the Sint-Janslyceum in Den Bosch responded positively to the total ban on mobile phones in their school. This was introduced this school year. According to rector Jan Wiertz, education was in jeopardy because students were more concerned with their phones than with lessons and their classmates. The students understand the ban, but think it’s quite a switch, says third-grader Amber: “Because your smartphone is part of your life.”
“The canteens are much busier and it is much cozier,” Amber has already noticed. Rector Jean Wiertz has also noticed the difference. “Students are in contact with each other again instead of diving into their screens and barely seeing each other.”
Already in the second week of school, teachers notice that people pay more attention. Third grader Amber does not deny that, although she thinks the ban is double. “I now have to write my schedule on my hand, because my agenda is also in my phone.” She is not very enthusiastic about an old-fashioned agenda, but she is about the atmosphere in the school due to the ban.
“I find it difficult to be unreachable.”
It takes a lot of getting used to for Pien from VWO 6 that she is no longer allowed to use her smartphone. “You’ve been used to using your phone for the last five minutes of class for five years now. I find it difficult to be unreachable, for example for side jobs and girlfriends at other schools.”
It is also a bit of a switch for Pien’s parents. “They sometimes had short questions, whether I ate with them and they now have to wait for that answer.” She admits that it can all be solved and that it is mainly a matter of getting used to it.
Nowhere at Sint-Janslyceum are students allowed to use their mobile phones, not even during breaks. You can bring your smartphone to school, but it must remain in the locker. Teachers also have to believe it and are no longer allowed to use their mobile in sight of students. With this, Sint-Jans goes further than the national ban that takes effect on 1 January. That only completely bans cell phones in classrooms.
“There’s more peace when class starts.”
In any case, physics teacher Henk de Hoop can quickly get used to the ban. “There is more peace when the lesson starts and you no longer have to pay attention to those phones. Sometimes you had to drag students in because they wanted to read all the messages first. You can start right away now.”
That’s not the only plus for him. “There is also less distraction during class, because every sound of such a mobile phone made the whole class lose their concentration, even though they were in a separate telephone pocket. They pay more attention.”
In any case, second grader Robin already has a physical agenda, but one more tip: “There are no clocks in the school and I also used my mobile phone for that.”
If a student is caught with a mobile phone, the device will be taken away and not returned until the end of the school day. In the first week of school, 40 children were caught.