After our class this week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on how I would implement phone boundaries in the classroom. One point that stuck with me is that taking away phones is not effective. Confiscating a child’s property will only cause them distress and shift their attention away from learning, and children will eventually find ways around this by bringing burner phones to school, etc.
To effectively teach internet safety and phone use, we must educate students on why boundaries matter and how to navigate responsible use.
In my experience, I found it difficult to take advice from teachers who weren’t familiar with how kids are using technology today. Because so many educators didn’t learn about tech safety during their schooling, I think there should be more learning opportunities for them, and if needed, guest speakers should be brought in to approach this topic. Even though tech might not be used much in school, internet education is still an important topic that children may not have access to elsewhere.
I believe the best approach is to be honest about the risks and benefits of technology, while also giving students freedom to navigate their internet use themselves. Each child is different, so our approach will never be perfect, but being open and adaptable is key. In the classroom, I think having a phone pocket system for everyone to use at the start of class is the most effective way to build healthy habits and create shared expectations.