alt Hacker NewsI don't understand the legislative pushes for some of these things.
Schools can already say "no phones during instructional hours". Many of them do. I guess legislating it can mandate the policy across a school district, state, country etc., so perhaps that makes sense.
But others call for outright bans for kids, all the time. Parents can also restrict usage or set rules for appropriate use. Many do.
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I don't understand how people fail to understand how public policy works. You can tell people to do something and they may or may not ignore you depending on how you say it, and what incentives and penalties you provide.
Being a parent or a teacher puts you in a position of fighting multi-billion dollar corporate interests that are trying to capture your kids' attention. It's also fighting their very successful advertising campaigns that makes kids, just like adults, feel FOMO for not having the latest gadgets, or access to the same social media outlets as their peers.
Any public policy trying to counter this needs some weight behind it, and a strong consensus as to what we value as normative behavior in society.
Parents are responsible for a surprisingly large fraction of the notifications kids get at school
> Parents can also restrict usage or set rules for appropriate use. Many do.
If you talk with teachers, some of them complain that kids are on the phone with _parents_ during the class time. And that parents loudly complain to the headmaster if the teacher tries to prevent their child from speaking to them.
Yes, it sounds crazy, but it's true.
But if kids refuse to put their phones away during classes, teachers have no right to take them since they are the kids' personal property. And yes, it is in the school rules that you cannot use your phone during class.
My SO teaches English and struggles with it permanently. Kids are on their phones and not paying attention to the lecture. And no support from the headmaster. Other teachers claim they do not have the problem to save face, but then you talk to an expat teacher who was in their class for observation and hear something else.