Source: The Boston Globe
Smartphones have come across as a major source of problem among youngsters for years. Recently, a couple of students at dorm called the Barn at the Buxton School got into a fight last year. The issue escalated as another student initiated a live stream of the encounter from their device. This attracted a crowd to gather on the hillside Williamstown. Resultantly, this led to a series of debates as to what exactly caused the incident.
The handling of the situation got rather complicated as the shot video circulated among thw students of the high school. To make matters worse, these students were already having a hard time in school after the two Covid-19 lockdowns. Few months following this development, the Gen Z kids of the institution got the news regarding ban on smartphones from Autumn 2022. Reportedly, this ban would apply to adults and kids alike, and they would be only get the provision to use ‘dumb’ phones and access the internet only through their laptops or tablets.
Fortunately, this decision from Buxton comes at a time when education finally shifts from technology, which had become quite prevalent during the lockdown. In case of a positive outcome, the shift from phones and screen would finally take place. However, if it fails, it could lead to serious discouragement among the tech-savvy generation.
Emphasis on ban on smartphones:
Both guardians and institutions, have been dreading the influence of smartphones for a decade now, with schools ever-changing their attitude on the use of phones for academic purposes. The ban on these devices at Buxton has been long overdue with teachers feeling that phones have drawn students from socialising and engaging in creative projects.
Buxton’s teaching staff had been in talks regarding the social challenges for a while. However, the final decision only came post the lockdown as students evidently seemed to be struggling with social interactions. The school was founded nearly 100 years ago as part of the progressive movement in education for experimentation of newer ideas.
“For a school like this, where everything is really about being present with each other in conversation, it was a really difficult thing. I felt like we hit a tipping point,” said a faculty member.
Most of the students of the school, born in the late 2000s, have faced the influence of iPhone and its rivals all their lives. Clearly, for them, life without a device in hand at all times seemed rather impossible. A handful of students, on the other had, appeared rather excited at the ban. Evidently, majority of the parents had a positive response to the development as they had received a heads-up through mail recently.
