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France Bans Smartphones in School (washingtonpost.com)

Posted by msmash on from the taking-a-stand dept.

When French students return to school in September they'll have to leave one of their most prized possessions at home -- their smartphone. From a report: French lawmakers on Monday passed legislation banning students as old as 15 from bringing smartphones and tablets to school or having them turned off at least, according to the Agence France-Presse. Officials in support of the new rule described the policy as a way to shield children from addictive habits and to safeguard the sanctity of the classroom. "We know today that there is a phenomenon of screen addiction, the phenomenon of bad mobile phone use," education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told French news channel BFMTV, according to CNN. "Our main role is to protect children and adolescents. It is a fundamental role of education, and this law allows it." The law, however, does make exceptions for educational use, extra-curricular actives and for students with disabilities, the AFP reports. French high schools can choose to impose a less stringent ban on Internet-connected devices.

6 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. Think of the children! by OffTheLip · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh wait, they are.

    1. Re:Think of the children! by DickBreath · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Are they really thinking of the children? How will kids call their parents when a shooter with automatic weapons bursts into the school? For something that happens maybe several times per year, this seems rather short sighted.

      Oh, wait. It's France.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  2. Re: safeguard the sanctity of the classroom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You may be confused, this is France, not America, where the public schools are a mix of shooting gallery, drug den, drone factory and whorehouse, and the private schools are filled with religious indoctrination to make the next generation of arrows for Jesus.

  3. Good... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Much better to take notes on dead trees -- aside from the usual distractions, too easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole of searches about something which the professors said which you found interesting. Save the tablet/phone for after class.

    If you can't detach for a few hours, you're addicted.

  4. Re:safeguard the sanctity of the classroom? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Look, I can deal with all kinds of insults. Call me a pinko Commie or a Nazi, call me a fag or a redneck, I can deal with pretty much anything.

    But calling me American is really uncalled for. What have I done to deserve that?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Great news! by DaMattster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is no need for school students to have a cell phone in school, period; let alone a smartphone. School is a place for learning and phones and tablets are a distraction.