Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Steve McCracken: Whangaparāoa College Principal on the Education Review Office report on the phone ban in schools

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Steve McCracken: Whangaparāoa College Principal on the Education Review Office report on the phone ban in schools · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Bullying is down, classroom learning is up, and who do
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: we have to think? What do we have to think
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: banning the cell phones? The ERA report out today shows
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the cell phone ban is working. However, it also found
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: half of high school students aren't following the rules. Steve
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: mccrack and Funga put our college principal and before sixteen
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: expert Advisory panelment joins me. Now, Steve, good morning, good morning, right,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: good to have you on the show. So this is working?
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely. I mean we saw an instant I suppose
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: you call it from our students as we implemented the
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: ban and changed things in our school overnight. And it's
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: glad to see the reports highlighted that as.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Well in your school because it talks in the report
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: about teachers not enforcing the ban and if the best
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: thing you can do to have the band be effective
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: is to enforce it, do you have teachers who don't
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: enforce it.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Look, our staff are amazing in terms of being able
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: to enforce things, and I think that comes down to
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: having solid systems in place for each school. I know
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: that teachers have individual opinions and things, but this is
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: a mandated thing from our government and you see from
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: the report that it's working as well.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Steve, is what happens. Is it just in the classroom
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: and the learning where behavior is getting better, or does
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: it spill over into other you know, into the playground.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: It schools over everywhere. I mean, you've phone free from
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: the time you enter the school gate to the time
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: you leave. So yeah, everything's improved in terms of this
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: particular initiative from the government, and it's been really positive rightan,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: But I'm supposed the biggest concern that we see, as
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: you know, at the end of each school day in
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: across any school in the country, as you're driving past,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: I'm sure you'll be able to see them automatically reach
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: down and try and get that instant social media or
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: phone facts as they're walking out the school gate at
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: three thirty every day.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, which I mean is going to happen the smart watches.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: When did this happen? Everyone was like, Oh, they'll just
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: get smart watches and they'll get laptops and they'll do
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: things that way.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Are you seeing that? Yeah? And I think that's come
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: through in the report as well, hasn't it. It's that's
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: possibly the next iteration where you know, students aren't stupid
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: and they really do want to stay connected, and I
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: get that, but yeah, the smart watches, the ability to
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: connect via their laptops or chromebox or whatever. There is
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: still a possible issue that schools are facing as well.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: And Steve, when you know, when it comes to why
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: who they're messaging? Are they messaging each other? Because it
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: says in the report a lot of the kids reckon
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: they're messaging their family. Do you reckon that's just to
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: be a you know, I'm messaging my mom like it's
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: a lie? Or are they actually in which case, what
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: are the parents doing?
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Well? That's a fantastic question, Ryan, But I think that
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: the students are pretty honest and this one, and from
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: what I understand it is a bit of parent education
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: needed as well, just around you know, kids are safe
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: at school and they're doing pretty well at school, is
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: the report finds as well, and you know there is
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: some education needed possibly around how to connect or communicate
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: with their students during the school day. But I mean
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: most schools, I think all the schools that I've spoken
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: to in particular, have solid systems in place where if
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: a parent needs to contact the student during the day,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: they call the office and the message goes through to them.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: But yeah, it's still a need I suppose for parents
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: and the report that says we still want to connect
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: with our kids. But yeah, the phone free during the day,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: you're seeing your kid up to sail if that happens.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Steve mccrack and Fungapower College Principle.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 3:27
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• 3:30
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