Should All Boarding Schools Require Students to Sit a Digital Licence?
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Vol. 12 | Issue 1 | March 2019 Creating the Future for Boarding Schools Lights Out Contents 02 Should all Boarding Schools Require Should all Boarding Students to sit a Digital Licence? 06 Crackpot or Cracked Pot? 08 The Impact of the Royal Commission Schools Require Students into Insititutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 10 St Patrick's in the Rain to sit a Digital Licence? 12 Student One Elizabeth Street 14 The Eternal See-Saw: Schools or Businesses AUTHOR 16 Australia's Drought and the Impact on Families and Their Children's Dr Michael Carr-Gregg Education Honorary Psychologist 18 New Emotional Intelligence Program Gives Students Post-Exam Life Skills 20 7 Reasons CEOs and Other Leaders Need a Digital Presence In the middle of the last year I received a Minister Blanquer had earlier suggested call from the Minister of Education in NSW that schools would have to provide lockers 22 NRL Cowboy's House: Community asking me to lead a review into the non- for students to store the phones during Spirit Shines during Townsville Floods educational use of mobile devices in NSW school hours. In France, previous education 24 CAS 2.0 schools. It is now concluded and on line ministers and parent groups have opposed 27 Measuring the Value of Indigenous at https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/ a mobile phone ban, arguing that the use Student Boading strategies-and-reports/media/documents/ of mobiles has entered modern life and 28 Confidence mobile-phone-review.pdf that the emphasis should be on teaching students how to use these devices in a safe, 30 Financial Life Skills: The Parent I do not pretend to know what goes smart and responsible way. Perspective through the minds of politicians, but 34 AIEF Marks 10 Years of Helping I suspect that the decision to instigate France’s move prompted an international Educate Indigenous Youth this inquiry may have been prompted debate on whether schools should follow 36 New Principals by any one of several events. I’m pretty suit and initiate a ban. The result has been 39 New Heads of Boarding sure that the tragic death of 14 year a prohibition on mobile phones in school in old Amy (‘Dolly’) Everett on a remote the UK, (where 98% of schools have some 43 From the Chairman cattle station in the Northern Territory, in form of prohibition on mobile phones), January 2018, which gained world-wide Albania, Greece as well as various states in attention and some ill-informed media the United States of America (for example, ON THE COVER commentary played a part. Wisconsin). PLC Perth girls having fun. The urgency of having an inquiry may have Alternatively, it may have been that the NSW been pushed along by a media report in inquiry was driven by research released by May 2018 where most of Australia was the Office of the eSafety Commissioner in horrified to see a 13-year-old girl allegedly May this year of 3,000 young people which CONTACT US assaulting a fellow student that was filmed found that 24% of 8 to 12 year olds have Australian Boarding Schools Association. on a mobile phone in a NSW state school. received unwanted contact from strangers Postal: PO Box 3241, HENDRA, QLD, 4011 Graphic vision of the attack, in a stairwell, online, 15% had been subjected to cyber Office: Unit 6, 26 Navigator Place, bullying. Clearly, cyber safety education HENDRA, QLD, 4011 at a school in Bega, showed a female victim being hurled into a wall, before being across Australia is not sufficient. P + 61 7 3205 4940 punched and kicked while lying on her side. F + 61 7 3205 6567 Whatever the reason, kudos must go to then collect them at the end of the day, it’s recommendations. To my delight, in a in primary schools, it was also the E [email protected] Or it may have been because the French the Minister of Education in NSW, the Hon while others require students to keep them joint press release by the NSW Premier and inappropriate sharing of explicit www.boarding.org.au Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer Rob Stokes, for establishing an Australian- in their locker or bag. Other institutions the Education Minister on the 14th images between students and the EDITOR suddenly announced in May 2018 his first inquiry into the pros and cons of allow students to keep them on their December, the NSW Government agreed overwhelming number of teachers who Richard Stokes, Chief Executive Officer, Government’s intention to prohibit student mobile phone use in schools. In what was person, but not use them in class and others to introduce strict new bans on smart argued that mobile phones in schools Australian Boarding Schools Association mobile phone use in both primary and a welcome move, views amongst educators allow use during recess and lunchtime, and phones in Primary Schools. Many individuals were an unnecessary distraction. secondary schools until Year 11, starting remain divided and up until now, there was in the classroom itself. and organisations in the cyber safety arena The recommendation unsurprisingly had GRAPHIC DESIGN in September 2018. Jean-Michel Blanquer, no State or Territory with a policy position have been campaigning for such a move the overwhelming support of Primary ddprint - [email protected] in announcing the Bill, said that mobile other than leaving it up to individual school The NSW inquiry sought to establish world’s that is founded on school’s legal duty of Principals, many of whom Australia +61 438 028 569 phones were a technological advance but principals to decide. best practice, examine the literature and care to protect children from digital harms. had already introduced some form of PRINTING they could not be allowed to monopolise take the views of educators, cyber safety prohibition, but now of course have Professional Print Services our lives. He observed that you can’t find Across Australia some schools, including experts and parent groups, and after But it was not just the predatory behaviour Departmental and Ministerial backing. [email protected] your way in a world of technology if you boarding schools, require students to hand six months, 14,000 survey responses and online and cyberbullying that prompted can’t read, write, count, respect others and in phones at the beginning of the day and 80 written submissions, the Review made me to opt for a ban on smartphones work in a team.” 2 3 Lights Out licence at home, prior to the student As far as secondary schools are concerned, arriving at school, ensures that parents take the Review team stopped short of responsibility for ensuring a level of digital recommending a ban on smart phones citizenship, instead of outsourcing this in high schools but offered several to schools. This is especially important as approaches that schools could adopt based it is more often than not the parents who on their circumstances. These range from procure the device for the student in the policies like John Edmondson High School first place. in Horningsea Park who have instituted a complete ban on the use of smart phones. The internet is not going anywhere. Fifth- Their policy states: “Students may not use generation wireless (5G) is the latest mobile phones or similar devices while iteration of cellular technology, engineered on school grounds. If parents choose to to greatly increase the speed and allow their child to bring a mobile phone responsiveness of wireless networks. or similar device to school, school staff are With 5G, data transmitted over wireless not to see or hear the device at any time broadband connections could travel at and students are not to use the device at rates as high as 20 Gbps by some estimates any time while at school. This applies to all -- exceeding wireline network speeds. In times students are at school and on school other words the technology seems to be grounds including before and after school, getting speedier and cleverer and means during and between classes and at all break that our young people will, whether we times such as recess and lunch". like it or not, - be continuously connected - meaning that we will all have a 'real wired Other schools have policies that reflect child'. that older students, specifically in Year 11 and 12, have greater capacity for self The uptake of information and regulation and need to be prepared for a communication technologies (ICT) has work environment where they must learn created a new space in which young people to balance their mobile phone use with can learn and play, be amazingly creative as requirements of a job. As such, some well as interact with each other. The internet schools authorities permit senior students is unarguably the greatest communications to use their smart phones at designated revolution since Guttenburg invented his times and in designated places. Still other press in 1440. It is a story about community schools allow students to carry their phones all boarding schools can do. Office of the eSafety Commissioner and this service. Consideration should also be the effective allocation of resources, and and collaboration on a scale never seen with them and can use them during recess I recommended that, before students other expert organisations, the NSW given to the provision of this service by to reduce duplication, national consistency before. It's about the cosmic compendium and lunchtime while some schools actively are allowed to use any digital devices at Government undertake an independent local public libraries. The digital licence around such education resources should be of knowledge that is Wikipedia and the promote the use of mobile phones as school, all students should be required to evaluation of this licence and if necessary education modules should be based on prioritised.