Phones

I want to start by apologising for the negative message  about mobile phones on our home page.

If you are a parent or carer, you might feel that we’re telling you off. That’s not intentional , so don’t be too sore about it. As I keep saying, if you knew what we had to deal with, you’d probably tell us to ban mobile phones altogether.

And I regret to say that that might well happen if we don’t see a big improvement in responsible use of phones by students and, to be honest, parents.

Sounds like a backward step doesn’t it?

And, anyway, the toothpaste is out of the tube and don’t bother slamming the stable door – the horse cantered off ages ago. As far as mobiles are concerned that is - because they’re well and truly here to stay.

Let’s face it, whether we like it or not, they’ve changed society: mobiles are  everywhere and it’s  become normal for just about all of us to start fiddling with our handsets in any idle moment. They even go off at funerals which must be bizarre if you’ve got The Birdy Song as your ring tone.

So it’s not just teenagers who use mobiles irresponsibly. We adults should set a better example and schools should start giving education on how to use phones appropriately. Kids must learn that it’s just plain wrong to text your dad every time a teacher tells you off.

Right – the rant ends here.

Let’s go back to the home page because you’ll have noticed that we’re advertising something which shows the good side of hand held technology. We’re going to host a training day for teachers from other schools and it’s all about how you can use I-pads etc. to boost learning. Some of our people have made great strides in how to use these devices in lessons so we’ll be able to show how our students can use I-pods and I-pads to learn in exciting new ways. You can even paint with your fingers on an I-pad screen – a brand new artistic medium which Moorside students absolutely love.

Wouldn’t  be great if we could have an understanding with everyone involved that smart phones could also be brought into the classroom and used constructively?

Anyway, I must go and pack my bag for France. I'll report back next week on what it's like to accompany 31 Moorsiders to another country.