These days we are all so attached to our phones we rarely connect with other people face-to-face and in some cases, not even with our children. One school in England is doing what they can to change that.
St Joseph's RC Primary in Longlands, Middlesbrough, wants parents to pay more attention to their children so they’ve banned cellphones from school pickup. The school has posted the sign “Greet your CHILD with a SMILE, NOT A MOBILE” at their three entrances in the hopes it will encourage parents to actually talk to their kids about their day during pickup times.
And it turns out parents aren’t actually turned off by the new rule, with many of them greeting it “positively.” “We are always looking at ways to engage parents,” head teacher Elizabeth King says. "We are trying to develop our speaking and listening, and we thought it was a really simple way to get the message across.” She adds, "It wasn't an issue among our parents, it just emphasizes speaking and listening and helps the children have discussions."
Of course, not everyone is on board with the cellphone ban. One parent said she doesn’t “see the point in the signs,” while another called it “a bit daft.”
What do you think? Is this a good idea or a bad idea?