Bid to ban mobile phones in schools

It seems that cyber-bullying is on the increase and it's both pupils and teachers who are suffering at the hands of these cyber-bullies. They're using all digital means to do their bullying - text messaging, calls, emails, secret videos and using online forums such as ratemyteacher.com and bebo.com to vent their spleen about the teachers they're picking on.

So what's the answer the powers that be are proposing? Ban mobile phones from school premises and class mobile phones as 'offensive weapons'. Yes, that's right, let's ban 'em. And while we're at it, why don't we ban computers too so you can't send an email or access a website. And actually, let's ban pen and paper too so that the bullies can't send you a nasty note.

Of course, if you ban a mobile phone at school, that's going to stop all the cyber-bullying because magically it would halt outside of school hours when you have access to your digital tools again if you're so inclined to make a nuisance of yourself as a cyber-bully. Of course *any* bullying is wrong, let alone cyber-bullying, but banning the tools in school is not going to help much. There must be a better way. Ban the specific use and make that usage punishable, but don't ban the hardware. That's just daft and penalises the majority who use their gadgets sensibly.

D'oh.