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Ratzeburg's schools are banned from cell phones: This is how lessons are changing!
From the 2025/26 school year, new cell phone rules will apply in Schleswig-Holstein. Schools must regulate use to promote social contacts.
Ratzeburg's schools are banned from cell phones: This is how lessons are changing!
From the new school year onwards, everyday school life in Schleswig-Holstein will be allowed to take place without cell phones - that's already in the air! How LN Online reports, all schools must now regulate the private use of cell phones, smartwatches, tablets and laptops during school hours. But how exactly this is implemented is left to the individual schools. The Lauenburg School of Scholars in Ratzeburg has already tried a test run.
During the test phase, which took place after the Easter holidays, smartphones were taboo not only for the students, but also for the teachers. If teachers or students violate the ban, they must pay one euro into a 4,000-euro pot that is used for school purchases. This measure meant that there were still 3,000 euros left at the end of the test phase. Headmaster Thomas Engelbrecht recognized an “amazing effect” in the form of discipline and an increase in social contacts among the students.
New rules for all classes
After the summer holidays, all cell phones at the high school must be turned off and kept in the backpack, like that NDR supplemented. However, high school students have the opportunity to use their smartphones in a specific room, the “pavilion.” From grade 7 onwards, tablets and iPads may be used in free periods, but use in class remains expressly desired.
The aim of this new regulation is clear: schools should promote a good social climate. Research, as a new study by the University of Augsburg in the journal Education Sciences shows, shows that banning cell phones in schools can improve social well-being. daily news explains that visual distractions from cell phones hinder the learning process and can even encourage cyberbullying. A pure ban, on the other hand, should be carried out with great sensitivity: It is important that students learn to use technology responsibly.
Conclusion and outlook
The Lauenburg School of Scholars demonstrated how it was done and impressed with positive results in the test. The introduction of this ban for all schools in Schleswig-Holstein is intended to create a balance between the use of modern technologies and social interaction. The remaining 3,000 euros from the test run will be used for the students' wishes, although a drinks machine in every class is not on the wish list. We will be curious to see how these new rules will be accepted in school practice and whether the positive effects on the learning climate will be evident across the board.