Gold Coast St Hilda’s school swaps out mobile phones for alarm clocks to curb cyber bullying

THIS Gold Coast school has come up with an unexpected — and unique — way to deal with cyber bullying. And they reckon it’s working already.

TIME is up for cyber bullying at one Gold Coast school, as alarmed students ditch their mobile phones for an analog solution.

Facing a school population of digital dependent students, St Hilda’s principal Dr Julie Wilson Reynolds has looked to the past for a way to tackle a problem of the present, online bullying, and head off future heartache.

The principal has offered to gift an alarm clock to all boarders and day students who agree to give up technology at night, minimising the risk of cyber bullying after hours and sleep deprivation.

An alarm clock instead of your phone! Picture: Jerad Williams

The girls said they used their phones as alarms of a morning, so the solution was obvious.

“We find from time to time text messages that are sent late at night are less than positive so we were talking to girls about how we might address this, and came up with this solution,” Dr Wilson Reynolds said.

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“I told the students I would buy them an alarm clock. They just had to email me to tell me how they are ensuring they aren’t using technology at night.’’

The response to the plan has been enormous.

St Hilda's Principal Dr Julie Wilson Reynolds with student Anna Finlayson, swapping a phone for an alarm clock. Picture: Jerad Williams

“I thought it was only going to be two or three, but I have given away 200 alarm clocks since February,” Dr Reynolds said.

There was one important stipulation with the gift — students had to agree to an ongoing commitment that the phones would be left alone at night.

To help with this, students were asked to recruit a support person such as a parent or boarding matron to assist.

“Because technology can be fun and it is hard to disconnect, now students say they have become more aware of their use,” Dr Wilson Reynolds said.

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“It takes a village to raise a child, so parents are behind it.

Sydney bullying expert Johnny Shannon speaking to parent and students at St Hildas School. Johnny with students (back l-r) Charlie Milligan, Grace Cowley, (front l-r) Tyeka Fergason-O'Shea and Rylee Boyde. Picture: Jerad Williams

“The girls know you need someone to assist you in being accountable at home.”

A survey by the school, conducted after the initiative began, found 83 per cent of students said they have thought twice about their technology dependence and had experienced better sleep.

More than half reported they were putting the phones away more during the day.

The unique solution to the modern problem is in stark contrast to the other Gold Coast schools, such as Pimpama State Secondary College who placed a blanket ban on phones in April.

“There have been some wonderful benefits of their connectivity but there are also challenges we need to work with to foster a sense of accountability,” Dr Wilson Reynolds said.

“The way young people relate to one another has changed dramatically over the years, because of social media.’’

Sydney bullying expert Johnny Shannon says while the idea is not one fits all, it could be effective. Picture: Jerad Williams

When it came to bullying, the St Hilda’s principal said the program and other initiatives including leadership training had helped develop a no-tolerance attitude among students to cyber bullying.

“Anyone that works with schools knows of young people who make mistakes,” Dr Wilson Reynolds said.

“What encourages me is when these things happen, it is more common than not for the girls to bring things to us to address.

“We have been able to build a culture that has been about standing up and saying we are going to call this out because it isn’t right.”

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Cyber bullying expert Jonny Shannon said the St Hilda’s initiative is a “great idea”.

“I definitely think at night conversations and online interactions have the potential to get negative very easily,” Mr Shannon said.

“Most teenagers, or people in general for that matter find our emotions are heightened at night time, when we are tired, vulnerable, and bored.

“During the day I have found conversation generally go back to being pleasant, so this is a great thing to do.”

Mr Shannon warns however that the alarm clock swap may not suit everyone.

“When it comes to cyber-bullying one size doesn’t fit all, it depends on the community.

“I think different things work for different schools, but I cant encourage a school enough to try different options and see what works for them, instead of accepting the status quo,” he said.