A strange ritual takes place every morning at the entrance of the Dalton High School in Alsdorf, near the western city of Aachen. The 700 students must leave their smartphones turned off in their schoolbags and are only allowed online again when school is finished for the day.

School spokesperson, 16-year-old Lena Speck, is herself a little surprised how well day one of the mobile phone ban started. She told DW: "I haven't heard of anyone's phone being taken off them this morning. You also realize that the students are talking with each other more. Many of us think banning smartphones isn't all that bad after all."

The final tally on the first day: two infringements. A 16-year-old turned on his smartphone during his German lesson. As punishment, his phone was placed in an envelope and locked in a drawer in the secretary's office. It can only be picked up by his parents the following day. This sanction caused plenty of discussions in the school.

17-year-old Klara Ptak, also a spokesperson for the school, supports the strict approach. She told DW, "It is like driving through a red traffic light. The consequence needs to be harsh, otherwise the people will not comply. If I know that I will be without my phone for the whole afternoon and evening, I'd rather follow the rules."

The high school in Alsdorf, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is testing the smartphone ban in a pilot program until the German school summer holidays. It covers the entire school day, including recess. The initiative is called "Smart without your phone". Many schools in Germany are adopting similar initiatives to encourage students to pay attention to the lessons, not their devices.

Germany's 16 state governments, which are responsible for education policy, remain reluctant to........

© Deutsche Welle