Q1.
Form a group of five. Conduct a panel discussion on the topic, ‘Evaluating the Impact of Mobile Phones—Beneficial or Harmful’. Each student will take on one of the following roles. • Moderator (initiates and directs the flow of the discussion inviting the speakers to share their views on the subject; at the end sums up the points of discussion and thanks the members of the group) • Principal (opposed to—focus on discipline in school) • Teacher (in favour of—partially in favour, educational use with limitations) • Parent (opposed to—concerned about health and social effects on children) • Student (in favour of—highlighting the benefits like connectivity and learning)
Answer
A panel discussion is not a debate. Nobody wins; the group examines a question from four positions and the moderator draws the threads together. Stay in your assigned role even if you privately disagree with it — that is the skill being practised.
What each speaker should bring (two or three points is plenty, but each needs evidence):
| Role | Points to make |
|---|---|
| Moderator | Open by stating the question and the format; give each speaker a fixed time; ask one follow-up question of each; close by summing up the areas of agreement and disagreement, and thank the panel. |
| Principal (opposed) | Phones fragment attention in class; they enable cheating in tests and photography without consent; they widen the gap between students who own one and those who do not; and enforcing a partial ban is impossible, so a clear rule is fairer than a vague one. |
| Teacher (partly in favour) | A phone is a dictionary, a calculator, a camera for fieldwork and a library of NCERT and DIKSHA material; it is indispensable for a student who missed school. But it should be used for a stated task, for a stated time, under supervision — the tool is fine, the unsupervised access is not. |
| Parent (opposed) | Late-night screen use delays sleep, and sleep is when a growing child consolidates learning; posture and eyesight suffer; family conversation shrinks; and there is real exposure to strangers, scams and content no eleven-year-old should meet alone. |
| Student (in favour) | A phone is how homework is shared, doubts are cleared and group projects are organised; it is how a child living far from a coaching centre gets the same lecture; and blaming the device avoids the real issue — nobody has taught us how to use it well. |
Sample opening and close for the moderator:
Opening: “Good morning. Our question today is not whether mobile phones are good or bad — it is where the line should be drawn. We have with us our Principal, a teacher, a parent and a student. Each will speak for two minutes; I will then put one question to each. Madam Principal, may we begin with you?”
Closing: “Thank you all. Three things came up on which this panel agreed, whatever else divided it: that the phone is a tool and not the problem in itself; that unsupervised use late at night is where the harm concentrates; and that no rule will work unless students are taught the reasons behind it. Where we disagreed was on enforcement — whether a school can realistically permit partial use, or must ban it outright. My thanks to our panel and to all of you for listening.”
Opening: “Good morning. Our question today is not whether mobile phones are good or bad — it is where the line should be drawn. We have with us our Principal, a teacher, a parent and a student. Each will speak for two minutes; I will then put one question to each. Madam Principal, may we begin with you?”
Closing: “Thank you all. Three things came up on which this panel agreed, whatever else divided it: that the phone is a tool and not the problem in itself; that unsupervised use late at night is where the harm concentrates; and that no rule will work unless students are taught the reasons behind it. Where we disagreed was on enforcement — whether a school can realistically permit partial use, or must ban it outright. My thanks to our panel and to all of you for listening.”
Language to use in a panel: to disagree politely — “I take Sir's point about discipline, but I would add that…”, “That is true in a school; it may be less true at home.” To hand over — “Perhaps our student panellist could respond to that.” To keep to the point — “May I bring us back to the question of school hours specifically?” The register throughout is formal but not stiff: full sentences, no slang, no interrupting.