Paul W. Bennett, Ed.D., is the director of the Schoolhouse Institute in Halifax, the founding chair of researchED Canada and a regular commentator on K-12 education.
Cellphone proliferation has affected student behaviour and compounded the very real challenges of class management. Tom Bennett, the author ofidentified cellphones as the source of constant “low-level disruption.” Mr. Bennett, the founder of the global researchED movement of teachers demanding evidence-based teaching practice, recently likened the devices to “kryptonite in the classroom,” sapping the time and energy of classroom teachers.
Ontario is not the first educational jurisdiction to ban cellphones from class and to require students to keep them in their lockers. The 21st-century phenomenon of “phone-addicted children” is what prompted French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer to ban cellphones from schools entirely for children as old as 15 in 2018. School authorities in France saw banning cellphones as a “detox measure” to combat widespread classroom distractions, sharing of pornographic images, and cyberbullying.
Changeable and inconsistent Ontario school policies have only compounded the problem. Since the arrival of the Apple iPhone in January, 2007, mobile phones have proliferated among children and teens, necessitating changes in school policies. The Toronto District School Board, the largest in Canada, reacted by introducing a system-wide ban in April, 2007 – only to reverse it four years later.
GlobeDebate Good luck ! Schools will hire enforcers.
GlobeDebate Yes. I wasn't even allowed to wear a hat or chew gum in class. Kids these days are too spoiled. But now you will see a massive drop in attendance following this ban because the school system has set a precedent and this ban will not go over easy
GlobeDebate Consistent with the findings from Ontario-based consultations & the 2019 Randall P. Ford Institute report on the impacts of cell phones in the classroom
GlobeDebate Cell phones are banned from work places for employees, so why not from school. I agree totally. Kids should be focusing on their classroom lesson, not their phones.
GlobeDebate Consistent with the findings from Intario-basws consultations & the Randall P. Ford Institute 2019 report on the impacts of cell phones in the classroom