Cellphone ban changes little in classrooms

The Ford government’s cellphone ban came into effect Nov 4., but it is business as usual for Ontario classrooms that will see very little change as a result. 

According to Scott Scantlebury, spokesman for the Greater Essex County School Board, referring to it as a ban is an exaggeration.

“To say it’s a ban is certainly a misnomer,” said Scantlebury. “Cellphones will still be used in classrooms to enhance the education of our students and to enhance the curriculum.”

Scantlebury said public school teachers will not confiscate cellphones from students and that it is is more practical to view the “ban” as a set of guidelines for how cellphones should be used in classrooms to help students learn.

Scantlebury said he would rather see a student learn geography by accessing Google Earth on their cellphone, as opposed to reading about it in an outdated text book. 

He said public school teachers have always had authority over how and when cellphones should be used in the classroom to facilitate learning, and that will not change. Scantlebury said he encourages teachers to look for new ways to use cellphones to complement their lessons.

“Outright bans in which cell phones are collected at the office or by the teacher have proved in the past to certainly not work,” said Scantlebury.  “We have never engaged in that practice. But some school boards have, and it’s been absolutely impossible to enforce.”

Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, said the objective of the cellphone restriction is not to confiscate cellphones, but rather to change the culture in classrooms and use them as a learning tool.

“We’re embracing technology,” said Lecce. “But it’s got to be for scholastic achievement. It got to be for academic purpose and it must be instruction-based.”

Lecce said he believes being technologically fluent is critical in today’s job market.

To “ban cell phones” implies that schools don’t already have a code of conduct in place, which they do. It implies that teachers don’t know how to deal with cell phones, which we do. This is government distraction tactics. #cellphoneban

— Kylene Walker (@KyleneWalker) November 4, 2019

And as parents we know code of conducts are in place but seldom followed. Just look at what time students are posting things on social media. You’ll see based on the time stamps that it happens during class when they should be learning. But these “codes” are not enforced.

— Matthew Houtby (@mrjohnny_vegas) November 4, 2019

My biggest concern about the #cellphoneban isn’t the impact it will have on learning in #onted (none). But rather that the government doesn’t think we should be teaching students how to effectively use and manage cellphones, a technology over 80% of people currently have.

— Andrew Campbell (@acampbell99) November 4, 2019

I told my students about the #cellphoneban this morning and got no reaction. Then I said, “Attendance is complete, therefore cellphones are off and away please.” just like I say every morning and we started our lesson. Therefore…nothing has changed.

— Ken Quarrie (@RockQuarrie) November 4, 2019

I think going back to basics is best, will let the kids focus more. Kids do need self discipline, and if for some time in a day, they don’t use the phone, the world is not going to be upside down #cellphoneban

— Varinder Kaur 🇮🇳🇨🇦 (@varinder11) November 4, 2019