“i was an educator as well, in the college area, but i saw firsthand the distraction that cellphones can cause in the classroom.”
several provinces are cracking down on cellphone use in class this fall.
last week, british columbia announced a “bell-to-bell” restriction on phones. earlier this month, saskatchewan announced that students won’t be allowed to use cellphones in class in the new school year.
manitoba, alberta, quebec and nova scotia have also moved to restrict cellphones in schools.
littlewood, with the secondary teachers’ union, argued that the ontario-wide rules for cellphones in schools are “not the biggest issue in education right now.”
“what we need to be doing is addressing the broader issues in education, like class sizes that are too big, unqualified teachers in the classroom, unable to fill positions within education, lack of resources and support,” she said.
many school boards had already developed their own cellphone policies before the province’s new rules were announced, littlewood said, adding she’s spoken to teachers who feel the new ban won’t change much.
mastin, with the elementary teachers’ union, also said the new policies do “very little” to address deeper problems. he pointed to cyberbullying, violence and harassment in schools as major concerns for educators.