For many students and teachers across the country, the school year has looked a bit different from years past, as provinces have established policies to remove a common classroom distraction: the cellphone.
Students are required to put the devices away, powered off or set to silent mode during instructional time. In lower grades, they’re not allowed to use it during lunch, either. The penalties for disobeying the rules could lead to suspensions.
The increased use of cellphones and social media by students has been a source of concern for policy-makers, educators and parents. The devices and platforms have been blamed for incidents of cyberbullying, disrupted sleep patterns and the inability of young people to focus.
Almost one in four countries have now introduced bans on cellphones in schools. In Ontario, several of the largest school boards and two private schools are suing the corporations behind Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, accusing them of designing addictive products that disrupt learning and harm the mental health of students. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Even the U.S. surgeon-general has called for phone-free classroom learning and argued that social-media platforms have emerged as an “important contributor” of the mental-health crisis among young people.
The Globe and Mail spoke with educators, students and parents on how the first few days of school have played out under the new rules.
Kelsey LeForte, teacher in Surrey, B.C.
In previous years, Ms. LeForte noticed that students would hide their phones under their desk so they could watch videos. If they got stuck on a question, they’d turn to their phones for an answer and then get distracted on the device – what she described as an “automatic boredom fix.”
She’d spend more time that she wanted reminding students to focus on their assignments. She even offered bonus marks to those who put their phones away for the entire semester, but a third of the class wouldn’t take her up on the offer.
It’s only been a few days since school resumed, but for Ms. LeForte, the new cellphone rules represent a sea change.
The rules in her Surrey school district require that students put their phones away during classroom time, and can only use them for educational purposes as directed by the teacher. Ms. LeForte’s grade 9 and 10 students place their devices in the cellphone “hotel” – repurposed hanging pouches for shoes – as they walk into her room.
She’s already noticed they are paying attention and working through classroom assignments instead of turning to their phones to guide them. In a creative-writing assignment that requires students to work on a five-paragraph composition, for example, half the class completed the task in two days. (In previous years, it would have taken them a week or more. Many would get distracted by their devices.)
Ms. LeForte said she is already ahead in her teaching than she was at this time last year. And she’s feeling more optimistic about her lesson plan: “I think I can get through more material this year.”
Elizabeth Hayes, parent in Comox Valley, B.C.
Ms. Hayes is feeling a sense of relief with the new school cellphone restrictions.
Her 14-year-old daughter would text her as many as 10 times during the day with random questions: “Who’s picking me up from school?” or “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Now, she receives one or two texts at most. Her daughter is only allowed to use her phone during lunchtime: “That’s acceptable,” Ms. Hayes said.
She admits that her daughter was not as enthusiastic about the new cellphone rules, but Ms. Hayes feels it was necessary. Social media had become such a distraction that the teen wasn’t paying attention to her assignments. Ms. Hayes regularly received e-mails from teachers about incomplete work.
She’s hoping to see a change this school year, and already she’s noticed a difference. Her daughter was generally quiet on the ride home from school because she had texted her through the day. Now, they have lengthy conversations about her school day.
Lauren McGuire, Grade 12 student in Oakville, Ont.
Lauren tends to follow instructions from her teachers and keeps her phone on silent and in her backpack. She’s noticed that others are doing the same this year.
“I think people don’t give students enough credit when it comes to wanting to follow the rules and be compliant,” she said.
In her province, students in Grade 6 and below must put their cellphones away throughout the school day, unless they receive permission from the teacher. Students in grades 7 to 12 must do the same, but will be able to access their phones between classes or during lunch.
Lauren feels there will be always be teens trying to skirt the rules, but generally, it’s gone over well and could last as long as students are periodically reminded of the expectations.
Over the last few days, she has noticed classmates more engaged in group work. She admits that it’s early days, but added: “It’s definitely a different environment.”
Ryan Kochie, Winnipeg parent, and his 11-year-old son, Ryder
There was a bit of complaining in Mr. Kochie’s home in the first week of school about having to leave the cellphone behind. But once his son, Ryder, realized that none of his friends were bringing their devices to school either, the protest eased.
Ryder would play games on his phone with friends during lunchtime or text his family. How does he feel not having his phone? “Not that bad,” the 11-year-old responded.
Mr. Kochie would usually message his son during the lunch break or jump on for a quick call to check in or plan out what they’d do that evening.
“I miss that connection, for sure, because now I don’t get to see or talk to him until I get home after work,” he said. However, he’s not too fussed.
Too many parents, he said, are concerned about how much time their children are spending on screens. A break from the cellphone is not a bad thing.
Claudine Tyrell, principal at Humberside Collegiate Institute in Toronto
In her school of 1,400 students, it felt like almost everyone was looking at their phones while walking down the halls or leaving it on their desks turned down. Some of her staff grew frustrated that they had to keep reminding students to put their phone away. Even concerned parents gave the school permission to keep the phone in the main office for the day.
“The cellphone was pretty prevalent everywhere,” Ms. Tyrell said.
Before the school year began, she met with staff about the new rules. And then went over it again with students at the school assembly: no cellphone use during instructional time. (Exceptions would be made for students needing the device for medical reasons, or if a teacher specifically asked for it to be used for educational purposes.)
“This isn’t to say your device is a bad thing. It’s to say we want you to be as engaged as possible in class. We want to improve the learning experience,” Ms. Tyrell said.
She is surprised by how smoothly it’s been going: “I’m very hopeful that it’ll continue to be this way, and that students just get to know each other better.”
Daryl Jerome, president of Hamilton-Wentworth local of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
In the first few days of the school year, Mr. Jerome’s members have reported that cellphone usage is down among their students. But they’re worried it won’t last.
He said that the messaging from the government and the school board about what to do with a student who doesn’t comply with the cellphone restrictions varies from school to school. One school, he said, informed teachers not to touch cellphones of students. Others have asked teachers to take it away or send students down to the office.
He worries that, as teens realize they can cross a “pretty permeable barrier,” they will start testing their limits.
“We’re in the honeymoon period,” he said in describing how cellphone restrictions have worked so far.
