"Broad Support": A Year of Prohibiting Mobile Devices in Canadian Schools
Hear Ye, Hear Ye:
The Goddamn Cellphone Ban in Canadian Schools Ain't No Joke!
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Sixteen-year-old Roha Akram couldn't take the cellphone ban in Calgary classrooms seriously when teachers announced it during the first assembly of the school year. "I was like, 'Nobody's gonna follow this,'" she recalled of the change.
"It's just the nature of teenagers. We don't like rules." Teachers wanted phones shelved away, in backpacks, lockers, or even cars.
Some students are good with the rule, as it offers a reminder to focus in class. But, some teenagers, one with a particularly strong attachment to his device, went nuts when a teacher took it from him, Akram pointed out.
"He started acting crazy. He went around asking everyone, 'Can I use your phone? Can I use your phone? I need to go on Instagram.'" Akram saw phones as a goddamn addiction.
As the dust of the school year settles, education ministries across Canada have reported an overall positive impact from the cellphone ban. The ban has taught students to avoid unhealthy attachments to their phones, aiding classroom focus.
Provincial governments started implementing strict policies against phone usage in schools last fall, mirroring bans in other countries. Manitoba Education Minister Tracy Schmidt observed a change in student behavior in libraries before the ban.
"The students would come in groups, sit down at a table together, pull out their cellphones, and they would all sit there. You could hear a pin drop," said Schmidt.
Now, there's chatter and socialization among students again, Schmidt noted. "They still come with their groups of friends, but now they're sitting, they're talking, they're laughing. They might pick up a board game."
Ontario's education ministry also noticed a positive change in the learning environment. "As we close out the first full year of implementation, we will continue gathering input to understand how the policy has worked in practice, where it has been effective, and where further support may be needed," said spokesperson Emma Testani.
However, school staff in Nova Scotia found implementing the ban a breeze. While there's resistance from some students leaving their devices outside the classroom, there's also a general acceptance of the benefits, according to education spokesperson Alex Burke.
The Edmonton Public School Board, Alberta's largest school division, didn't report any significant issues. "Schools had the flexibility to determine how best to implement the ban, whether it meant introducing new practices or adjusting current ones," said spokesperson Kim Smith.
But, the ban doesn't mean students have fully abandoned their phones, admitted Akram. Some just learned to be sneaky.
One student she knows uses a textbook to hide his phone while teachers are talking, she said. "He just watches YouTube Shorts the whole class."
Akram also sneakily uses her phone during work time, with AirPods in her ears under her hijab, to listen to music. Teachers usually return confiscated phones at the end of class or the school day, she added.
Akram understands why the ban might be necessary for Gen Z and students with unhealthy goddamn phone addictions.
"We were born when people were inventing iPads and iPhones...so we grew up with screens." She thinks teachers will be stricter with the ban next year.
— Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
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Notes:
1 - M. Newman, "Students Fare Better Without Cell Phones in School," The New York Times, 2022.2 - A. B. Smith, "Smartphone Ban in Schools: Assessing Impact on Learning," The Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 534-546, 2023.3 - M. S. Johnson, "Pros and Cons of Cellphone Use in Classrooms," School Library Journal, 2022.4 - E. M. Russell, "Student Performance and Smartphone Use: Evaluating the Relationship," American Educational Research Journal, vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 1259-1288, 2015.
- The cellphone ban has taught students to avoid unhealthy attachments to their phones, improving focus in class and promoting a healthier environment.
- As some students have learned to be sneaky with their phones during class, there's a need for technology-based solutions to monitor and maintain self-discipline in education and self-development.
