Paul Bennett: Banning cellphones may provide relief for kids and teachers

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Newly elected New Brunswick Teachers’ Association (NBTA) president Peter Lagacy has made his mark by painting a dire picture of what’s happening in the province’s classrooms. Teacher and staff shortages top the list of concerns, but he and his key members also cite overcrowded buildings, learning gaps, rising school violence and signs of deprivation among students.

Attracting and retaining educators is an emerging problem, made worse by pandemic education fallout affecting the current generation of students. Judging from a recent NBTA members’ survey, students and teachers are both struggling in post-pandemic times.

Completely missing from the NBTA list is one of the most persistent but largely unacknowledged stressors in New Brunswick schools – class climate and the disruptive effect of student absorption into cyberworlds.

Teacher stress and staff attrition have multiplied and classrooms are now regularly interrupted by students arriving late-to-class, periodic violent outbursts, and near-constant low-level disruptions. The Ontario-based teacher advocacy group, Teachers Unite, put it succinctly: “The amount of time that teachers now spend on classroom discipline is alarming. Not only does it eat away at instructional time, but it also adds to the ever-increasing stress of the job.”

Education workers are on the front lines and it is here where the problem is most visible. In late October, education assistants (EAs) and school social workers began raising alarms through their unions and the NBTA picked up the torch, along with the Canadian Teachers Federation and other provincial affiliates. “Fighting fires” and being “pulled multiple times a day to help with personal care for students” is wearing them down. That is true everywhere.

Banning cellphones has re-emerged as a major education policy but it’s different, this time around. The vast majority of teachers, when asked, identify the proliferation of mobile phones, aka “weapons of distraction,” as a major destabilizing force in today’s classrooms. It’s reached what they term a “crisis point” where it’s nearly impossible to reach some students or to sustain student attention in class.

Student data generated by the OECD Program of International Student Assessment Program (PISA), compiled in 2022, revealed class discipline is adversely affected by “distraction” caused by digital devices. In the case of Math classes, some 43 per cent of Canadian 15-year-olds reported students “get distracted using digital devices.” That’s considerably higher than the OECD average (30 per cent) and worse than Australia, now in the midst of a crisis sparked by PISA data testifying to a major student discipline problem in their schools.

The PISA 2022 data also demonstrates, conclusively, that banning cellphones in class is correlated with higher student math scores. “On average across OECD countries,” the OECD Fact Sheet for Canada reported, “students were less likely to report getting distracted using digital devices when the use of cellphones on school premises is banned.”

Schools in Quebec have been mandated to ban the use of cellphones in all classrooms by the end of 2023. In early October, Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville reaffirmed that policy in a ministerial directive. It follows earlier policy initiatives in France, the Netherlands, and many U.K. school authorities.

The Quebec ban applies to the use of cellphones, headsets, and other personal mobile devices by students while on school premises. The only exceptions are for pedagogical purposes with teacher permission because of a medical condition or in the case of kids with severe learning challenges requiring assistive technology.

Ontario announced a general “ban” on cellphones in September 2019, but the Doug Ford government left implementation up to its 72 school boards. The guidelines only applied to classrooms and students were free to use their phones during breaks and lunchtimes. Allowing cellphone use for educational purposes without any further limitations proved to be a loophole that undermined its effectiveness.

Banning cellphones is now back on the Ontario education policy agenda because Education Minister Stephen Lecce is looking to impose tougher and more enforceable rules. That follows a Dec. 9 public statement by TDSB board chair Rachel Chernos that Canada’s largest school district was planning to tighten its restrictions on both cellphones and social media use as part of its plan to get education back on track for school-age children.

New Brunswick may be moving in the opposite direction. In late November, Education Minister Bill Hogan endorsed a new report, “Building a Better Education System,” pledging to “create environments where students thrive and focus on learning; to engage communities; and to ensure the right expertise is in each classroom.” There’s no hint of banning cellphones and, in fact, a recommendation to “leverage technology to enhance learning and personalization.”

Tech evangelists have the ear of the education department and there’s no recognition whatsoever that social media and cellphone addition are inhibitors to teaching and learning. “We need to look at how we utilize advancements in technology to better support learners, while ensuring we encourage its responsible usage” is all it says.

“Students have access to a vast array of information at their fingertips,” the report reads, “which is enabling them to explore subjects in greater depth.” Surely regular classroom teachers would dispute this statement based upon current post-pandemic classroom realities. It’s hard to see a problem when you inhabit fantasyland.

Purposeful, calm and safe classrooms are not only good for students; they also make teaching and working with the full range of today’s student population far more satisfying for teachers. ‘Weapons of distraction’ are not a teacher’s ally when they act like kryptonite in the classroom.

Ban the infernal devices. No more toys, please. It’s time to throw educators a lifeline. Keeping overburdened teachers and hard-pressed support workers from giving-up is now a strategic priority for our schools.

Paul W. Bennett, Ed.D., is Director, Schoolhouse Institute, Adjunct Professor of Education, Saint Mary’s University, and Education Columnist for Brunswick News