The Ontario government announced back in August it would place a ban on cellphones in classrooms, for non-educational use. A date of November 4, 2019, was given to school boards to implement the ban and today marks the first day.
Students can only use their cellphones for educational, health or special needs use. That means texting, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook are out of the question. One of the top trending hashtags in Canada this morning is #cellphoneban.
“When in class, students should be focused on their studies, not their social media,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, back in August. “That’s why we are restricting cellphones and other personal mobile devices in the classroom, while making sure technology is available to help students achieve success in the digital economy and modern workforce.”
Below is some of the top reaction on Twitter to the cellphone ban:
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
Banning cellphones in classrooms isn't going to work. Kids find ways around everything. Plus, why would you try to revert back to how it used to be rather than adapting and teaching students how to effectively manage technology on their own? It's 2019, not 1970. #cellphoneban
— marty mcfly williams (@charmrau) November 4, 2019
I told my students that the cell phone ban was in effect. We had a good chuckle.
In other news, we were learning about populism and fascism today.#cellphoneban
— Kylene Walker (@KyleneWalker) November 4, 2019
No cellphones in class? Here’s what I think? pic.twitter.com/rBKi6l2u8p
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 4, 2019
Students are clever and will find their way around this ban, such as chatting inside Google Docs instead. Or make pagers great again (remember when urgent messages would end with ‘911’).
What do you think? Should cellphones be banned from classrooms?
