QuebecSA国际影视传媒檚 new rule banning cellphones in classrooms will be in effect when students return from the holiday break, making the province the second to implement such a measure, after Ontario.
The directive, which aims to reduce distractions in class, enters into force Dec. 31 and applies to public elementary and secondary schools, but it offers teachers flexibility to let students use phones for specific pedagogical purposes.
Many Quebec schools already had rules limiting cellphones in classes before Education Minister Bernard Drainville introduced the ban in August, but some child advocates say itSA国际影视传媒檚 in the interest of children to make restrictions as tough as possible.
Days ahead of DrainvilleSA国际影视传媒檚 announcement, 脡tienne Bergeron, a high school teacher from Warwick, Que., launched a petition calling on the government to forbid cellphones anywhere on school property.
SA国际影视传媒淚 would have gone a lot further,SA国际影视传媒� Bergeron said in an interview, comparing his petition to what the province ultimately decided to do. SA国际影视传媒淲hat I want is all personal devices banned in schools SA国际影视传媒� even in the corridors, the public spaces, the libraries, everywhere.SA国际影视传媒�
If a teacher wants students to use cellphones for a pedagogical purpose, he said, the lesson SA国际影视传媒渨ould have to be something well-defined.SA国际影视传媒�
Bergeron says heSA国际影视传媒檚 not anti-technology SA国际影视传媒� he manages his schoolSA国际影视传媒檚 creative laboratory and teaches students about programming, music, and video game design, but he says his lessons use digital tools to expand the mind, not to surf aimlessly online.
SA国际影视传媒淭he reality is when young people are on the phone, they are on TikTok, theySA国际影视传媒檙e playing games,SA国际影视传媒� Bergeron said. SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 convinced itSA国际影视传媒檚 not in the mission of Quebec schools to leave our young people in front of these devices that literally make them anti-social.SA国际影视传媒�
QuebecSA国际影视传媒檚 Education Department says that by Dec. 31 all schools must have a policy restricting the use of cellphones in classrooms. It will be up to individual school boards to come up with penalties for students who donSA国际影视传媒檛 follow the rules.
Some boards, including the provinceSA国际影视传媒檚 largest French-language one SA国际影视传媒� Centre de services scolaire de Montr茅al SA国际影视传媒� and the English Montreal School Board, have had rules for some time prohibiting cellphones in class outside of authorized lessons.
In Ontario, teachers unions have lamented that their provinceSA国际影视传媒檚 2019 ban is not being enforced and that cellphones pop up routinely in classrooms. At the Toronto District School Board SA国际影视传媒� the largest school board in Canada SA国际影视传媒� chair Rachel Chernos Lin introduced a motion to revisit the issue in January and come up with a new, robust policy to ban cellphones.
SA国际影视传媒淚 would like to see something that has some teeth in it,SA国际影视传媒� Chernos Lin said. SA国际影视传媒淏ut ultimately SA国际影视传媒� I hope we will create a culture around cellphone use that is different than what we have now.SA国际影视传媒�
Joel Westheimer, a University of Ottawa education professor, isnSA国际影视传媒檛 surprised the Toronto board wants to reopen the debate, calling OntarioSA国际影视传媒檚 rule SA国际影视传媒渁n extremely imperfect one because it wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 written in a way that was really going to make it happen across the province.SA国际影视传媒�
The issue of cellphones has been on the front burner since a UNESCO report in July found that they can disrupt learning; Drainville has said that report spurred him to act.
Several countries have gone further than Quebec and Ontario. In 2018, France banned phones on school grounds for those under the age of 15, while China banned phones for schoolchildren in 2021. The U.K. government announced in October it would issue guidance to support head teachers who want to ban phones in schools, adding that its measure would be in line with similar bans in Italy and Portugal.
SA国际影视传媒淟ots of jurisdictions around the world SA国际影视传媒� have implemented cellphone bans and have found very positive outcomes from that. Students are less distracted, they report more engagement, and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 even been some measures of academic growth and also less loneliness,SA国际影视传媒� Westheimer said.
In Quebec, M茅lanie Laviolette, president of parent group F茅d茅ration des comit茅s de parents du Qu茅bec, is welcoming the rules.
SA国际影视传媒淲hat we hope is that our kids are in the best position to learn, so not having TikTok at their fingertips is a good thing,SA国际影视传媒� Laviolette said.
Katherine Korakakis, head of the English Parents Committee Association of Quebec, called the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 decision a SA国际影视传媒渕issed opportunitySA国际影视传媒� that avoids looking at issues like technology addiction, media literacy or fake news and focuses instead on punitive measures.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think courses on being a digital citizen, how to use technology, talking about addiction, talking about this type of stuff with the students will make a much bigger impact than taking away a phone,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
