The ban on cell phones in Saskatchewan classrooms can be viewed a few different ways depending on the angle you are looking at it. The cell phone bans have been in place for a semester (high school) now and the results seem to be mixed. I will take a look at the good, the bad, and the political.
The Bad
Let’s start here because honestly from my angle there is very little to say about the negative aspect of the cell phone ban. The major complaint seems to revolve around freedom and responsibility. Students say that “it sucks” that some students are being punished for what others do. In the same article you will see that one student said they won’t know what time it is. Apparently, there is a ban on clocks and watches as well. The other excuse that seems to be popular is that, parents won’t be able to contact their children. To that I would say, call the school or email the teacher. These are still reliable ways to get messages to students, as well as messaging your children and they can receive the message between breaks. Some of the backlash is also just from people who are mad about change and don’t really seem to have a legitimate reason. From my perspective, the “bad” seems to be from the lack of uniformity across schools. I believe the procedures that my school uses are excellent but from what I am reading and hearing, not all schools procedures are the same….or even similar.
The Political
I think it is very important to remember what was going on politically in Saskatchewan at this time. One of the things that didn’t get quite as much publicity was the group of conservatives that were pressuring the Sask Party to make this call. Other conservative party’s in Saskatchewan were starting to gain a little bit of traction and I believe this was a way for the Sask Party to keep their membership happy. That was just a very small part of it. The big picture here from the political view is the ongoing battle between the Government and the STF. The teachers federation who is still without a contract, hitched their wagon to “classroom complexity” and the government took advantage of the opportunity. Classroom complexity is about creating a positive learning environment for the students and the teacher and that is what the government set out to do. Scott Moe has said that they were looking for non financial ways to ensure that students have the best learning environment. This is clearly a way of saying “we are helping teachers” while also gaining support from their membership.
The Good
I know there are different views on this but in my opinion as a teacher the best part of the cell phone ban is that it is government mandated. Now all teachers should be on the same page which means that we are supporting each other. As a high school teacher, our procedures are very simple. When you enter the room, you place you cell phone in the cell phone holder, you take your phone with you at the end of class. This allows teachers to teach without distractions and students to learn without distractions while still giving the students the opportunity to check their phones in between classes to see if there is something important that they were sent. It doesn’t allow enough time to really focus on social media, or to bully someone online, or deteriorate their mental health. That’s dramatic I know, but those are the real problems with cell phones, its not all about focusing in class, that is huge but it is also important for students to know that they don’t have to rely on their phones. They will still get them at the end of every hour but they don’t need them constantly. The other aspect of this ban is that it is not a “blanket” law like some people make it out to be. Administration has the authority to allow use of cell phones in the classroom. At my school for example, when we hand out our course outlines, it says which outcomes will allow use of technology. We get to make that decision with the approval of administration.
I will admit that I was against the ban when it was first announced. I didn’t think it was necessary but after experiencing it in action, I don’t see how the bad even comes close to outweighing the good. If you were able to stick with me through this, thank you and please comment with whether you agree or disagree.
Here is one more article with different perspectives. Enjoy
Russ Nielsen
Hi Russ,
I appreciated your breakdown of the good, the bad, and the ugly (I mean political) side of this ban! It is a very nuanced issue, and therefore, requires the consideration of diverse perspectives. Like we discussed in our breakout room, I see a lot of positives in removing the constant distractions of cellphones (especially when our students don’t seem to be disconnected any other time). I also like that the ban puts every teacher and school on the same playing field, hopefully reducing inconsistency. One of my biggest concerns with an outright ban is the missed opportunities to teach my students how to use this technology responsibly. I get around this using our class laptops and tablets, but I would still like more hands-on lessons to teach them about balance, self-regulation, and ethical tech use. I like your school’s stance on using technology when it’s deemed useful; I wish that was emphasized more widely instead of appearing like an exception. And yes, the ban fell at a very interesting political time – in an attempt to seem like the Government was addressing some of the challenges in classrooms. I rarely trust policies created in election years. But despite my political trust, I – like you – mostly see the positives in this ban. It’s not very different from what my school had before, so the impact has been minimal.