Nova Scotia working on cellphone use policy for classrooms
Education minister says changes should be ready in time for September
The Nova Scotia government is working on a new policy related to cellphones in classrooms, the province's education minister confirmed Wednesday.
Becky Druhan told reporters consultations have started with partners, including the minister's student advisory council. There are plans to work with teachers, and surveys have gone out to school advisory councils.
The plan is to have something ready in time for September, she said.
"I would say we've heard that there's a desire for support around this, so I would expect that we will be taking an action that is something different than is currently the case," said Druhan.
"I'm not going to anticipate what that will yield, but we're going to be guided by what we hear, and create something that meets the needs of our Nova Scotia schools."
'A classroom management nightmare'
Nova Scotia Teachers Union president Ryan Lutes said in an interview Wednesday that cellphones in classrooms is a complicated issue, but there's no question they inhibit learning.
"They're a distraction for students and they're a classroom management nightmare for teachers, for the most part," he said.
Lutes said it will be important for teachers' voices to be included in any policy change, since they're on the front lines, but he said it will also be important that they are well supported by regional centres for education and administrators.
"Because asking teachers to individually monitor 30 or more students who all have cellphones without support, it's just not feasible and it's going to fail before it starts."
While the issue is a problem for many teachers, Lutes said some have successfully found ways to incorporate digital devices into learning and it would be his hope that any policy changes afford teachers the freedom to continue allowing that use if they see fit.
The Ontario government recently announced that beginning in September, students in primary to Grade 6 will be required to keep phones on silent and out of sight for the entire school day. Older students in Grades 7 to 12 will not be permitted to use their cellphones during class time without permission.
Paige MacPherson, the associate director of education policy for the Fraser Institute think-tank, said in a recent interview with CBC that Nova Scotia should bring in an outright ban if it wants to eliminate distractions for kids.
MacPherson said there is research to suggest a direct link between digital devices in classrooms and declining math performance through the years.
"We need to make sure they're completely out of the picture, not just in your pocket on silent," she said.
While he welcomes the discussion about cellphones in classrooms, Lutes said there needs to also be a recognition that it's not just a school problem.
With the established impacts phones can have on young people's development and self-esteem through things such as social media, Lutes said there needs to be a recognition of the need for behavioural changes outside of schools, too.
"There are now pretty significant negative impacts and I think [as a] society, we need to get our heads wrapped around that. It's not just a problem between 9 and 5 and school hours."
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