Letting teachers decide how to deal with cellphone use in their own classrooms is a better option than the province-wide ban proposed by the leader of BC United, says the president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association.
“We are not in favour of a ban across the board,” said Ilda Turcotte. “We firmly believe in teacher autonomy. There can be instances when it would be appropriate for students to use cellphones.”
After a new rule came into effect Dec. 31 banning cellphones from classrooms in Quebec, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon said his party would implement a province-wide ban to ensure a “consistent standard” for school use of cellphones. A similar ban was implemented in Ontario in 2019.
“Let’s get this done now so students’ focus can return to their studies, not their screens,” Falcon said.
“Teachers already have enough on their plates without having to monitor cellphone usage in classrooms.”
BC United would fund lockers for cellphone storage at all kindergarten-Grade 12 schools, he said.
Falcon, who has two young daughters, one in elementary and the other in high school, said parents who need to reach their kids at school could do so the way they did previously, by contacting the school office or waiting until lunch hour or after school, when the students would have their mobiles.
Falcon said he has heard from teachers and parents how challenging it is to get kids off their cellphones and how much time students spend on TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
Teachers, he said, find it hard to manage their classrooms “when they can’t get their kids to focus.”
In an interview Thursday, Falcon said the response from teachers and parents to his call for a ban has been “overwhelmingly supportive” because they recognize negative impacts of cellphones in the classroom.
But Turcotte said cellphones are needed in some classrooms because of an insufficient supply of technology such as laptops.
“Students have to use their own devices,” she said. “The schools are just not provided with the materials and resources that are needed. Classes are sharing and teachers have to book equipment.”
Neither her association nor the B.C. Teachers’ Federation have a policy on cellphone use in classrooms, Turcotte said.
Education Minister Rachna Singh said in a statement Thursday that her ministry is re-evaluating the issue.
“While we know that technology in the classroom can be a distraction, we also know that technology can be a helpful learning tool, and that some students rely on devices for accessibility,” Singh said. “Here in B.C., many school districts already have policies in place restricting cell phone access for students at school. Principals and teachers also have the ability to restrict cell phone use in classrooms.”
In the Sooke School District, students at Belmont Secondary are required to either place cellphones in a container at the front of the class, or to keep them in backpacks or bags on silent mode.
Belmont’s principal has said that teachers can schedule “technology breaks” during class for students to check their cellphones.
Melissa Da Silva, who has a son in Grade 10 at Royal Bay Secondary, said the school has a similar system to Belmont’s for cellphones that “seems to be working well.”
Da Silva, acting president of the Sooke Parents’ Education Advisory Council, said she hasn’t seen much pushback from students.
She said at a parent-advisory council meeting this week, Royal Bay’s approach, which can include some level of cellphone use as needed, was generally viewed positively.
“Sometimes technology’s needed in class to actually do the work,” Da Silva said. “I trust teachers’ discretion. They have lesson plans for a reason.”
A cellphone ban was imposed at Central Middle School in 2017 in a first for the Greater Victoria School District, after then-principal Topher Macintosh said the devices were becoming a “serious impediment” to learning.
Many other middle and secondary schools have since followed suit with their own forms of cellphone regulation, district superintendent Deb Whitten said.
She said cellphone rules can vary from teacher to teacher, and school to school.
“We have some schools that have a cellphone policy or practice in place where they’re not available to students in class,” Whitten said. “Some teachers have pockets for students to put their cellphones in when come into class. Some will say just leave them in your locker.”
Whitten said teachers and schools also look at the value of “digital literacy” through appropriate use of cellphones.
Falcon said for the “rare circumstances” where cellphones are part of a teacher’s education plan — by choice or necessity if students don’t have access to computers or laptops — flexibility can be built into the system.
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