Re: Personal cell phones during working hours
Cell phone is becoming a big issue...see what Toronto School Board did...
School board bans cellphones
Apr 19, 2007 04:30 AM
Theresa Boyle
Staff Reporter
Students at Toronto public schools won't be allowed to use their cellphones in classrooms and hallways under a new board-wide policy approved last night.
Toronto District School Board trustees voted overwhelmingly to force students to turn off cellphones, BlackBerries and other personal communication devices during the school day.
The policy comes into effect later this month as the board informs each school.
Currently there is no system-wide policy governing the use of cellphones, leaving each school to make its own rules.
Officials have for months contemplated a board-wide cell ban in their 560 public schools.
Plagued by students filming fights on their phones, trying to cheat using the Internet on their phone, playing games in class, summoning spectators to schoolyard brawls and leaving class to take a call, North American schools are grappling with managing this technology.
Trustee Josh Matlow (Ward 11, St. Paul's) proposed the motion, arguing cellphones are interrupting classes and distracting students.
"This is a no-brainer folks. Just ask your local teacher," he said. "They're going off in classes ... students are texting back and forth."
The plan would require students to store their phones out of sight during the school day.
"As one of my principals says, there's no cell after the bell,'' said trustee Gerri Gershon (Ward 13, Don Valley West)
Matlow called the plan balanced, noting it wasn't as severe as that of some U.S. jurisdictions with outright bans.
The trustee acknowledged some people wouldn't like the restrictions.
"Some parents will say it's their right to contact their child 24/7," he said.
Parents argue their busy schedules make cells a logistical convenience, especially for single mothers juggling work and home responsibilities.
But long before cellphones were around parents could phone a school's main number to contact a child, Matlow noted. "We want our students to be active learners," he said. "When they're in a classroom and a teacher is in front of them, we want them focused."
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board banned cellphone use on school property in March, including portables, and also during after-school sports and field trips.
Some boards ban all hand-held electronic devices from classrooms and hallways, whereas others let students keep their iPods and other MP3 music players if teachers agree.
The Ontario Principal's Council has urged its members to push school boards for system-wide policies that would prohibit cellphones from exams, where students could use them to cheat, and also from washrooms and locker rooms where camera-equipped phones could invade others' privacy.
The group also wants school boards to think about what to do about cellphones during lockdowns, where students could text-message inaccurate information to relatives or even tip off someone wanted by police.
Some experts argue that the extent that children use cellphones outstrips any safety consideration.
Others say that cellphones are part of current social networking tools, like YouTube and MySpace, and that schools should be incorporating their use in the classroom, not banning them.