Ontario Schools Get a Feeble Phone Policy

The new 'rules' are based on wishful thinking, not solid research.

This week, Ontario’s Ministry of Education announced that it is cracking down on cellphones in classrooms. Described by the education minister Stephen Lecce as “Canada’s most comprehensive plan” to reduce distractions in schools, the revised policy says the following:

Students in grades 7 to 12 can keep their smartphones with them. But they can’t use them unless “explicitly allowed by the educator.” Report cards will include comments on students’ distraction levels. And because parents “want to communicate with their children during school,” phones will be allowed during non-instructional time or if a teacher gives permission.

The policy description then concludes with a catchy phrase so stunningly out of touch with reality that I literally laughed out loud when I read it: “When it comes to cellphones, Ontario’s policy is: out of sight and out of mind.” As if it were that easy!

Brain Drain

I wonder if Lecce has ever heard of the infamous “Brain Drain” study from 2017. It’s fascinating. Researchers found that the mere proximity of a phone reduces cognitive capacity. Groups of students were directed to do one of three actions—put their phone on their desk, leave it in a pocket or bag, or leave it in another room. None of these conditions involved active phone use, just an awareness of the phone’s location. What happened? The closer the phone was, the worse the student performed on tests.

To say, “out of sight, out of mind,” is ridiculous. It’s wishful thinking. Lecce’s new policy won’t work. Why not? Because it pretends that humans are wired differently than they are.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt broke down various phone-limiting policies in schools for an article in The Atlantic. Lecce’s proposal is a Level 1: “Students can take their phone out during class, but only to use it for class purposes.” It’s also mostly useless. Haidt says:

“Students do not have the impulse control to stop themselves from checking their phone during class time if the phone is within reach. One teacher told me that even when a ban on using phones during class is enforced, some students will say that they need to use the bathroom in order to check their phone.”

It’s worse than that. My kids tell me that some students spend entire periods in the bathroom, day after day, playing games on their phones while avoiding class.

No Real Change

When I mentioned the policy change to my children, who range in age from elementary to high school, they pointed out that students are already not supposed to use phones in class unless a teacher says it’s OK, but many of the teachers allow it. Whether it’s because they’re burned out from confiscating devices or are trying to “meet the kids where they’re at,” phones are being incorporated into the school day more frequently—never mind the research showing that any increase in engagement is cancelled out by an increase in distraction.

One of my sons has gone from loving to hating French class because “all the kids with phones are allowed to use them once they’ve finished their work.” I asked what he does.

“Nothing. I just sit there, and if someone’s feeling nice, they’ll share their phone with me.”

My heart breaks to hear him say he now dreads the class he once described as his favourite.

My high schooler tells me that half the class spends the entire day with one AirPod in, listening to music or watching TikTok videos or (last week’s antics) downloading Truth Social to the amusement of all the boys sitting in the back of the class. They film each other—it’s called “getting clipped”—and scroll on Snapchat. During class. Constantly.

“What does the teacher do?” I ask over and over again.

“Nothing,” they tell me over and over again.

Their principal told me that many kids forget their school-supplied laptops at home, so teachers opt to let them use personal phones in class “to do research and work.” I pointed out that there are more effective ways to ensure a child does not forget their laptop again. She agreed, but repeated that it’s left up the teachers. That strikes me as the opposite of a strong, consistent, across-the-board plan to counteract distraction.

A Lack of Logic

There is little in Lecce’s policy that makes sense to me.

Why, oh why, are we bowing to this outrageous parental insistence that they be able to reach their children during the school day? That’s what the office is for. Not only is it disrespectful to teachers, but it undermines the child’s ability to focus. It takes 20 minutes for a child to regain their focus after having it pulled away by a device. So, whenever a parent texts their kid about a mundane scheduling detail, they might as well say, “I don’t care about the quality of your education.”

To allow phones during non-instructional time, a.k.a. lunch, also baffles me. Teens are suffering from higher rates of loneliness, isolation, and social anxiety than ever before—and they themselves blame phones for it. A phone is too tempting, too luscious a treat to gorge oneself on when compared to making awkward small talk with a stranger in the cafeteria. And yet, one has a longer-lasting reward than the other. One gives you a fleeting dopamine hit, the other could become your future best friend. But one doesn’t stand a chance in the face of the other. Interacting with the phone is just too easy, too frictionless.

By the way, it's called “phubbing”, a.k.a. phone snubbing, when a person whips out their phone because they’d rather not talk to you. As Haidt wrote for the Atlantic, “Once some students start phubbing others, then the others feel pressure to pull out their own phone, and in a flash, the culture of the entire school has changed.”

Continued Inaction

And so, we relegate our children to more years of disappointing, toothless school policies when it comes to smartphones. We’re sacrificing our kids and their educations while weak-willed leaders dither and debate over how to keep everyone happy and avoid being the “bad guy” themselves.

As my (much calmer) husband pointed out, I should acknowledge the effort that the Ministry of Education is making. “Recognize the intent behind the policy, even if you don’t think it goes far enough,” he said. “In fairness, they are doing something.”

I will point out one part of Lecce’s letter that is perhaps the most important. He wrote, “No matter how strong the policy is, we can’t do this alone.” He asked parents to support schools and have conversations with kids at home about following these rules.

But therein lies another sticky part of this discussion.

What About the Parents?

Is it not insane that many parents appear to be asking for tighter regulations on smartphones in classrooms while continuing to send their kids to school with smartphones? Schools wouldn’t even have to deal with this issue if parents simply forbade kids from taking devices to school or gave them a basic “dumbphone” that enabled calling or texting while in transit.

Why aren’t parents taking action at home? Perhaps they don’t want to be the bad guy either, so it’s easier to demand that schools establish the limits that they are reluctant to do themselves. Or is it because parents are addicted to their own phones and cannot bear to face the hypocrisy of telling their kid to limit use? I wrote about this in one of my most popular posts, “It’s the Adults, Not the Kids.”

Looking at the mess that Ontario schools are in, I see a whole bunch of ambivalent adults who wish things were different but lack the courage to make the necessary changes. And the most tragic thing of all is that children are the ones who pay the price. They’re the ones who will grow up stunted, robbed of normal healthy childhood experiences, missing real-life friends, their ability to focus shattered, their general knowledge filled with gaping holes because they were allowed to watch TikTok videos for years instead of listening in class. The kids are the ones who lose the most.

What would I like to see in a school policy? No phones in the classroom. No phones during lunch. If parents need to talk to their kids, they can call the office. The phones could be banned from the premises or locked in pouches that are inaccessible throughout the day. Please note that I’m not even calling for tech-free classrooms (much as I’d love that). This is strictly about personal smartphones.

Let’s level the playing field. Let’s help kids to reconnect and engage with each other; help them to focus, think, and absorb the content of their lessons. Let’s stop lying to ourselves and instead create an environment that is truly conducive to learning. Come on, Lecce. You can do better. Make Ontario the model that other countries wish to emulate.

You Might Also Like:

‘The Anxious Generation’: Things Are Worse Than We Realized
How to Handle Other Kids With Phones
Your Kid Doesn’t Need a Smartphone to Be ‘Safe’

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