Maritimers debate Quebec ban on cell phones in schools

Many students have never known an academic year without cell phones - at least not in high school or middle school.

However in Quebec, a ban on smartphones at schools is about to go into effect.

"Once you arrive at the conclusion that this will be a good thing for the kids' concentration and this is going to create better conditions for academic success, I think it's my responsibility as minister then to make sure that all the students can benefit from this measure,” said Bernard Drainville, the province’s education minister.

The head of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union says it's a hot topic.

"I myself am a high school teacher, and cell phones were sometimes an issue in my classroom,” said NSTU president Ryan Lutes. "There's teachers on all sides of this. There's some that would like that and they think that would make the classroom better, and there's other teachers that use cellphones for productive purposes."

Registered psychologist Simon Sherry supports the idea of the cell phone ban.

He says we live in a time when youth are ‘troubled, if not plagued’ by excessive screen time.

While some would argue a ban on phones might hurt students' ability to connect the way they always have, Sherry says there's evidence that too much screen use undermines learning.

"You can form ties through social media, that is one of its potential benefits, but it's not necessarily to form those ties in the middle of math class,” Sherry said.

The NSTU president says if any legislation were to be considered here, it shouldn't happen without consultation with educators who know first-hand the effects of the technology in the classroom.

"You're trying to manage 32 students, and there are 32 cell phones,” Lutes said. “So at times they definitely take away from kids' attention, but again I'm not convinced a ban is the right approach because some teachers are using those phones for legitimate academic purposes and some kids are as well."

While the smartphone school ban is a reality for Quebec, for now all it is here in the Maritimes is a topic for debate.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.