As myFM has shared this week, Ontario unveiled its new initiative aimed at curbing distractions in classrooms and bolstering the well-being of children across the province when it comes to things like cell phone use and vaping beginning this fall.
As reactions continue to come out, myFM reached out to the Thames Valley School Board and received this official response.
“As a board, we are in support of measures taken by the government which prioritize the safety and well-being of students and support improved student achievement and engagement in the classroom. We look forward to learning more as details become available by the Ministry” said Mark Fisher, Director of Education.
Under the new guidelines, students in Kindergarten to Grade must keep phones silent and out of sight all day, unless permitted for special use. Students in Grades 7 to 12 can use their phones, but only outside of class.
Students who break the rules will have their phones taken away and a call will then be made to their parents.
In making the announcement Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the move is part of their back-to-basics plan, which looks at the “negative impact” of mobile devices, social media and vaping in the halls and classrooms of our schools.
In an unprecedented move in Canada, social media websites will also be removed from all school networks and devices.
Teachers will be trained and “distraction levels” will also be included on report cards.
As for vaping, any student caught with vaping products will have them taken away, right away. The province will also invest in vaping-detectors for schools.
The move comes after four of the largest school boards in the province sued some of the largest social media companies, saying they have negatively rewired the way students think, learn, behave and disrupted the day to day life of schools.
