Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives are calling on the government to implement a province-wide approach to cellphone bans in classrooms.
In recent months, some School Divisions have put policies in place. However, MLA Kelvin Goertzen says rather than a hodge-podge effort, where some divisions have policies and others do not, Manitoba needs a consistent position.
"It has to be I think province-wide," says Goertzen. "Because it's a good policy and you don't want to have sort of disorganized policies across the province when you recognize that this is good for students."
Goertzen, who has served in the past as our province's Education Minister, says his opinion is that Manitoba should have a general ban, yet recognize that there are exceptions. For example, he notes there may be some students who should be allowed to use a cell phone due to medical concerns. Or, Goertzen says if the cellphone is being used as an educational tool for research, then a cellphone in the classroom could be beneficial.
Goertzen says adults can relate to the distraction caused by cellphones. He notes while sitting in a restaurant, it is almost a reflex to reach for your phone to see if you missed any messages. Goertzen says the distraction is magnified for young people, who, without thinking about it, will reach for their phone instead of focusing on learning.
"Having had a student in high school I think that we all can recognize the distraction that happens in classrooms," says Goertzen. "I think as parents all of us are worried about the obsessive use of cellphones and what that does, not just to learning but sometimes to mental health."
According to Goertzen, the discussion to ban cellphones in classrooms was being talked about already when he was Education Minister. But he notes that was a few years ago, at a time when the pandemic was occupying the minds of people.
"Manitoba is now the only prairie province without a unified policy on classroom cellphone use," says PC Education Critic Grant Jackson. "Rather than showing some leadership and taking a stand, the NDP have currently abandoned teachers, leaving them on their own to police the use of electronics in the classroom."
Goertzen says most divisions in our province do not have a uniform policy. He notes many of them are saying they are looking into the matter and likely more of them will have policies in place before the start of this next school year.
"I think that there is a common consensus that this is the direction that we need to go," adds Goertzen. "To have a policy generally now in Manitoba that restricts the use of cellphones in classrooms."
And, Goertzen says while it seems like we are headed in that direction in Manitoba, it is being done in a disorganized way. Goertzen says if this is recognized as something good for students, why not have a policy province-wide?