Suggested response to the Toronto District School Board 2024 cell phone policy survey

In this page, I give some suggested responses to the TDSB’s May-June 2024 parent engagement survey on cell phone/mobile device use policy in schools. I approach this as someone horrified by what mobile devices and social media have done to childhood and childrens’ mental health, and so have written this in a way that suggests the best device policy is some form of a total ban. I try to give references (usually to Jonathan Haidt and coauthors) where possible. My kids are in SK and Grade 3 this year; if you have older children you may need to adapt the below to your situation.

The survey begins with a set of biographical questions, and then gets into the substance of the survey. My suggested responses are below; feel free to use and modify as you see fit.

Last updated: May 29, 2024

How does your student(s) use social media at school?

My children do not use social media at school, and will not use social media at school for the forseeable future. I hope that by the time my children are old enough to be on social media and own a smartphone (age 16), there will be a total ban on smartphone use during the school day. In addition to the overall mental health impacts of social media use by children, phones in schools more generally impede learning, stunt relationships, and lessen belonging. (See: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/ban-smartphones-phone-free-schools-social-media/674304/).

How are personal mobile devices used to support your student’s(s’) learning at school?

As stated above, my kids do not use mobile devices in school. More generally, while there may be some value in using personal mobile devices to look up information, this does not outweigh the downsides of allowing personal mobile devices in school. For those children who do not have access to useful websites at home, I understand the TDSB has access to Chromebooks. Frankly with the rise of AI-driven nonsense all over the internet, the general trustworthiness of anything you find online is plummeting, e.g. Google now returns AI hallucinations as often as not. Other than a few human-curated websites, I believe students would be better to learn things in school “offline” and then only later figure out how to mine the gold from the dross online.

How can your student(s) be supported to ensure compliance with the revised Provincial Code of Conduct in relation to personal mobile devices and electronic cigarettes (vaping)?

There are several essential elements: Board and Provincial support for teachers and school admin (principals, VPs, etc.); consistency; willingness to take on the minority of parents who will object; and physical tools like Faraday boxes/pouches.

Board and Provincial support for teachers and school admin: I put this first, because the lack of such support is the reason that the 2019 mobile phone ban has, to date, failed. Putting enforcement of a major rule like this solely in the hands of teachers, when students are quite literally addicted to their phones, and a small minority of overprotective parents will demand text access to their children all day, was always doomed to fail

According to the revised Provincial Code of Conduct, if a grade 7 to 12 educator sees a personal mobile device that is not stored out of view, they must require the device be handed in for the instructional period and the device must be placed, by the student, in a storage area in a location in the classroom designated by the educator. Do you have any suggestions or concerns about storage methods?

xxx

Here is the email sent on May 27, 2024 asking parents to participate in the survey and join the public engagement meetings:

From: Toronto District School Board <noreply@tdsb.on.ca>
Date: May 27, 2024 at 4:07:06 PM EDT
Subject: Cell Phone/Mobile Device Use in Schools