By Staff
August 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
It won’t be long before they are back in their classrooms.
The messy little Minister of Education shuffle shouldn’t make much of a difference at this point on what the people at the Board of Education level have to deal with.
We are, for the time being at least, out of the Covid protocols and no more virtual classrooms.
The new province wide measures are taking effect on September 1, 2024 to directly counter the alarming rise of vaping and cellphone distractions in schools. The new rules will help combat the negative impact mobile devices, social media and vaping are having on academic achievement, mental health and physical well-being.
By removing distractions, students can focus their attention on academic achievement, which will include modernized courses in business and career studies, and technological education.
“With their constant stream of notifications and pings, it’s no surprise to anyone that cellphones constantly grab our attention. This is why it was necessary to restrict cellphones in the classroom and enable students to restore focus on learning so they can achieve better academic outcomes,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education. “This school year is shaping up to be the first in years without the threat of pandemic disruptions or negotiations with teachers’ unions. We’re excited for the year ahead where students can look forward to uninterrupted learning, extra-curriculars and a back-to-basics, modernized curriculum that will set them up for success.”
The government is investing $47.5 million to support the implementation of the new rules, including:
$15 million to support the expansion of programs that offer direct supports for students who are at risk of substance use and addictive behaviours- $1 million to School Mental Health Ontario to develop webinars and resources for parents and students to learn how to talk about the adverse effects of vaping and excessive cellphone usage
- $1.5 million for school boards to work with their parent involvement committees to enable parents and community partners to run grassroots campaigns to deter vaping and cellphone distractions
- Further, as announced in Budget 2024, $30 million to school boards for vape detectors and other security upgrades in schools
“By banning vaping in schools, our government is setting students up for success and prioritizing their health and well-being inside and outside the classroom,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and MPP for Dufferin-Caledon. “We are also reminding parents to keep their kids up to date on all routine vaccinations this school year to ensure our schools and communities remain safe for everyone.”
Beginning this fall, there will be a new graduation requirement and several new courses for Grade 9 and 10 students as the government continues to modernize the curriculum:
- Grade 9 students will be required to earn a Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education credit as part of their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. These courses will allow students to explore and apply fundamental technological concepts as well as the engineering design process.
Two experiential courses in Business Studies for students in Grades 9 and 10 will help students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, learn the importance of taking initiative, find creative solutions to issues as well as learn how to start and run a business.- For Grade 10 students, mandatory learning on mental health literacy has been expanded in the Career Studies course. Students will learn how to recognize the signs of being overwhelmed as well as where to find help locally when needed.
Cell phones are part of the problem. The other part is the debilitating consequences of a whole generation tethered to and dependent upon social media.
When you rely upon one medium or source for all your news and current affairs information, and you aren’t exposed to other media sources (i.e. television, radio, newspapers, etc.) you grow up in a bubble. It simply astonishes me how limited many students are in their knowledge of world events, politics, history, the arts, culture, etc. Sorry, but when it comes to critical analysis, evaluation, intellectual discussion and rigorous analysis and debate Instagram hardly qualifies as informed media. I daresay there aren’t many experienced, serious reporters of the magnitude or character of a Rex Murphy, Peter Desbarats, John Ivison or Christie Blatchford uploading thoughtful content on TikTok. However, I hear TikTok is quite good though for cute cat videos.
There should be no cellphones allowed in school.
The students will of course complain and whine and manipulate their parents, teachers and principals into thinking that they must have access to their phones in the case of an emergency. Ridiculous.
If there is a problem the school office can certainly get in touch with a parent.
The reason to go to school is to learn. Not to text their friends, look at instagram or any other social media during this time.
Have to wonder if some parents are the problem as well? In fact twenty-four hour access to a child’s cellphone does not necessarily tell them where their child is or what they are doing.