"No Cell After the Bell"

So said a TDSB principal after being told of a cell-phone ban. Effective immediately, a ban on the personal communication devices was announced this morning by the Toronto District School Board.
They are not an essential to in-class functioning for the students. There is no real justification for their omnipresence, but more than one reason to rule them out. Nasty types with cameras on their cell phones have taken footage of both teachers and fellow students in potentially embarrassing situations and posted them on the net in acts of cyber-bullying. Dishonest types have found the text messaging feature to be a great aid to cheating. Violent types have used them to call spectators to watch fights on school property. In-coming calls have interrupted more than one learning situation to the annoyance and detriment of others actually wanting to acquire knowledge. Their proliferation does nothing of note to keep their users safe during their day at school, or help them focus on learning. Since they can be such a big part of interfering with a student's focus, parents who want thier kids to acquire a good education should be pleased by news of the ban. Any parent needing to get a message to their kid can do what has alway worked before, and call the school office. I spent decades in the school system and I never did meet any secretary who refused to forward a parent's message.
There will be screams of protest, I am sure, from parents and kids alike, but this time the schools have done something exactly the way they should. "It's our right" is bound to be something you'll hear repeatedly in among all the spluttering, but let's take a little look at that. The right to life and good health, the right to food and shelter - all of those are real rights and no-one here in Canada is going to argue anyone exercising those rights, but a cell-phone? Come on, folks. Like Ward 11 Trustee Josh Matlow says, "This is a no-brainer."
Good for you, TDSB!