Canadian schools are experimenting with cellphone bans, but some parents say the devices are lifelines

Last month, an Ontario high school teacher wrote an anonymous open letter decrying student-on-teacher violence. Outlining specific actions that the educator wanted the school board to take, one bullet point stood out: a complete ban on cellphones.

It's a tall order, but it's one that some schools across Canada are asking from their teen students in order to reduce bad behaviour, remove distractions and improve quality of life in the classroom.

Cellphones have a large impact on students' mental health, says Sachin Maharaj, an assistant professor of educational leadership, policy and program evaluation at the University of Ottawa.

Schools aren't just teaching content, Maharaj told CBC News, they're also teaching "habits of mind," including the ability to think deeply, focus for long periods of time and listen attentively and empathetically to others.

"I think that when students face this constant distraction from their phones, it reduces their ability to do those types of things," he said. 

From St. Thomas High School in Montreal, to Elk Island Public Schools in Sherwood Park, Alta., school administrators are implementing cellphone bans that require students to lock up their phones at the beginning of the day or keep them turned off during lessons.

Educators who are against a ban say phones can be included in teaching, but at least one school that tried that ended up banning the devices when those plans fell apart.

Other say phones are an important link between school and home — especially for students at risk of violence.

Ontario is the only province in Canada with an active ban on cellphones in the classroom. A similar proposal in Quebec was shot down last month, while others in Nova Scotia and B.C. met the same fate.

But a smattering of individual Canadian schools and school districts have taken it upon themselves to ban students from using their phones. Chatelech Secondary School on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast banned cellphones six months ago, and the outcome was remarkable, according to school counsellor Tulani Pierce.

"We are seeing improved mental health, we're seeing decreased bullying, we're seeing more engagement in class, we're seeing more social interaction," said Pierce in an interview last month.

"Kids are playing again instead of being on their phones and we're seeing increased academic success."

Not everyone agrees that banning cellphones would be helpful to students, let alone enforceable.

Tony Djukic, a Brampton, Ont., parent, told CBC News that his daughter, Karen, used her cellphone to communicate with him when other kids began targeting her at her former school. She was a new student at the time, and he said the administration's efforts to contain the bullying fell short.