High school students react to Ontario's proposed cellphone ban
Ottawa students react to a proposed classroom cell phone ban
It's March break for students across Ontario, but when it comes to introducing new education policies, the provincial government isn't taking any time off.
On Tuesday, the Progressive Conservatives revealed that as of this this fall, cellphones would be banned inside the classroom during instructional time.
CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning wanted to know what students thought about the plan, so they went down to the Rideau Centre to hear from a few who were enjoying their week off.
Hazim Mohamed
Mohamed worries that if students lose access to their phones, they could miss important messages.
"Parents might just randomly text you for, like, emergency reasons. And if you don't have your phone you'll never know."
"I don't think it's going to work," he went on to say. "There are a lot of classes where cellphones are [already] banned, but people still go on them."
Leena Al-Hindawi
"I don't think it is a good idea cause in the real world we're going to have cellphones," said Al-Hindawi.
"So if you don't resist that urge to always use your cell phone in the first place, it just won't be a good idea ... I know it's a distraction but we need to learn to control ourselves and not use them all the time."
Omar Ntibuberwa
Ntibuberwa's concern is simple.
"You can use it for music. Some students work better with music," he said, worrying the ban would make that form of mental focus impossible.
With files from CBC's Ottawa Morning and Denise Fung