Last week, our Grade 7 and 8 students spent three days at Camp Wanakita, near Haliburton, Ontario, and it’s safe to say the trip was a hit. After everyone processed their time away on the weekend, I heard many stories on Monday about how fun it was, how they wished it was longer and how nice it was to be off their phones. Yes, you heard them right – even I had to pause. Students were actually happy to be without their phones.

The trip was timely in that I am currently reading the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Heidt. This follows a pattern in the books I choose to read in my spare time during the school year (truth be told, I only read fiction in the summer). I have always been keenly interested in psychology. In fact, I studied it at university. Developmental psychology, in particular, is important in creating successful learning environments. It has helped me understand how students develop physically, cognitively and socially to then inform how we, in the Junior School, design learning experiences that are developmentally appropriate and engaging.

I feel that Haidt’s book has me thinking more and more about what we can continue to do here in the Junior School around technology and child development. "The Great Rewiring of Childhood," as Haidt writes about in his book, refers to the profound transformation of childhood experiences in this, the digital age. His idea involves understanding how modern technologies, particularly smartphones and the internet, have fundamentally altered the way children grow, learn and interact with the world around them. The book goes on to explore how children today are more connected to screens than to nature or traditional forms of free, unstructured, unsupervised play, and the implications of this shift that include concerns around decreased physical activity, social isolation, and the impact on cognitive development and emotional wellbeing.

These findings are not new and, for a while now, have been circulating in the media, in books and among doctors, psychologists and educators – people who have seen the mental health effects first-hand in their offices or classrooms. More recently, however, the effects around cell phone use among students captured the attention of the Ontario government and they have since issued a plan to crack down on cell phone use in schools this fall.

In his book, Haidt suggests four reforms or “new norms” for educators and parents to consider that may help to create a healthier kind of childhood (which he defines as being under age 18) that could coincide with healthy technology use in the digital age:

1. No smartphones before high school
2. No social media before age 16
3. Phone-free schools
4. More independence, free play and responsibility in the real world

While I know numbers one and two on the list apply more specifically to cell phone use at home and decisions made as a family, I can speak confidently about numbers 3 and 4 as an educator and administrator. We embrace and use technology in our classrooms and work to teach our students how to be responsible digital citizens. However, while we embrace technology as tools, we are keenly aware of their distractibility. In particular, we are tremendously proud of the stance we have taken in the Junior School to keep our classrooms phone-free. Our Yondr pouches keep phones out of reach all day, giving our students seven hours to attend to their teachers and peers. Evidence in the book shows that no school regrets taking some kind of approach that ensures phones aren't a disruption to class times. We fully concur.

As for more independence, free play and responsibility in the real world, I feel we continue to make shifts in our daily schedule to make this happen. From our choice of trips and activities, to our lengthened outdoor and co-curricular time, to our constant encouragement of our students to be independent, confident advocates, we are routinely exposing our students to small risks – and it is through these small risks that our children become adults who can handle much larger risks without panicking. Yes, even those stops in Whitby to catch a quick treat at Tim Hortons after a day of sport or music build life skills and responsibility.

Life is a multitude of experiences. Sadly, smartphones at times can be an experience blocker. As Haidt writes, “once they enter a child’s life, they push out or reduce all other forms of non-phone based experiences which is the kind that their [children’s] experience-expectant brains most need.” My intent in writing about cell phones is not to inflict guilt onto all of you amazing parents or to have you question your parental choices. I am a parent and my children have cell phones! My intent is to share knowledge so that we can collectively be part of the solution moving forward.

At the end of the school year, the Junior School staff will reflect on all we’ve done around technology and will look to this book, the Ministry of Education recommendations – and, hopefully, any feedback our parents can offer – to see what continued improvements can be made.