Sudbury doctor says screen-free classrooms would benefit students

Dr. Emily Dubé is a mom of four and a family physician in Sudbury.

When her oldest daughter first started school in the city, Dubé said she was shocked by the amount of screen time used in the classroom.

“I asked for that not to be the case or there to be limits on TV shows, and non-educational content. We had a lot of pushback from the administration,” Dubé said.

“We were told we were a minority of parents. I really felt strongly that from speaking with other parents, and from the obvious effects of screens that, that this was not the case.”

That’s when she started the Screen-free Elementary education in Sudbury survey. That was two years ago and now she has support from more than 200 parents and teachers who have filled it out.

That includes Erin Cooney, who said she was first made aware of screen time at her child’s school when their school lunch would come back nearly untouched.

“I then learned that they were watching Netflix/YouTube videos during snack and lunchtime, which completely distracted my child from eating,” Cooney said.

“After speaking with friends who had children at various schools in town, I learned that screen time for eating was common practice. I was very surprised and disappointed. Obviously, I wanted my child to eat while at school but I also wanted them to talk to their peers and learn to socialize.”

School admin agreed

Thankfully, the school administration agreed to enact policies to reduce screen time. Cooney hopes the changes stick.

“The administration changes regularly at each school … so I’m not sure what the future holds if it isn’t board or ministry mandated,” she said.

“I do hope we do better with the knowledge we have to ensure we are giving our children the best we can.”

Dubé said she shared findings from the survey with three of the four area school boards but that Rainbow District School Board refused to receive the information.

CTV News contacted the board and received this response:

“Rainbow District School Board strives for balance with the use of technology in education. There are many benefits to the purposeful use of technology to support and supplement teaching and learning. It does not replace the face-to-face instruction and interaction that occurs between teachers and students in Rainbow Schools.

“In our efforts to provide the greatest learning opportunities for our students, a completely screen-free education is not a viable option. In fact, the Ministry of Education has asked school boards to incorporate digital tools for math instruction. These tools enable teachers to obtain immediate feedback on how well students understand concepts.

Technology tools

“Technology tools have enabled students to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. There are students in Rainbow Schools who require assistive technology to learn. We work diligently to ensure our students receive the appropriate accommodations in order to maximize their full potential.”

Dubé said this is a huge public health problem that needs to be addressed.

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“I think we need to look at what is happening in the schools, and address, that portion, as well,” she said.

“Oftentimes this discussion gets sidetracked with what is happening in the homes. And parents do feel overwhelmed and have significant difficulties with controlling or deciding what to do with screen time. It's not an easy decision and so we tend to focus on what's happening at home.

“However, we do know that kids are spending a large portion of their day, at school, and that there is lots of screen time there,” she added.

While Dubé said she hopes the survey brings about better education for children in the community, she said it’s also about providing support at the community level for parents.

Click here to take part in the survey.