I think the should-we/shouldn't-we argument is mute at this point. Cellphones in student hands is a given now. So is using it as a resource in educational settings, particularly after remote learning during Lockdown. They're here to stay and parents and teachers alike need to address how to incorporate them responsibly into learning and to teach kids safe and responsible use of the technology.

In America, with our plague of school shootings, I don't know any parent who wants their children to be without their phones.

I also think student access to educational resources is more equalized with cellphones. It seems more kids have cells than have laptops. And, if my son's school is any indicator, laptops are more often and easier stolen than cells. Cells rarely leave kids' hands, unlike laptops which are only brought out when they pull them out of their backpacks.