Ohio and cell phones in school
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From Gov. DeWine's State of the State:
Following the enactment of a new law last year requiring school districts to implement policies to address the use of cell phones in schools, many districts that banned cell phones have noted substantial improvement in student engagement, attendance, grades, socialization, and communication. As a result of the lessons learned over the past year, Governor DeWine announced a proposal to ban cell phone use in all Ohio schools.
“Addiction to screen time and the non-stop barrage of notifications rob our children of precious time to learn from their teachers during the school day,” said Governor DeWine. “I ask the Legislature to approve the language in our budget to put an end to cell phone use during school hours in all Ohio school districts to give the precious time during the school day back to our kids so they can learn and teachers can teach.”
Good move. I hope it spreads.
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Absolutely fantastic.
My best friend has a 9 year old who is absolutely addicted to watching youtube. While getting dressed, while out to eat, etc. Yes it comes down to parenting. Nonetheless, it's hard to watch.
If curriculum needs to change so that smartphones aren't needed (I know in some high schools, phones are used during some projects to share, collaborate, message...) so be it. There is absolutely no need for cell phones in school. And teaching kids how to "live" without looking at a screen is a great lesson. One even us adults (including me) can never learn well enough.
