By Ben Szalinski | Capitol News Illinois
Are cellphones a useful tool or a distraction in the classroom? According to Gov. JB Pritzker, they’re a distraction, and he has proposed banning them during classroom instruction.
Pritzker proposed legislation during his State of the State speech in February that would call for banning cellphones during classroom learning time. However, his proposal would not ban cellphones in school entirely, meaning students may still be allowed to use their devices between classes. Private schools would not be included in the ban.
“In conversations with educators from around the state, there is one thing most commonly cited as an impediment to classroom learning: cellphones,” Pritzker said at a news conference Thursday in Champaign.
Some of Illinois’ largest school districts already have adopted their own limits on cellphones in their classrooms, including Springfield, Peoria and Champaign.
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I am old. I remember a time when communicating outside of a face to face encounter was driven by chance or pre-arrangement. If you weren’t home when the land line rang you missed a call. The world did not end. Phones should be banned in school AND the workplace unless the phones are required for the job. Bring back the coffee break but call it a phone break. I watch construction workers, baggage handlers, boat captains-people who are responsible for my safety-scrolling or texting on the job. Put the screens away. Let common sense and self control prevail.