Pressure on mobile phones and tablets in elementary and middle school: the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, previews the new guidelines for schools in Il Foglio.
And therefore in the next ministry guidelines, cell phones will effectively be banned in elementary and middle schools, including for educational purposes and also in childhood.
The decision, the minister reasons, was taken both for teaching issues and because the improper use of smartphones and tablets often becomes an element of tension in the relationship between students and teachers
, which in some cases also leads to aggression by school staff .
Fewer distractions, more responsibility.
"Defending the teaching staff", says Valditara, "means defending the principle of delegation and authority which is the cornerstone not only of the school system but also of the democratic system".
UNESCO, the minister reminds Il Foglio, has already recommended a ban on the use of smartphones in classrooms
because if used excessively or inappropriately, mobile phones constitute a growing element of distraction which affects academic performance, fuels tension between students and teachers, negatively affects the child's memory, concentration and educational activity.
Fewer than one in four countries, UNESCO noted, ban the use of smartphones in schools
.
In 2018, France banned cell phones in elementary and middle schools. Subsequently, the same path was taken by Sweden, Finland and Holland.
Already in 2022, Valditara issued a circular to reiterate a ban that had actually already been foreseen in 2007: no cell phones in the classroom at nursery school and primary school.
With the next guidelines we move forward on this path.
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