“It should be normal and I’m surprised that years later we’re still talking about it.” Fabio Gramellini, manager school of the Oriani Technical Institute from Faenza, has been giving interviews to the local and national press for eight years because his is one of the few high schools in Italy to have banned the use of cell phones in class. In Faenza, at the moment, it is thesingle example virtuoso of this type. «I didn’t impose any obligations and, above all, I didn’t invent anything – he defends himself – because it’s there Italian law which establishes a ban on the use of devices in the classroom”. The last one circular from the Ministry of Education in this regard it dates back to 2022but already since 2007 in Italy it is The use of smartphones is prohibited during the hours of lesson, “since it is an instrument of distraction for the pupils and a lack of respect for the teacher”. At the time, the Senate Commission had listed the deleterious effects generated by the excessive use of smartphones and video games: myopia, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, but above all addiction, alienation, depression, irritability, aggression, insomnia, dissatisfaction, decline in empathy .
No cell phones in class, not even for teachers until the bell rings
Not having your cell phone at hand in class means having fewer opportunities for distractions and disturbances and a greater stimulus of your abilities: concentration, focus, memory, dialectics. «Initially we used plastic boxes – he says Gramellini – but today every classroom is equipped with a row of numbered pockets in which students deposit their smartphones before the start of lessons: it is a well-tested system. I must say that we have not recorded any complaints or thefts and it has not been a deterrent for new members who, in fact, are increasing every year.” The cell phone cannot be used in the classroom not even during breaks, during the change of time for example, during the break or in the gym, until the last bell rings. The same prohibition also applies to teachers.
The Gramellini manager: «Enforcing the rules is hard work»
It makes you wonder if the kids are trying to be clever. «It is obvious that they are looking for systems to circumvent the rules with the use of smartwatches – specifies Gramellini -. If, however, we catch them with their cell phones in hand, we inform the families who come to collect the device. An opportunity to report a possible problem, but above all to raise awareness about risks. If the mobile phone is used to copy tasks and tests, as usual, the disciplinary note». Some bad mood is inevitable, but the system holds. «We don’t have a gun pointed, but enforcing the rules takes effort – he adds -. It would be easier to turn a blind eye. Phrases like ‘they are mature’, ‘I trust’ hide too much surrender and an inability to put rules and limits».
«Don’t delegate everything to an instrument and learn to think with your head»
Among the most alarming effects of cell phone abuse is the progressive loss of capacity of concentration, memory, critical sense, adaptability and dialectical ability. «Kids forget that they are not stock market managers – jokes the Oriani manager – and that there is no reason to stay glued to the screen all the time». Between chats, social networks and apps, which trigger hundreds of notifications a day, teenagers risk falling into a trap loops. «We do not have the presumption of reversing the problem of addiction with 4 or 5 hours of prohibition a day. What matters to us is send a message: do not delegate everything to a tool and learn to think with your own head, rather than with artificial intelligence. We are not enemies of technology, we are a technical institute, but we want to use it in support of our potential, not as a replacement. I am also interested in safeguarding the work and dignity of people teachers: It’s depressing to see how others don’t take action. It happens more and more often that children watch videos on cell phones while teachers explain.” One last question before saying goodbye: what is the moment ofinterval in a school without smartphones? «Those who come to visit us are amazed: there are no kids holed up in some corner bent over the screen, but noise, jokes and laughter in the classrooms and corridors, as happened in all schools until a few decades ago».
Barbara Fichera
Tags: school smartphones cell phones years Oriani Faenza
