Where do District 15 candidates stand on cellphones in schools?

Cell phones in classrooms undercut learning, a number of Palatine Township District 15 school board candidates agreed.

Incumbents Frank Annerino, Lisa Beth Szczupaj, James Taylor and Anthony Wang, and newcomer Eric Bachmann are running for four, 4-year terms on the school board in the April 1 consolidated election.

A bill to prohibit students using cellphones in classes is pending in the General Assembly.

Szczupaj called cellphones “a distraction,” at a Daily Herald endorsement session.

“All of us, whether you’re an adult or a child learning, if you’re not focused on the subject matter, you’re not going to learn it,” she said. “Allowing each child to have a distraction sitting in their pocket during the day I think is a terrible idea and takes away from educational outcomes.”

She added, “I don’t believe that students shouldn’t be allowed to bring phones to school,” but that it’s important to have programs in place so phones can’t be accessed during classes.

Bachmann said cellphones are especially unnecessary in District 15 because students who need to make a call can use phones at the school office.

He recalled some of his daughter’s friends had phones at age 8. “There was a lot of pressure for her to get one and we held fast until about seventh grade.”

“As a general rule I don’t agree with them because I think they hinder learning and what the teacher’s trying to do in the classroom,” he added.

Taylor said, “no, I don’t think (phones) have a place in the classroom.”

But, “I do think there could be systems in place so we wouldn’t have to restrict it from a school building entirely.”

Taylor, who works for a separate district, noted some students already try to get around restrictions so they can watch websites like YouTube on school-issued computers. “It’s a huge challenge — and that’s with the devices that the school and the district has control over.”

Annerino said, “I don’t think there’s really a need for them in the classroom.” He also didn’t give his children phones until seventh grade because “that’s when after-school activities started up.”

He recommended the district do more to educate parents about technology that can monitor kids’ time on devices “so the children can be more focused when it comes time to do homework and not just get sucked into the world of their phones.”

Wang said, “outside of this (proposed) legislation, I do believe that cellphones can be a distraction in the classroom, but that teachers may handle this on a more individual level based on their own classroom.

“I am always going to put more trust with the teachers that are in the classroom than the legislators that aren't.”