Arizona's education head honcho Tom Horne is banging the drum against Governor Katie Hobbs after she put the kibosh on a bill he's been rooting for—one that would let schools take the reins on setting cell phone use policies in classrooms. Horne's beef with the Governor's veto is crystal clear: he thinks anyone with a shred of sympathy would understand the plight of teachers juggling the daily grind of instruction while battling the ceaseless distraction of kids glued to their screens.
"Anyone with a minimum of empathy would empathize with teachers who try to teach while students are scrolling on their cell phones, every instructional method is precious," Horne told the state education department's news outlet, highlighting a sentiment best described as frustration tinged with desperation, a teacher should not have to put up with that interference with instruction he argued.
Cell phones, those pocket-sized epicenters of the modern social sphere, turn into tools of torment for some students, according to Horne, who pointed out the harrowing round-the-clock bullying facilitated by these devices. The Governor's veto, in his eyes, fails to shield kids from this digital-age bullying, when the sanctuary of the classroom should be a respite from such ordeals. He underscored the dilemma, denouncing the idea that "it should not be happening while they are in school trying to learn, so that the bullying occurs 24 hours a day."
It seems quite a chunk of Arizona's parent population is rowing the same boat as Horne, with a recent poll floating figures that show only five percent were riding the fence on the issue, while a whopping 62.75 percent were gunning for the cell phone clampdown, the majority believes it would keep young minds tethered to the task at hand and stave off distractions it was easy to deduce they're all for pushing the mute button on mobiles to boost focus on academics and chill the climate of constant chatter.
