Franco Racco
It was from the time of the bic pendulies that did not see so much despair in the classrooms. This year, in fact, Italian students are forbidden to use cell phones during lessons. Even the “quick peeking to control who viewed the story on Instagram” is no longer admitted: punishable offense with a threatening gaze of the professor, with notes on the register (electronic) and, in some cases, with surprise question.
For the boys we talk about a real trauma. Some claim to have seen companions ask the janitors where the nearest telephone booth was. Others, to alleviate the sentence of physical lack, almost were the extension of the body, have remedied with fake mobile phones. A student, questioned about the experience, said: “I feel like my grandmother when he says he had to wait for the boyfriend’s letter from the military.” Still, making lesson in the class without mobile phone is possible. Boomer’s word, but also of who this thing has already experienced it, like a high school in Florence. The first (hard) weeks will be an anthropological experiment. “But were Davbvero prof, in the Middle Ages there were no smartphones? And how did they make up without the advice of the cynical beautician? ». Accustomed to living glued to the screen, young people will discover strange mysterious objects: books. Not only that: someone will rediscover the art of direct dialogue. “Incredible – says a professor who participated in the Florentine experiment – During the interval two boys spoke together without sending emoji. And during the question nobody twisted his eyes to the display. I had to sit for the shock ».
The teachers, for their part, are divided. Some applaud the novelty: “Finally I don’t see more twelve chine heads during the explanations”. Others fear the consequences: “Now they have no more excuses so as not to follow: it is up to it to invent really interesting lessons”. Families, on the other hand, are enthusiastic. “My son did not know that his sister had blue eyes and that for a year we had bought a golden retriever puppy – confesses a moved mother – he noticed only because he no longer looked at Tiktok at the table”. And so, between dopamine abstinence crisis and notifications and sudden returns to hand writing, the new school year promises to be revolutionary. Who knows, maybe the boys will end up appreciating silence, direct confrontation, even the boring rustle of the pages. In the meantime, the biggest fear of students remains one: that the government also prohibits the use of chatgpt at home.