Benjamin Herrera - Staff Reporter
Hi! My name is Ben Herrera and I'm a Senior at Oswego High School. This is my first year on the 42Fifty staff, and I'm currently a Reporter. Additionally, I am involved with Oswego High School's cross country and track teams, as well as multiple honor societies. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
On July 28, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill that would restrict cell phone use in all Illinois high schools. This decision was passed with the intention of engaging students in material, while freeing teachers from needing to manage their classes behavior.
“I don’t think [[students]] are ready [[to have phones]] yet," said OH Social Studies teacher Sarah Carlson. "We need to switch to something else.”
At OH, many classes require students to put their phones up in a pouch before the start of the class period. According to OH classroom cell phone practices, often published in course syllabi, the main concern with phones in the classroom is that students will get distracted by them, keeping them from paying attention in class. In theory, if they don’t have access to their phones during class, they will be more likely to stay engaged with material.
The Sept. heat has gotten in the way of many sports teams' practice schedules. From football to cross country, nearly all sports teams have had to reassign practices due to the heat.
According to OH Assistant Athletic Director Mark Johnson, OH uses a measurement called the "wet bulb" to determine the safety of athletes in the heat. The wet bulb accounts for “temperature… but then, what’s the humidity like, but also…shade, and [[the]] breeze,” Johnson said.