I admit it: I did it in high school.
Texted in class, that is.
It was for a short time when I was in the honeymoon phase with my first boyfriend and couldn’t get enough of him. Teachers never caught me – though I was told to put it away before class started once, due to a new school rule – and once we broke up, I refrained from texting the rest of my high school career.
Now, in college, I never text in class. Or look at Facebook or Tumblr or read my email, despite how tempting my smart phone makes it. Given our small class sizes, Hollins students tend not to use computers to take notes. Some professors even ban them. However, it’s not uncommon to see students texting, snapchatting, instagramming, and the-next-big-thing-ing during class time.
I struggle to understand why students, most of whom pay large sums of money to attend these classes (one professor worked out it’s about $125 per class period) and then spend the time distracting themselves with their own technology and, even worse, distracting those around them. As much as I hate to say so, sometimes the fight you’re having with your girlfriend via text message is actually more interesting than the French Revolution. Sorry, Marie Antoinette.
I get emergencies and most professors, do, too. But despite having very clear and stern rules about cell phone (and sometimes other technology, including laptops, tablets, and e-readers) in class on the syllabus at the beginning of the year, I rarely see professors admonish students for breaking the rule. I’m not out to get anyone on this – it’s really not that I just personally enjoy watching you burn under the disapproving gaze of our mutual instructor, but your constant Facebook use is really annoying. Yes, I can see the light emanating from your phone up your sleeve. And, yeah, I totally noticed that you posted that status and it’s timestamp reflects a time when I know you have class.
But we are not on the same team. I get that you’re young and edgy and you want to bend the rules, stick it to the man. But in the end, you’re only sticking it to yourself. No matter how many times you’ve learned about the history of the sonnet, chances are this professor has some insight you and your previous instructors haven’t. So, for an hour-and-a-half, unplug and plug in to the world around you.