Dear Tilly,

Recently one of my teachers took away my phone because I was using it in class, and I had to wait all day to finally get it back. I know the rules about not using your phone in class and everything, but most of my teachers just give me a look to put it away. It was the start of the day and I missed so many chances to take selfies and random pictures for Instagram. I missed so many texts and she didn’t even give me a chance to turn the phone off. When she took it, I got mad and said it was “bull” and she said, “No, what’s bull is me needing to come around every five minutes to tell you to get off your phone and get your work done.” First of all, it’s my education, my time and my work to be done at my own pace. The only thing that is hers is the classroom. It just got me so mad and I really felt disconnected and kind of lost. What should I do?

Sincerely,

Disconnected IPhone Addict

Dear Disconnected IPhone Addict,

I get where you’re coming from, it’s not right for the teachers to have the power to take our phones, but they do. Saying that it’s “bull” wasn’t the best response, and thinking that way about what’s “yours” and “hers” is just going to make people angry. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just saying that if you want your phone to be taken away for even longer, then that’s a wonderful response. She could have easily given it to the office and forced your parents to come to school to get it back, but she didn’t.

They’re not there to push you down and make our lives more difficult,they’re there to educate us and help us get through high school with the tools we need to succeed in whatever it is we want to do after school, whether it’s going to college, getting a job or going to a far away country that half of us couldn’t pin down on a map. Teachers are under-appreciated; they wake up earlier than us to get to school, spend countless of hours to prepare the class agenda, and still have to put up with students on our phones without completely blowing up at us. I do understand your position– I hate that teachers have that power, but they do deserve a little more respect from us, so cut her a little slack and maybe apologize. I’m not saying that she was right, im just saying that she might actually surprise you if you do something nice.

Sincerely,

Tilly