If you’ve been going to school the past few weeks, I’m sure that you’ve seen the little red and green phone sign hanging in front of the class. It’s a new thing this year, and apparently it’s supposed to tell us when we’re allowed to have our phones out.

I get it, and I don’t speak for every student at the school, but I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for a lot of them when I say that it’s annoying. 

It’s a sign! What message does that give us when a sign dictates what we do?

How has the phone problem gotten so bad that a sign has to tell us when we’re allowed to have our phones out? Also, the teacher now has less authority. It would be much better if the teacher just told us, “Hey, no phones out.”

The sign was implemented to cut down on the amount of phones that are out during educational hours, like when they are teaching.

I don’t really know if it works. And although I’ve seen it work sometimes, I think it depends on the class in general.

So how could we cut down on phone usage without a sign?

I honestly think it’s impossible.

We’re humans, and we’re flawed. Phones give us a short-term dopamine boost. When you open your phone and see an Instagram notification, you get a little chemical reaction that makes your brain happy. It’s why we’re so addicted to our phones.

But if we were to try, we’d have to depend on our teachers. I think the best way to get students off their phones is to have them get involved. Be one of those easygoing teachers that every student likes.

I know it’s a stretch, but if teachers could change their ways and make their classes more enjoyable, we probably wouldn’t need a sign to tell us to be off our phones.

What I’ve noticed is that when students like the teachers more, they’re more likely to be involved and off their phones. 

We’ve had a phone problem ever since smartphones were invented. And the sign is okay. It’s a step in the right direction, just the wrong execution. It’s just that in order to get students to stay off their phones, we’ve got to actually start caring about them.