Here's a message for texters in class: STOP

I have quite a few pet peeves and they range from people snapping their bubble gum loudly to singing off-key to displaying poor table manners (or a complete lack thereof). One of my top annoyances is when my peers text-message and use their cell phones during class.

First off, when students are typing texts to their friends, these messages rarely refer to urgent situations. They're usually something along the lines of "Lunch at Chipotle?" Although I've craved Chipotle before, I wouldn't exactly call that kind of text an emergency.

Cell phone use in class is distracting. Students end up watching their peers trying to sneakily text-message under their desks or inside their purses. Or worse, if a cell phone buzzes or rings, there's the inevitable "Ooh, whose is that?" from the class, and suddenly all lesson plans are put on hold. Cell phones in class affect a lot more people than just the sender and receiver.

Also, as the National School Safety and Security Services Web site, Schoolsecurity.org, says, cell phones can easily be used for cheating, taking inappropriate pictures in the locker room, drug dealing or participating in gang activities.

I might sound like some sort of goody-two-shoes, but I just don't understand why these messages and calls must be made during the school day. Do teens tune out and text-message just because they're bored?

It might have something to do with the tediousness of class, but I believe it goes a bit deeper. Many students feel entitled to do what they want and some might even think it's cool to go against a school rule and use cell phones. And most importantly, those caught breaking this rule don't fear the consequences of their actions. After all, the penalty for most first-time cell phone offenders at Naperville Central is typically a detention. After one offense, the punishment varies depending on each student's situation.

Don't get me wrong; I fully understand a student's right to carry a cell phone in case of an emergency and to reach family to arrange rides home from school. Most significantly, in recent school shootings, cell phone availability has been essential in allowing students to reach help outside their schools' doors.

On the whole, aside from rare, dangerous situations, these devices are completely unnecessary and disturbing to actually use during school. All cell phones should remain turned off or in a silent mode from the beginning to the end of the school day to ensure a focused, safe environment.

To better enforce this rule, there should be more serious punishments for students found text-messaging or making phone calls during class time, and teachers should pay more attention to those students who are constantly looking under their desks or into their bags at their cell phone screens.

If we curb the cell-phone problem, we can concentrate on more important tasks, like figuring out how to stop gum-snapping.