ABSTRACT
As smartphones grow ever smarter, texting in class is becoming a matter of increasing conflict between students and teachers. Upon first glance, it seems to be a trivial matter of school policy. Politeness is a large network of different beliefs and attitudes about thousands of different actions in thousands of situations. People learn manners through experience and observation, specifically observing how those around them act and react to what they do. Every human culture around the world has some concept of manners, but the philosopher’s job is to think critically about the facts. Keeping society running smoothly is a joint venture. Many students would agree that selfishness destroys cooperation and that destroying cooperation in the classroom is rude. When kids are deprived of their freedoms in the classroom, they are deprived of their ability to explore for themselves and act on self-interest, which is the most important experience a child can be given in school.
