I am very fortunate to be able to teach at a local high school. For the past few years, dealing with cell phone use has become a major issue in our classrooms and hallways. These devices are an ongoing disruption, and students go to extreme measures to try to be in constant electronic contact with their friends as well as parents.

I usually walk to and from school, so have the opportunity to see parents who are lined up in traffic waiting to pick up their students at the end of the day. There is always a traffic backup on the street leading to the school, and it is easy to notice the people in their vehicles. I always see drivers who were talking on their cell phones while in the line. Obviously, those drivers have the same attitude as some of our students, since I don’t imagine that many of those folks are unaware that they are violating not only a policy, but also a law.

Obviously, drivers on city streets are doing the same thing, but it is harder to identify those law-breakers as parents of the young people we are trying help become good citizens.

Raising a teenager is a hard job. One of the responsibilities that we, as parents, have is to set an example for our children, regardless of their age. I don’t understand how a parent can openly do something unlawful, which their children obviously know they are doing, and at the same time try to impress upon their student that they are expected to respect carefully-considered school policies and rules.

The same goes for other choices like driving over the speed limit, of course, but that is a separate, though just as important issue. If your student knows that you are flaunting the law, it is ridiculous to expect them to not do the same thing, whether at school or on the street.

Please help us out here: Set a good example for your kids, and it will make it easier for us, as educators, to focus on the important task of preparing our students for the future, rather than dealing with behavior issues like cell phones.

Ted Cox lives in Bellevue