Parents need to set the example

This time there's an additional incentive to the Education Ministry's regulation for banning the use of cellphones in classrooms and that's the threat of specific penalties for the violation. We'll assume that such punitive measures will have the power to trump the addiction that children and teenagers have to their cellphones. After all, similar rules have existed since 2002, but the situation is only getting worse and smarter and smarter smartphones are now everywhere, all the time, in the courtyard, the playground and the classroom.

"Pupils can bring their cellphones to school but they need to stay in their book bags throughout the day," said the prime minister when announcing the new measure, dubbed "Cellphone in the Bag," in a meeting with the education minister. He knew what he was saying was basically a midsummer night's dream that relies entirely on the willingness...