Why courtesy classes should come with kids

Courtesy classes should come with kids...but not for the kids...for the parents. The few rude parents. Amazing how we teach our kids to behave (daily - sometimes hourly!) yet we leave our own good behaviour at the playplace door.

Case in point, the other day we took the kids to see The Karate Kid (aside: very good family movie - though the word a$$ is used twice which presented two giggle opportunities for Thing 2). Back to the movie -> in the theatre there were two, separate, parents (sitting at opposite sides of the theatre) talking on cell phones during the movie. RUDE! One does not talk on the phone during a movie. What kind of etiquette is that?

Other case in point, at the Karate school yesterday -> another parent answered their ringing cell phone and instead of walking away (outside to have a private conversation would have been an idea) - they talked away in the dojo (even though there are signs asking parents to not use cell phones in the class area...apparently some people think talking on a cell phone during a formal class is disruptve...the nerve huh?)

The issue isn't just cell phone use (just my two examples) - it is that parents are simply lacking courtesy to-the-greater-world. We teach our kids to behave, be respectful, talk quietly yet we play by a whole 'nother set of rules.

Courtesy should be common sense...but it seems it is not so much.