Politeness Wins The Day
When I must pass in front of someone in a grocery store aisle, I still say “Excuse me.” When I order at a restaurant, I’m programmed to utter “May I please…” And I drop the universal, “Thank you,” maybe a little too much. For example, almost all of my business correspondence begins with a thank you, even if there’s not much to be thankful for.
I credit my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Varela for these dignified habits. In between math and reading, she devoted miniature lessons to good manners. Sure, our parents were certainly drilling the same into our heads, but kids need to hear it from, and practice on someone else.
With my two muchachos now in pre-school, I’m quite relieved to hear their teachers dote on their sweetness in class. It’s funny though, because my wife and I rarely see it. At home, the boys seem to forget everything; their etiquette sways from tolerable to atrocious in four minute intervals.
But the manners we’ve been teaching them have to be working. If they took their savagery into the classroom, we’d surely have problems. One day, however, their small rage will rear its head. They will have a run in with another kid, maybe another adult. My goal is for them to know how to handle the situation. To stop before they speak. To consider their actions and words, and if anything, to respond with tact.
In our humanity’s history, we seem to be stuck in an uncomfortable period of rudeness. We no longer nod hello. We don’t wave. We take before asking. If we wish to turn this around, it starts with our little ones. My job will be a success if my boys, at the very least, these two young gentlemen in training, are able to decipher that simple politeness wins the day.
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Photo by Kevin Gent on Unsplash