Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Etiquette at School

A teacher insists on good manners in class with spectacular results.
Soon, however, Ivanyi was schooling the 10th-grade boys on how to seat their female counterparts at their desks, by pulling out their chair and sliding it underneath them as they sat. As a show of respect, the boys were encouraged to stand any time a girl entered the room.

Behavior that was once utterly foreign has become routine. "Ninety-eight percent of the boys stand now when a girl enters the room, and the girls love it," Ivanyi said.

As a result of the emphasis on politeness, the overall mood in the classroom has changed markedly.

"There's a different tenor in the class, a gravity attached to the girls. They've been more feminized in the boys' eyes," Ivanyi said. "These girls are reading Jane Austen novels in class. For them, chivalry hasn't gone out of style."
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4 comments:

MadMonarchist said...

When I was in school we actually had to attend an etiguette class, it wasn't the most professional thing but better than nothing I suppose. It was also a private school which is always a different kettle of fish. I also grew up with a mother and a sister who would have thought any man barbaric who did not open doors for them.

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I work with high school and elementary school students every day, and I second the return of etiquette classes in schools! If other basics like good grammar and good study habits aren't picked up by osmosis, then why do we imagine that good manners will be?

Julygirl said...

I just saw in my local paper a photo of one of the local Brownie troops having just completed a class in etiquette. Never too soon, and long overdue!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! If only all teachers insisted on civility in the classroom.

Juliana
mercifuljuliana.wordpress.com
teaandetiquette.wordpress.com