To think etiquette should be taught at school?

[Pedantichag]

What has happened to basic manners? Hmmmmm? Anyone have any idea where they've gone? Most people I've encountered recently seem to have lost theirs.

[TheresLotsOfFarmyardAnimals]

Yabu. Parents should teach their children manners, reinforced by teachers and other responsible adults. Teachers arent responsible for everything!!

[WorraLiberty]

Yet another thing for the school to teach??

Parents need to teach their kids manners

The schools need to reinforce it

[TheEmpress]

Etiquette should be taught in the home...

[phantomnamechanger]

basic manners should be taught first and foremost in the home by the primary caregiver/s, from as young as poss - we modelled saying thank you, DCs learnt it too. We model apologising when you accidentally hurt someone, DC do it too.

teachers have enough to do without having to undo 4 years of never being expected to say please/thank you/excuse me/sorry etc etc

I have been quite shocked at some of the incredibly low expectations parents have of their DC at age 3/4, babyfying them and saying aw shucks, they don't know any better.

[BullieMama]

Just drop them off at school on the way home from hospital and we will give them back at 18 all ready for you.

FGS take responsibility for your creation - its the parents job backed up by society to set the the standards.

[Pedantichag]

Oh I absolutely agree but some parents clearly don't bother

[Pedantichag]

Bullie

My 'creations' have impeccable manners.

[Skivvywoman]

I'm pretty sure that's the parents job!

[Pedantichag]

Euphemia

Compulsory after school club springs to mind.

[CrohnicallyChanging]

worra that was my thought too.

We had a conversation at work today because there just aren't enough hours in the day. I work with year 1 children. We need to teach children to read and wrote, we do this via a phonics programme. But this doesn't give children the breadth of experience that good books do, so we need to fit in additional book based literacy lessons. We can't let numeracy slide because enough children leave school without knowing the basics (eg budgeting). Then we have to do extra PE because so many children don't do enough exercise so schools are trying to fit in more. We still need to teach them science, history, geography, RE and ICT. Not to mention art and music. We've kind of combined some of those lessons to save time so we can't shave any more minutes off those subjects.

Our school has now identified that the children's grammar is somewhat behind, so we need to fit in specific grammar lessons to get them up to speed. And we cannot see where we are going to fit this in!

[Pedantichag]

Pupils?

[CrohnicallyChanging]

Read and write of course (darn autocorrect)

[Finola1step]

OP, is your name in rl Michael?

[Pedantichag]

Finola

Yes!!!! You've outed me.

[CrohnicallyChanging]

If it's a compulsory after school club, won't that just mean an extension to school hours?

Who is going to staff these 'clubs'? Teachers already teach the maximum they can and still be a standard working week.

[phantomnamechanger]

some parents clearly don't bother - true, but sometimes it's those same parents who have never taught a child to do basic counting/singing/naming of colours and animals, never let them paint/ draw or use scissors, and have allowed them to snatch/shove siblings, swear and tantrum........schools have a massive amount to catch up, to prepare children for learning. They cannot afford to waste time on lessons in manners, though if you do some classroom observation you will see good manners (hopefully) being modelled/expected all the time eg taking turns, being respectful of other peoples things, not interrupting, not calling out, saying please and thank you, not using bad language. I have worked in schools that had special "nurture groups" where the children with the poorest social skills were taken out for some experiences that would benefit them - sometimes as simple as sitting at a table with adults learning how to use cutlery.

[Pedantichag]

All schools have after school clubs do they not?

[WooWooOwl]

Schools already teach manners, but when it isn't reinforced at home, it's not going to transfer into life outside of school.

IME, there are lots of children that think that things like putting your knife and fork together at the end of a meal or saying 'excuse me' when you burp are school rules rather than real life etiquette.

[BabyMummy29]

Manners should be taught by parents. I'm fed up with people having kids and then absolving themselves of any further responsibility for them. Schools are now expected to give kids breakfast, toilet train them and brush their teeth.

Silly me - I thought I spent 4 years training to be a teacher so that I could teach, not become a substitute parent.

[WooWooOwl]

And no, not all schools have after school clubs.

[Pedantichag]

WooWooOwl

That's the most depressing thing I've heard all day

[Finola1step]

It's ok Mike, your secret is safe with me. Just be careful out there.

[dementedma]

Oh, I do love a man with nice manners.
And no, I can't reconcile it with being a feminist but a chap who opens a car door for me is always going to be on a winner......

I had an Eastern European student once who got soaked holding his umbrella over me in the rain as he escorted me back to my car......melts