Posted on 02/15/2005 7:27:34 AM PST by Ellesu
ZACHARY -- A program to teach etiquette and respect for others will begin this spring in the Zachary school system and eventually extend to parents and the business community. The Bank of Zachary is underwriting the cost of providing schools with the "Manners of the Heart" curriculum developed by Jill Rigby of Baton Rouge.
"This is about building a foundation with our children," School Superintendent Warren Drake said during a gathering of school and city officials and business leaders Monday.
Although the etiquette program is widely used in schools and other settings across the country, Zachary is the first community to embrace all aspects of the "Manners of the Heart" curriculum, said Luisa Hu, executive director of Manners of the Heart Community Fund.
Rigby, trained as an interior designer, developed the program after leading a 1992 effort to teach meal-time manners to children at her twin sons' school.
She said the project will begin this spring with high school seniors studying such topics as table manners, dressing for the work place and social skills.
Members of the junior class also will take the "Leaders by Example" course this year to begin teaching the "Manners of the Heart" curriculum to students in kindergarten and grades 1-3 next year.
The 36-week curriculum for elementary students promotes character-building by teaching self-respect and respect for others.
A curriculum for middle-school students that stresses self-discipline also will be taught, along with"The Business of Manners" this summer for people in local businesses.
A fall program, "Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World," will be offered to parents, Rigby said.
Drake said business leaders and other volunteers will assist in presenting the programs in Zachary schools.
This is pathetic.
Why aren't the parents teaching thir kids to hold a spoon properly, or not pick their noses at the table.
We learned respect not only at home, but also it was taught by example by teachers when they didn't put up with classroom disorder or student disrespect. It was part of the school culture, not a curriculum.
This stuff should not be a curriculum - kids need to live it, not learn about it.
By all means learn to be polite so you can work in a fast food restaurant because you cannot add or substract or conjugate a sentence.
PC BS.
Humph! I learned how to be proper and polite at an early age by getting a quick kick from Grandmother under the table.
I am sickened by the lack of respect from children these days. But on the other hand it bothers me when some conservatives teach their child to be so submissive to adults that they are afraid to stand up for conservative principals. Our kids are being completely brainwashed in these public schools, and most kids are to polite to question anything.
It does show how far we have fallen. I believe manners should be applicable in the schools, and teachers should demand respect and enforce it. But anything more than making a handbood available (in case some parents have forgotton) is beyond the school's call.
Now classes could hint at manners while studying other things. (And Miss Manners column could be an assignment in the right class -- social studies) But what a school needs is basic discipline and this ought to already be there.
HOW about some editorial "etiquette?" Where the Heck is Zachary? As for THIS.....sheesh.....we've sunk so low that we soon will have teachers responsible for
potty training kids at school in Kindergarten.....
Zachary is a suburb of Baton Rouge.
Here's their Web site:
http://www.mannersoftheheart.com/default.asp?id=1
Thanks.
Her family moved to Baton Rouge in August of 1989 just as the boys entered first grade. When the teachers and parents voiced concerns about the unruliness in the school cafeteria, Jill, being an eager volunteer, offered to visit the cafeteria one-day a week to talk to the children about the importance of manners. Both the students, as well as the teachers, enjoyed the creativity Jill used to convey these important lessons. For example, remembering to put a "napkin in your lap" was easy when Jill gave the students bright red napkins, and when Jill brought puppets whose mouths were filled with spaghetti noodles, it was easy for the students to realize why they shouldn't talk with their mouths full.
I think it's a great idea. When I attended Boston Public Schools 50 years ago, good manners were taught in every grade. When I started teaching 37 years ago, we graded kids on "Citizenship" for every report card. However, that was phased out over the years.
There was an article posted on FR a week or two ago, about how New York area employers are demanding that high school grads be certified in work skills - and they don't mean typing.
So does that mean they will learn how to suck crawdaddy heads the right way?? I grew up in Baton Rouge, Zachary is a nice place.
-PJ
Crawfish etiquette: Suck the head!
This stuff should not be a curriculum - kids need to live it, not learn about it.
Nowadays it's often not taught at home either.
we've sunk so low that we soon will have teachers responsible for
potty training kids at school in Kindergarten.....
We won't sink so low if we remember to leave the toilet seat down:).
But anything more than making a handbood
At least you didn't put the last d the wrong way:).
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