On a recent Saturday morning, I was walking out of our public library, about eight steps behind a man in his late twenties and a young boy about five. As we approached the door, the man looked behind and saw me, pulled the boy slightly to the side, and then I heard him say "Let the lady go first." So I went first and thanked them. What I wished I'd said was "Thank you for making my morning, with common courtesy that in these days seems to be all too uncommon--and for training your son well."
So, have you had any recent experiences of "uncommon courtesy" or any examples of where young people appeared to have been well taught the kindnesses of polite interaction?
4 comments:
I have actually tought that lately people are nicer than they used to be - they open doors for me, move aside to let me go by, or even let me go ahead of them at the grocery check-out line. I've decided it must be the white hair and wonder if I should be insulted - :)
A number of years ago when I was teaching manners class at Prairie School, I stopped at a Subway for lunch and was arriving at the entrance right behind a middle aged man. He paused and held the door for me so I could go ahead of him. It was a small polite act of kindness which I delighted in using as an example in manners class. As the curriculum emphasized---"Manners are the happy way of doing things." The amazing thing I learned (& taught in class) is that the people who practice good manners are even happier than the people who are the recipients of their kindness. (The best part about teaching is that the teacher often learns as much or more than the students.) :)
I think good manners has somewhat gone the way of decent dressing up...the more casual the dress code, the more casual the attitude. I have been down here in Alabama for the week, and what I do kind of like is the "Yes, Ma'am," I get from the kids. The way they say it, it does sound respectful. I love to look at the old pictures of people on the "uptown" streets in their hats and white gloves. What an era that was! No midriffs, no piercings, no cleavages, no ripped clothing, no pants falling off, or dragging on the ground...ahhhh, I am getting old, aren't I?
Kind of off the subject, but to follow NogBlog's thoughts: Last week I cut out a cartoon from the paper for my friend's son. A mother is talking to her son and says, "Yes, either you pull up your pants or wear these underpants I made from old jeans."
I did think people seemed kinder in the early morning Black Friday shopping this year.
When Mom, Dad, and I travelled with Andrew to Williamsburg 10 years ago, he was disappointed when he would offer his seat on a bus at different tourist sites to a woman and she would decline. It was kind of sad to see that he'd been trained so well and then couldn't use it to be kind.
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