One of the problems with today’s society is the lack of manners among children. During my elementary years, chivalry was a big thing. Back in those days, when our teacher came inside the room, some of us ushered him to the teacher’s table, while others carried his things. Saying the three magic words, “Good Morning Sir” or “Good Morning Ma’am” became part of our daily life in school. We were accustomed to greet our elders while bowing our heads.
In today’s generation, I have noticed that all these have faded away in history. Manners have left from most of the children. Many students find it burdensome to pronounce the shortest of greetings. They would bump into a teacher without even giving a look, as if nothing happened. They are definitely less respectful to their elders and they are becoming increasingly rude.
I’ve encountered many instances where teachers are always blamed of everything, even to the least details of the students’ behavior. Teachers are the second parents of our children and are expected to model them with good values. Although, it’s true that teachers are the molders of our youth, without the aid of the stakeholders (parents and community), this could not be done. It is a shared responsibility and accountability.
Recently, I have also noticed that students are becoming irresponsive to human’s call. They have been so attached to social media that made them socially impaired in a true sense. They shut themselves from the real world and live in the illusion the technology offers them. Gaming, facebooking and many others which give self-gratification without personal restraint. And when the moment they step on the world they live in, they don’t know how to act properly and just consider real people as distant shadows.
I am a mother of four kids, and I do believe that parents have the main responsibility to teach their children good manners. It is in the home that values and attitudes are learned. Good manners must be taught and practiced first at home. Yet, good manners are no longer given importance and priority in most homes. Parents send their children to school with the hope that they will learn good behavior. But, we can’t expect this to happen because they have already their own attitude rooted in them. Teaching our children good manners while they are young, is the key to having children who will become assets not liabilities of our community.
Schooling and education are not the same. Some people who have never gone to school are more educated than those who are attending school. Their manners spell the difference. So, why do children lose manners nowadays?
By: Mrs. Joselyn L. Gardoci | Teacher I | Bataan National High School | Balanga, Bataan
