elementary school

...was when we were taught to stay to the right on wide stairways, to allow others to descend freely on the opposite side. It was when we were told that we should smile at and greet anyone we met in passing; when they taught us to move over and walk single file to let people pass on the sidewalk. In those years, I learned about the importance of having a firm handshake, and of looking the other person in the eyes when we were introduced. I learned how to eat with a fork in my left hand, and a knife in my right. I learned that it was best to keep my elbows off the table, to cover my mouth when I coughed, and to make sure to thank anyone who had done anything nice for me; both verbally on the spot, and by sending a follow-up card.

I'm not sure kids are taught many of those things anymore, and I wonder why? Are they unimportant; scattered vestigial pieces of a repressed society? Are we freer and more spontaneous now, more ‘ourselves’? Or are we losing out; are the elements of kindness and courtesy (and self-discipline) in our culture slowly crumbling into the rising seas?

It's hard to tell.