I was at a baby shower yesterday and I heard one mother say she wasn't going to teach her daughter to say "yes ma'am/sir or no ma'am/sir" I was sitting there shaking my head....she said it was crazy.

What are your thoughts on kids and manners?

My boy holds the door for me and others anytime we're in public.

I want him to do the same for his girlfriend/wife when he's grown.

I think it is respectful for children to say yes sir/ma'am, no sir/ma'am. I will be teaching my children(when we have kids) to be respectful to others. My husband is a southern boy and he has always said those things out of RESPECT...... even to his mom and dad. So yes.... I think it should be taught.=D

I was raised to use "no sir/ma'am, yes sir/ma'am" and still use it with all ages (even kids)..I figure the younger the children I use it around will start using it. My grandparents/parents told me that manners will carry you a long way in life.

What you don't say and what you do say will impact your children... So speak wisely and keep them in the company of people that use manners.

you can have manners without yes sir no sir.

Corran is 2 and he knows if he wants something or nas to anwser us that its a yes ma'am, no ma'am, please, thank you, may I sorta deal. He will be 3 at the end of the month. people think Im a mean mom because fo the respect thing but heck if you dont teach it then you wont get it!!

This reminds me of when i had gone to Dallas for my b-day and stayed with a "friend". He kids were realy rude. And well they always thought that whatever anyone was eating they were entitled to. Well i was eating and the came over and tried to take from my plate w/o asking. I said "excuse me. if you would like some ask. the lil boy says give me some. i said how about a please can i have some?"
His mom looked at me and siad i think its a bit harsh to talk to him like that. I told her my son dosent talk like that to me nor will anyone elses kid. She sas well i try to teach them to be polite to everyone but when its just us i dont care....I was DUMBFOUNDED!! If you only "expect"manners from your kids with other ppl and not yourself hows are they going to "respect" you when they get older? It made nio sence to me!!

I dont make my kids say yes ma'm no ma'm. They are still polite.

My kids don't say "yes sir, ma'am, etc". They have manners, they say please, thank you, yes (not "yeah"), no etc. I was not brought up with that kind of formal talk towards others (speaking of the sir and ma'am), and I'm not raising my kids to talk that way. We are very laid back, and so is the way we speak.
I believe there is a place and time for formal talk, and everyday life is not that time for *our* family. Its a complete personal choice, just because they don't say those words does it mean they don't have manners though.

Corran is 2 and he knows if he wants something or nas to anwser us that its a yes ma'am, no ma'am, please, thank you, may I sorta deal. He will be 3 at the end of the month. people think Im a mean mom because fo the respect thing but heck if you dont teach it then you wont get it!!

This reminds me of when i had gone to Dallas for my b-day and stayed with a "friend". He kids were realy rude. And well they always thought that whatever anyone was eating they were entitled to. Well i was eating and the came over and tried to take from my plate w/o asking. I said "excuse me. if you would like some ask. the lil boy says give me some. i said how about a please can i have some?"
His mom looked at me and siad i think its a bit harsh to talk to him like that. I told her my son dosent talk like that to me nor will anyone elses kid. She sas well i try to teach them to be polite to everyone but when its just us i dont care....I was DUMBFOUNDED!! If you only "expect"manners from your kids with other ppl and not yourself hows are they going to "respect" you when they get older? It made nio sence to me!!



:yes

you can have manners without yes sir no sir.

i agree with that. i think it depends on the opinion of their parents.. and probably the environment where they live [MEANING... maybe down south people have different opinions on manners than people up north. KWIM?] i was raised to have great manners without saying 'yes sir no sir' .. i did have to do other things, though, like ask to be excused from the table, stuff like that

yes i agree you dont have to have to yes/no sir/ma'am. but a little please and thank you goes a long way! demad respect and you will get it!

we do sir and ma'am all of the time with our kids. i expect them to say it to their dad and i as well as strangers or friends. we also dont allow them to call someone by just their first name unless it is a super close friend. it is miss susie or mr joe or whatever. i think manners are very vital in raising decent adults in the future. i find it disgusting when i hear kids talking in the stores and stuff and they are downright rude

my children will learn manners, but they won't be raised to say yes sir no sir. It's not part of my vocabulary, and as long as they are respectful I see no problem with them not having it as a major part of their manners vocab.

We always taught manners to our kids without the yes/no sir/mam. However, living the military life that we do, the kids hear us say it to others and to them so they frequently use it too. We do require them to call adults by Mr or Miss whomever. Just first names though, not last names.

Mine do say please and thank you. Or Yes and No. Just not yes sir/ma'm and no sir/ma'm. I dont think its nessecary.

we do sir and ma'am all of the time with our kids. i expect them to say it to their dad and i as well as strangers or friends. we also dont allow them to call someone by just their first name unless it is a super close friend. it is miss susie or mr joe or whatever. i think manners are very vital in raising decent adults in the future. i find it disgusting when i hear kids talking in the stores and stuff and they are downright rude

I agree. Most of my young (all under 6) second cousins call their first cousins Aunt or Uncle ....We don't call adults by their first name either.. Miss, Mr, Aunt or Uncle....

I wasn't raised saying yes or no mam...but I did open doors say exscuse me when I walk infront of somewhere at the store or wherever..and saying thank you..etc but I personally will teach him to say it.

my two year old doesnt say sir or maam. I am not teaching that to him, he asks for what he wants, and says please, and thank you. I have never used sir or maam when i was raised, neither did my Dh, but of course he says it now, if i dont say it, i wont teach him too. As far as addressing people with miss, or mr I am not teaching him to say that either. Its just that I have family and friends close eough where i dont think mr and ms is neccessary. I also dont think it is neccessary to say to anyone my son meets, except for teachers where they require it. But just because someone wants to be called mr or ms and there first name, doesnt mean i agree with it or are going to make my son say it that way.. Some of you may think thats wrong, but its just MO. I dont think its disrespectcful

i didn't grow up saying "yes sir/ma'am" or "no sir/ma'am" and i was polite. DH tells me i'm TOO polite most of the time. i will say sir/ma'am if i'm talking to someone older than myself on the phone or at a business or something, but i don't think my girls should have to say "yes, ma'am" to me or anything.

meagan and kylie are required to say please, thank you, excuse me, etc. (as best they can, they're 3.5 and 2 so it's a work in progress lol). they don't call adults by their first names...it's miss or mr. *insert first name*. in the case of two very close friends of mine it's "aunt/auntie so-and-so".

before i even got pregnant dh and i agreed that we would NOT be raising rude children and i think we're doing a pretty good job so far. i just don't think the yes sir/no sir stuff is essential to having a polite child. :D

I was raised with that yes sir thing, and I will not make my children say it..I agree that you can have great manners without using it.

My kids are taught manners, but not the yes/no ma'am/sir. I don't even say that, but I am polite.

I was raised by my grandparents and they actually took offense to people calling them ma'am and sir. The said ma'am and sir were for old fogies and didn't want anyone calling them that.

I think teaching kids to be respectful is more important than the actual phrases you teach them. I expect a please, thank you, and excuse me out of everyone when they are warranted, but otherwise as long as people are polite and respectful it doesn't matter to me the exact words they use.

you can have manners without yes sir no sir.

i agree

my mom taught my sister and i mannars from a young age. we dont ever really say yes sir no sir yes ma'am no ma'am. when i have kids i will most deffinently teach them mannars, as i think they are very very important. we say please and thank you etc. but not the ma'am and sir. i won't be teaching my kids ma'am and sir either.

I will raise mine to have manners and be respectful, which in my family includes saying ma'am or sir.
My friend's children call me Miss Elizabeth and will not call me anything else even when I tell them to, it's so cute. They are very respectful children!

you can have manners without yes sir no sir.

:yes I never said yes/no maam/sir to my parents and I would HATE it if I had to do that. I loved calling my mom mom and I don't think I should have to be that proper with my parents. :shrug Not saying sir or ma'am doesn't mean I'm not polite. I will teach my kids to say please and thank you but not the sir and ma'am I just don't think it's 100% needed in order to be polite. I never used those words till my freshman year of high school when I was in JROTC and had to use them. It doesn't mean I wasn't polite growing up... I always said please and thank you. To this day I feel weird if I don't say please and thank you. :giggle My DH even gets annoyed with me sometimes when we go out to eat even at a fast food restaurant and I thank him for the food. :giggle

I guess being raised in HI I learned things a little different... I have never been called Miss Stacey till I moved to the mainland. If I had an adult that my family was close to we always called then Aunt or Uncle even if they weren't really my aunt or uncle. My friends would call my mom Auntie Cheryl. :) It always worked for me and I never had a problem with it. :D

our children will have southern values

I will not raise my children (when I have them) to call either me or their father ma'am or sir, but will teach them to always call other adults such. I think it is polite. I will also teach them to excuse themselves from the table and ask for things nicely, to hold open doors and assist people when they drop things. I think that there is an appalling lack of manners in today's society and if my children ever acted in the disrespectful way I have seen many people's children act I would spank them. Immediately. Children need to have respect for elders and their peers and themselves and there are way too many who don't.

I wont make my kids say ma'am or sir but they will have manners. I don't think ma'am or sir mean you don't have manners. YOu can be very polite without saying either of those IMO

Since we'll be moving to the South I am sure that Miss K will pick it up BUT it will not be something that I will make her do. To me it sounds just plain strange when DH answers his grandpa with 'Yes/No sir' or when he says 'Yes/No ma'am' to his mom. IMO it is way to formal and not doing it does in no way mean that she will be rude or impolite.

We are pretty laid back parents... I let my kids get away with a lot :lol but I only let them get away with things because they are RESPECTFUL and we are VERY strict about things like manners. I truly believe us instilling those manners early on is what sort of established the kids place in the pack, if you will :giggle I mean, I don't want them to feel like a lesser PERSON than Jason and I, but I want them to have respect for us and know that they will be taken down a notch or two if they start showing their butt. I don't expect them to always answer "sir" or "ma'am" to Jason and I but I DO expect it when they are in trouble or being addressed in a serious tone. Even Shelby at 2 years old knows the tone of our voices and whether we expect her to use her good manners or not. If I'm yelling "hey Jaxon", it's casual. If I'm saying "'Do you understand me?" or " Are we understood" he knows I expect a yes ma'am. Now when he's in public, he almost always automatically addresses adults as ma'am and sir.

Are we being harsh? I don't think so. It may be a bit more than some parents expect but I definitely don't think the kids are suffering from it. They are VERY well mannered and that is one of THE MOST important things that I expect from them on a daily basis.

I wasnt raised using sir/ma'am. I wasnt even raised to call adults anything other than their names, first or last. Maybe its growing up in CA, where "stiff" politeness(is that a word?) isnt common. I never heard Miss Veronica till I moved to FL, and that is what my daughter calls people. She says please/thank you, your welcome and IMO is very polite for a two year old. She just wont use sir/ma'am since I dont use it either.

Never as a kid growing up was I expected to say ma'am/sir or no ma'am/sir. But I am a northern girl (WA state) so maybe thats a southern thing? I still had manners. I said please, thank you, yes, no etc. I think I had alot of manners growing up even tho I was never taught the sir/ma'am thing. As far as my kids go I do teach them please, thank you etc. Even at 2 Ethan says thank you, please etc. I dont think I will enforce the sir/ma'am thing as I was not raised with it and it just sounds weird to me. My husband is southern tho so he may feel differently. I will have to ask

I wanted to add, Jason and I both almost always address people by Ma'am or Sir, whether it be an elder, someone on the phone for customer service, waitress or whatever. Its just something that we were raised to do. So, we're passing it on as something that we feel is important.

I agree with the Kristi that maybe some of it has to do with where you grew up. I grew up in the south and not saying yes/no ma'am/sir is a no-no. It was looked at as a matter of respect and we were raised to say it. I do teach my kids to say it along with all the other manners that are expected like thank you, please, may I and such.

Another thing I have taught the kids that was pounded more into our head more than the other stuff was always push your chair in even if you are getting up to go to the bathroom.....funny how that bothers me when I see others not do it too:giggle

Another thing I have taught the kids that was pounded more into our head more than the other stuff was always push your chair in even if you are getting up to go to the bathroom.....funny how that bothers me when I see others not do it too:giggle

Oh ME TOO! I am the same way. :nutts

We are pretty laid back parents... I let my kids get away with a lot :lol but I only let them get away with things because they are RESPECTFUL and we are VERY strict about things like manners. I truly believe us instilling those manners early on is what sort of established the kids place in the pack, if you will :giggle I mean, I don't want them to feel like a lesser PERSON than Jason and I, but I want them to have respect for us and know that they will be taken down a notch or two if they start showing their butt. I don't expect them to always answer "sir" or "ma'am" to Jason and I but I DO expect it when they are in trouble or being addressed in a serious tone. Even Shelby at 2 years old knows the tone of our voices and whether we expect her to use her good manners or not. If I'm yelling "hey Jaxon", it's casual. If I'm saying "'Do you understand me?" or " Are we understood" he knows I expect a yes ma'am. Now when he's in public, he almost always automatically addresses adults as ma'am and sir.

Are we being harsh? I don't think so. It may be a bit more than some parents expect but I definitely don't think the kids are suffering from it. They are VERY well mannered and that is one of THE MOST important things that I expect from them on a daily basis.

You sound like such a good mommy! When your children are older and they have learned to be responsible and polite and they see how far it gets them in life, they will thank you. :clapping

I think it is respectful for children to say yes sir/ma'am, no sir/ma'am. I will be teaching my children(when we have kids) to be respectful to others. My husband is a southern boy and he has always said those things out of RESPECT...... even to his mom and dad. So yes.... I think it should be taught.=D

:agree

Yes sir and Yes ma'am are about respecting your elders to me. We were to say Mr/Miss (firstname) and use sir/ma'am when replying to a question and adult asked us.

It's about more that just manners. It's about respect.

I was raised by my grandparents and they actually took offense to people calling them ma'am and sir. The said ma'am and sir were for old fogies and didn't want anyone calling them that.

I think teaching kids to be respectful is more important than the actual phrases you teach them. I expect a please, thank you, and excuse me out of everyone when they are warranted, but otherwise as long as people are polite and respectful it doesn't matter to me the exact words they use.

I have always thought it was rude when adults would not let children call them ma'am or sir or Mr or Mrs so and so. If you have taught your child to not call adults by their first names, why should another adult be allowed to undermine that authority. I remember growing up when adults would try to make me call them by their first name and how uncomfortable it made me, because I was not raised to do that. I also hate it when people who aren't family members try to make little kids who aren't their own call them Grandma or Grandpa or Aunt this or Uncle that. I find it incredibly rude.

Yes sir and Yes ma'am are about respecting your elders to me. We were to say Mr/Miss (firstname) and use sir/ma'am when replying to a question and adult asked us.

It's about more that just manners. It's about respect.

So anyone not using those terms is being disrespectful?

So anyone not using those terms is being disrespectful?

Did I say that?

Did I say that?

I didn't mean to attack. But you said that to you it is a question of respect so I was simply wondering if not using sir/ ma'am is disrespectful in your opinion

So anyone not using those terms is being disrespectful?

I know you didn't quote me but I wanted to give MY 2 cents on it anyway :giggle

I don't think not using it is disrespectful. Disrespectful, IMO, is when someone is intentionally not showing respect that they should be showing. Not using sir or ma'am isn't what I would classify as a deliberate act of not respecting. I just think that using sir or ma'am is going a step beyond respect, sort of to a new level of respect... a little extra "umpf" if you will :lol I think ma'am and sir is a way to show that you're intentionally showing respect and you want that person to know you respect them. If that makes sense :lol

I know you didn't quote me but I wanted to give MY 2 cents on it anyway :giggle

I don't think not using it is disrespectful. Disrespectful, IMO, is when someone is intentionally not showing respect that they should be showing. Not using sir or ma'am isn't what I would classify as a deliberate act of not respecting. I just think that using sir or ma'am is going a step beyond respect, sort of to a new level of respect... a little extra "umpf" if you will :lol I think ma'am and sir is a way to show that you're intentionally showing respect and you want that person to know you respect them. If that makes sense :lol

What Brandi said :agree

My kids don't say "yes sir, ma'am, etc". They have manners, they say please, thank you, yes (not "yeah"), no etc. I was not brought up with that kind of formal talk towards others (speaking of the sir and ma'am), and I'm not raising my kids to talk that way. We are very laid back, and so is the way we speak.
I believe there is a place and time for formal talk, and everyday life is not that time for *our* family. Its a complete personal choice, just because they don't say those words does it mean they don't have manners though.

Completely agree.

As far as addressing people with miss, or mr I am not teaching him to say that either. Its just that I have family and friends close eough where i dont think mr and ms is neccessary. I also dont think it is neccessary to say to anyone my son meets, except for teachers where they require it. But just because someone wants to be called mr or ms and there first name, doesnt mean i agree with it or are going to make my son say it that way.. Some of you may think thats wrong, but its just MO. I dont think its disrespectcful

Also completely agree. And as a child growing this way, people always comment to my parents about what a polite and well behaved child I was...

I also hate it when people who aren't family members try to make little kids who aren't their own call them Grandma or Grandpa or Aunt this or Uncle that. I find it incredibly rude.

Well I don't find that rude at all. I was RAISED to do that to people who were close to me. I called my friends mom Auntie and their dad Uncle if I was close to them. It wasn't rude to me at all... But I guess that's us rude Hawaii people. :rolleyes

I know you didn't quote me but I wanted to give MY 2 cents on it anyway :giggle

I don't think not using it is disrespectful. Disrespectful, IMO, is when someone is intentionally not showing respect that they should be showing. Not using sir or ma'am isn't what I would classify as a deliberate act of not respecting. I just think that using sir or ma'am is going a step beyond respect, sort of to a new level of respect... a little extra "umpf" if you will :lol I think ma'am and sir is a way to show that you're intentionally showing respect and you want that person to know you respect them. If that makes sense :lol

I agree. I also think it is a way to make people feel good. When I was working at the Circle K, all the construction workers who came in (well, the English-speaking ones) would call me ma'am when they were asking for things i.e. "Where's the cream, ma'am?". I liked that. I would always say "Good morning sir or ma'am" to people as well. It brightened my day when little kids would call me ma'am. Of course, I worked in a pretty bad part of town, so this didn't happen often, but when it did I appreciated it. And over the phone I have noticed that if you say sir or ma'am, you get treated better. I always call other adults I don't know sir and ma'am and probably will for the rest of my life, even when they aren't all older than me. :teehee

I think it really is a matter of perspective and how and where raised truthfully. While some may feel it is very respectful to use sir and ma'am with everything, I actually get annoyed being referred to as Ma'am. FOr some reason it grades on my nerves. I would MUCH rather be called Mrs. But again...Thats how I was raised. So I think if you were raised with it then yes you would feel that is a matter of respect and manners. And if you were not raised with it but raised with Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mr or what have you, it doesnt mean you are any less disrespectful or have less manners. You were just raised differently. I know I consider myself to be respectful and with manners but I rarely say Ma'am or sir. I just wasnt raised that way

Well I don't find that rude at all. I was RAISED to do that to people who were close to me. I called my friends mom Auntie and their dad Uncle if I was close to them. It wasn't rude to me at all... But I guess that's us rude Hawaii people. :rolleyes

I said it was rude when adults forced it on little kids, thereby undermining their parent's instructions. I, too, called some of my mom's close friends "aunt so and so", but this was when MY MOTHER said it was okay to do so. I always think it is rude when other adults try to undermine the authority of parents, either by giving them sweets they aren't supposed to have, or telling them not to worry about doing things they have to at home, like excusing themselves from the table, or whatnot.

ETA: And by the way, I never said that all Hawaiian people are rude, simply that I hate it when outside people try to undermine parents' authority with their children, something I hate when people do it from all states.

I wasn't raised to say sir or ma'am but I didn't call adults by their first names (and I said please/thank you). He was raised that way though (he's from TX). So he said that's something he wants his kids to say and that's fine with me.

I wasn't raised saying ma'am and sir to everyone, so I doubt I will make Taylor do it everytime she speaks to someone. It's all a matter of personal preference. She has manners though, and as long as she's polite to people the sir and ma'am don't matter that much to me.

My cousin's dad made them say yes sir, but I don't know if that made them respect him. They said what he wanted to hear. I think my kids can respect people w/o saying that to us. They know who the bosses are in this house.

As far as this elder thing goes, I don't really get. I do respect older people if they deserve to be respected, but I won't respect someone just because they're old. THat might come from being molested by people older than me. I tend to wonder what kind of person someone really is (under the smiles). I guess I ask a bunch of questions because I wasn't raised one certain way. I pretty much watched everyone around me (and still do), and knew that I didn't want to be like them. Not saying those two words will not make them any less than someone who does. I know no one said that, I'm just stating it.

I think when the children have no manners It's because their parents don't either. I have also notice that most people that don't have manners also lack respect for other people other then themselves. i have learned that it is best not to talk to those kind of people. It only causes drama.:no

I don't make my children say sir or ma'am but I make them say yes and no instead of yeah, uh-uh, etc. They also say please, thank you, you're welcome, etc.

I agree that you don't have to say sir or ma'am to be polite but I do expect my children to be respectful of adults and be polite.

I'll raise Preston to say it...Kayla we are working on because she barely had any manners before she came to live with us. It's only been a month or so that I have finally got her to say a simple "okay" and not "okaaaaay" or "okay okay okay!!" like she's brushing me off. I told her a lot of the stuff I tell her doesn't warrent the kind of attitude that she would put behind saying okay. At this point I'm just happy with her saying "yes" or "okay" without attitude or exasperation behind it. We're working on the sir and ma'am though!

I will probably work with Lydia on calling people ma'am and sir because it gives her an easy standard of respect with which to work. Even if she doesn't know the person's name with whom she is speaking, she can still be respectful. I wasn't really raised with "ma'am/sir" but I picked up up after we moved to the South from California when I was 11 and I still use those terms.

I'm VERY big on manners anyway, rude kids drive me straight up the wall, so we are already teaching Lydia the basics anyway. She already says her version of "Thank You" and "Welcome" (at least I think it's Thank You and You're Welcome, she always says something usually unintelligible after I give her something and I just say, "You're Welcome!" regardless of what comes out of her mouth :giggle)

Parents like that are why kids are so screwed up these days. I think every child should be taught manners. That means all manners. Opening doors, please, thank you, yes sir/mam, no sir/mam etc.

I think when the children have no manners It's because their parents don't either. I have also notice that most people that don't have manners also lack respect for other people other then themselves. i have learned that it is best not to talk to those kind of people. It only causes drama.:no

Yes, to everything you posted :yes

here in the south, that is how we are raised (ma'am/sir). i think it just depends on what your customs and traditions are.

Parents like that are why kids are so screwed up these days. I think every child should be taught manners. That means all manners. Opening doors, please, thank you, yes sir/mam, no sir/mam etc.

So are you saying that if you dont say sir/ma'am then you dont have any manners? Just trying to understand your post fully is all ;)

Kevin says yes sir to some man at work. How cute. He had to do all that when he was a little boy.

Our children will be raised "old fashioned" (sir & ma'am, whole nine yards) because they will be around family who will expect it. All the sides of our family were raised that way, we were raised that way, & will pass it down to our kids. If we don't, their grandparents/great-grandparents will :giggle when they're around! And yes, we're from small-town Texas.

I agree that it depends where you are from. In Massachusetts you never hear those words, I wouldn't teach my kid to use them because they would probably get a lot of strange looks! I also went to an alternative elementary school where teachers were called by their first names. It's normal to me, so any situation where I have to call someone Title Lastname feels overly formal to me.

I wanted to add, Jason and I both almost always address people by Ma'am or Sir, whether it be an elder, someone on the phone for customer service, waitress or whatever. Its just something that we were raised to do. So, we're passing it on as something that we feel is important.

I'm that way also with people on the phone and at work..Most tell me im not that old am I then I say sorry it's how I was raised and it will never change.. :yes

I agree with the Kristi that maybe some of it has to do with where you grew up. I grew up in the south and not saying yes/no ma'am/sir is a no-no. It was looked at as a matter of respect and we were raised to say it. I do teach my kids to say it along with all the other manners that are expected like thank you, please, may I and such.

Another thing I have taught the kids that was pounded more into our head more than the other stuff was always push your chair in even if you are getting up to go to the bathroom.....funny how that bothers me when I see others not do it too:giggle

I do the chair thing too when im at someone else's house, restaurant...If you took it out put it back in :D

As a kid, I was usually quite respectful. I'd use sir/ma'am until I was told not to by the person. My parents never really thrust this on me, however. They were very informal. My mom would get upset if we wore a ballcap to the dinner table, but other times she wouldn't care. I was never required to call my parents sir/ma'am. The main reason I recall being as polite as possible was that that person would tell my parents how well behaved and well mannered I was - and I wasn't in a scholastic position to earn much praise, so getting praised for being polite was all I could get.

Today, however, I'm a much different person. I can certainly play the politics/polite game whenever it's required, but I don't have time in this life to be the polite person when there's a job to be done. I'm respectful mind you, just not as polite as I could be.

Politeness has nothing to do with why kids are the way they are today. The main reason kids have no respect for anything is that they're never taught the value of things - there's no sense of failure in our school system. You have to really go out of your way to fail out of school. Most people just end up dropping out. We need to teach kids that everything has a price, including respecting others, and not just through words: through ACTION. Stop giving awards to kids who don't deserve them. Teach our kids that you CAN fail at life if you don't try, and even when you do try, failure happens.

But, this is coming from a lowly former-educator.