Civility & Etiquette Training for Kids and Young Adults

Topics Covered:

Good Manners – Basic everyday manners, common courtesy, acceptable and unacceptable behavior
Social Graces – Lessons on meeting and greeting, eating, drinking and table manners (for smaller children) dining etiquette for young adults, interacting with others at home, events and at school
Developing a Healthy Self Image, Self Esteem and understanding the importance of respecting oneself and others
Recognizing strengths and developing confidence through those strengths. Identifying challenges and characteristics that make or break a person
Life Skills – Image Management, handling relationships at home, school and in the social arena, health and wellness, money management, effective communication, public speaking and presentation skills
The Art of Conversation – Lessons will assist participants deals with fear and approach this important social skill with ease and confidence
Understanding Diversity – Lessons on understanding, accepting and celebrating the things which make us uniquely different

All lessons are age appropriate and are prepared for the following age groupings;

4 – 6 years

7 – 10 years

11 – 15 years, and

16 – 18 years

Lessons will be taught based on training material and lessons from the Institute of Civility, Civility Works-Caribbean and from industry certified texts. Also to provide optimal learning experience, experts will be brought in to share their knowledge on select subject areas.

There are other Civility training courses geared towards those of college and university ages.

On Civility & Etiquette

In response to an increasing demand for civility in our homes, schools, communities, and workplaces, there is a resurgence of interest in values and courtesy. Parents, teachers, and educators have long recognized the impact of civility on self-confidence and respect but putting theory into practice, in the form of after-school programs or vacation camps can be a challenging undertaking. Similarly, successful businesses are now making etiquette training a priority and recognize that courtesy is at the root of productive, respectful workplaces where civility directly impacts customer service and the bottom line.

So what is Civility? Civility can be defined in many ways. According to the Oxford Dictionary, civility is a noun that means politeness and courtesy. According to The Civility Group Incorporated, the leading experts in the field, “Civility is the way in which we express an attitude of respectfulness. By being polite and choosing to consistently show courtesy and consideration towards others we encourage a culture of civility and build respectful relationships.”

And what of etiquette? Simply put, etiquette is the conventional rule of conduct. It is a code of behavior by which we live and interact with others. It is good manners. Civility and etiquette are not about being old fashioned or snobby and they are not only for fancy or formal occasions.

Leading oneself well, with respect and treating others in a like manner are the hallmarks of civility and good etiquette.

Why Civility and Etiquette for kids

Manners, good deportment, decent conversations, modes of dress and social behavior are all on a negative slope. Seemingly the traits that have caused the moral decay of our society have infiltrated our school system and more and more, country by country, teachers remark on the change in the caliber of students that they are faced with every day in the classroom. “Kids are just not the same” “Kids no longer act like kids” “These kids are tough” – all common statements from teachers today.

On January 14th 2010 Phoebe Prince, an Irish teen living in the United States committed suicide after being bullied by her peers. This is not an isolated incident in the USA or one uncommon to Caribbean schools. One of Phoebe’s friends said “Right away they just jumped on her without even giving her a try,” Children are teased, assaulted, verbally abused and ostracized because they are different. Diversity is not celebrated or tolerated. Rather, it is shunned and ridiculed. But it is also said by Psychologist that children who are bullied are targeted because of certain characteristics, weaknesses and signals which are picked up by their attackers. It therefore means that the problem is two-fold and that both personality types must be addressed.

Our societies no longer value common courtesy and as a result our children are growing up deficient of basic common sense- common manners. Because of the lack of respect for self, parents, teachers and others in authority, children perform far below what they are actually capable of. Kids today have more resources available to them, but achieve far less because they hold little or no respect for the value of the efforts of their parents, schools and communities.

Parents look to teachers for assistance, Teachers claim it is not their job and furthermore they just don’t have the time. Parents too have less time to spend “parenting” in the ways that were effective in times gone by. Time spent around the dinner table, over homework, over a game or an outing is almost a thing of the past. Kids spend an inordinate number of hours on their own – in most cases left in the company of television sets, computers or gaming equipment; all these being culprits for the reasons why children today are less sociable.

We can talk about the dilemmas, quote statistics, stand by and do nothing, or we can make a decision to turn the tide around. Each parent, each child, every household, every school can make the decision to do their part in bringing our schools, homes and communities at large back to civility. No child is too young or old and the lessons of civility and etiquette can be applied to any area of work, school, home life or play. Most kids behave badly because they just don’t know any other way. It is our responsibility to get them back on a positive track – one that will lead them to success in their many endeavors in the years to come.

Objectives of Civility and Etiquette Training

For the Student:

Promote positive behavior and outcomes for kids and teens. Successful application of the lessons will also produce the following intangible benefits:

Confidence
Thoughtfulness
Inner Strength (great for combating peer pressure)
Kindness
Respect (of people, places and things)
Positive and healthy esteem

Increase participants social IQ - i.e. provide them with knowledge of what is expected and respected behavior in any environment so that saying, doing, even thinking the “courteous” thing becomes natural
Provide tools and training needed to respond positively and with confidence to challenges.

For the Educational Institutions:

By including civility and etiquette lessons as part of the curriculum, schools would;

Foster a culture of civility amongst the student body, faculty and homes. This by extension would impact the wider community.

Graduate students who are academically and socially prepared to face the world without compromise or fear. Students who will in all things be responsible and move on with characteristics of integrity, confidence and respect for the people, places and things that will surround them.

Develop a reputation for producing a superior cadre of students.

The following excerpt is from an article titled: Social Epidemic of Bad Manners and Disrespect. Written by Phil B. from the website philforhumanity.com

“Therefore, the only viable solution is that public schools must teach and enforce good manners and respect as well as good behavior. So, we must ask.. no.. we must demand that public schools start providing mandatory "charm school" or similar classes to teach respect for each other. A lot of private schools are already doing so; and in my opinion, those kids going to private school are noticeably better behaved, well mannered, more educated, and generally turn out to be better adults too. Another problem that children have is poor socialization skills. Even in the most diverse schools, how children interact with each other is extremely poor. I noticed that typically girls communicate with each other more naturally but only among themselves; however they are just as rude and cruel as boys.”

For details on how to include these programs in your communities, schools or businesses please contact the Head Office of Civility Works 1-204-295-6167.

Thank you to Cheryl David – Civility Works Caribbean for her work in providing a much needed interest in assisting children to become respectful and polite adults.