Etiquettes, manners and courtesies have seemed to fade away. People have started to ignore other people’s existence and basic grateful words are almost extinct. I agree with Linton Week’s article and the points he makes. People have forgotten the basic words, like ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ instead they have adopted new words which unfortunately do not have the same sentiment hanging from them. I personally have seen this many times but the three main times I actually realized the gravity was in Mr. Plonka’s speech, an instance in high school corridors and behavior of people around me.
Teachers are walking in and out of the hallway, they smile and greet a student and in return they are ignored. Is this a way to reply to teachers? Teachers are humans too and they are probably always have a helping hand. They share their knowledge with the students and they volunteer to do so. No one forced them to become teachers, so if they give their time to us, why are we so disrespectful? Mr. Plonka, my English teacher, made a speech during our homeroom. He stated that students do not say ‘thank you’ to their teachers (not like he wants us to say thank you to him every minute just for the heck of it, instead when you feel that you have learnt something new and interesting or if one feels that their teachers have made them improve in their area of weakness). They ignore them and leave them isolated. Students and the youth of the 21st century have lost manners. No one opens a gate for a teacher, they do not wait for the teacher to leave, and when the teacher enters the classroom no one greets them. I heard a girl talking to her teacher and saying, ‘Well, just do it for me, and well I never knew you were so mean and partial.’ The teacher has no duty towards the student but the student does. When someone gives their time and knowledge to everyone, they require respect. If one thinks I am being too bias, well how about a story from when I was walking through the corridors of my school.
I was walking to my class, and I saw these guests walking through the hallway, I went and greeted them, showed them our school, however during this time, I noticed something awkward. People did not even say hello, they would just walk past them, someone even pushed a person and turned back and said, ‘Oh well my bad.’ Those guests were old people from Indian Schools and they definitely did not like that gesture. ‘My bad’ is not the same thing as saying, ‘I’m sorry’ as it does have the feel and emotion. It is much more casual, it is like if you went for an interview and greeted the interviewer by saying ‘Yo man’. That will surely not get you a job. This happens everywhere and people need to realize that courtesies and grateful words are important.
Modern world feels secluded; people don’t greet you when they see you because they are too busy in their gadgets. Just one ‘Hello how are you?’ is important; it makes a person feel special. If you say thank you to a cleaner, they feel happy and actually feel that there are people who care for them. Everything can change, and you have the power to make a difference. So do a little extra by saying a few more words.
Respect and give people happiness and importance. People will be mean but you can be nice so start respecting people and they will in turn respect you. When asking, say please and when the task is done then say thank you. Make a change and be the difference. Small acts of kindness can make a person’s day so why not make an initiative to be the one to put a smile on face. There is no harm caused to one if they are using a magic word instead someone is appreciating the kind words spoken. The nicer you are to people and the more recognized they feel and it’s like a win-win situation. One doesn’t have to go overboard to make a person’s day and simultaneously the other person feels good.
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