Etiquette classes teach children social graces
Hands freshly washed, boys and girls sat down at the tables inside a Green Valley Elementary School classroom only to discover their place settings in disarray.
Forks aren't supposed to be to the right of the plate. What is the spoon doing on the left? The group of 18 students, most of whom attend Green Valley Elementary School, worked enthusiastically to fix their place settings on the two red and blue tables.
"Am I right?" asked the students as their teacher, Chris Stein, surveyed their work on Feb. 26.
Stein, who is also a substitute teacher for Frederick County Public Schools, was a stickler for detail. Knives must face toward the plate, she said, and a napkin's folded edge is closest to the plate.
Since the fall, Stein of Mount Airy has been teaching elementary and middle school students in New Market and Urbana schools social etiquette and table manners after school. Stein's courses are offered through Frederick County Parks and Recreation for children ages 8 to 14, for a cost of $55.
At Green Valley Elementary in Monrovia, she held four hourly classes with her students in a classroom partitioned from the school's stage.
Stein said a friend, Kelly Frager of Mount Airy, introduced her to the idea of teaching social etiquette, so she received her certification from the International School of Protocol, which provides etiquette training to businesses, schools, adults and organizations. Frager also teaches social etiquette classes in Mount Airy schools.
Working as a substitute teacher for five years, "you see a lot of things children do and I think [etiquette is] something that's missed in everyone's busy lives," Stein said.
Before the class began its meal, Stein reviewed basic rules — feet in front, hands in lap, chew with mouth closed and cut one piece of food at a time. If you eat something you don't like, swallow it and don't spit it out, Stein said.
"You should take three bites: a bite to taste, a bite to think about it, a bite to decide," she said. "You should try. That's how you expand what you like," she added.
Seated around the tables, the students tore off pieces of bread to butter, leaned over bowls of cereal and cut the buns Continental and American style with their plastic forks and knives. Between the giggles of laughter and spurts of concentration, they asked Stein questions.
After class, 10-year-old Nicole Uriarte of Monrovia and Tyler Parraga, a sixth-grader at Windsor Knolls Middle School, said they had learned a lot even though they didn't know they were taking the class initially.
"My parents really didn't tell me, they just signed me up," Nicole said.
Nicole, a student at Green Valley Elementary, said she also learned lessons away from the dinner table. For example, finding your seat at the movie theater requires you to position yourself face to face with people when moving through the row of seats.
Stephanie Killian of Ijamsville picked up her daughter, Genny, after the class ended. She said she enrolled her daughter, a seventh-grader at Windsor Knolls Middle, in the course because manners and etiquette are essential to getting along with others and feeling comfortable in social settings.
"I've always raised my kids to be polite but this will help them to be successful in life and in the future," Killian said. "If you don't know how to act, people think less of you."
E-mail Katherine Mullen at kmullen@gazette.net.
-Follow your host
-Pass food counter-clockwise
-Unfold the napkin under the table
-Only take seconds when offered
-Always thank the cook
March 16: Deer Crossing Elementary, 10601 Finn Drive, New Market
April 16: Centerville Elementary, 3601 Carriage Hill Drive, Urbana
May 12: Oakdale Elementary, 9850 Old National Pike, Ijamsville
For information, contact Chris Stein at 301-829-5552 or visit www.co.frederick.md.us.
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