Also, "yes" was a perfectly valid answer, "yeah" was not.

How about "I like the cut of your gibberish, Ma'am"?

You can legally mandate certain manners. For example, almost everyone pulls right over for ambulances here in LA, because they will get a ticket if they don't. I was shocked when I moved here from NYC to see how quick motorists were to respond to emergency vehicles.

See, for me, that's more along the lines of not interfering with emergency services than manners.

ETA: Pulling over for a funeral procession may be a more apt example of motoring manners.

For example, almost everyone pulls right over for ambulances here in LA, because they will get a ticket if they don't. I was shocked when I moved here from NYC to see how quick motorists were to respond to emergency vehicles.

I've always assumed that was a matter of logistics in NYC -- it's sometimes impossible to hear just where the siren is and really hard to pull over once you do. I know in the Jersey 'burbs where I was raised we always pull over.

You should write to them and assure them you've since made up the shortfall voluntarily.

BWAH!

It's funny, actually. My Grandmother went on to teach in that school system for 25 years. She and that principal NEVER got along (apparently she was a witch in general), and G-ma always made a point of bragging loudly in her hearing whenever I got an award or something. Too bad Gramma is retired now, I'm sure she'd be happy to pass along the news... "Oh yes, Trudy is SUCH a kinkmeister now..."

Also, "yes" was a perfectly valid answer, "yeah" was not.

That was often the case up North as well.

FTR, I loved living down there in lots and lots of ways. I just happened to have a particularly evil teacher that year.

Dude, grade school is a freaky ass place where just as you're trying to figure out who you are, seperate from your family and parents, you're being alternately slammed and praised for your precociousness, which pretty much goes hand in hand with the whole "CONFORM, but be well above average!" thing- all very confusing. And I went to a pretty progressive school.

I appreciate manners, and I think they're a lovely way to set boundaries and be respectful of people you don't know. If manners ruled the world, I think, it would be a much nicer place. But I also think respecting someone is just something you do, not something you can make people do.

Did the legislation happen because they felt teachers were being too casual? Because that makes a little sense. (STILL messed up, mind you)

I think that, around that same time, there was a statewide school dress code imposed. I don't know the boys rules, but for girls, it was no tank tops, no midriff tops, and shorts can fall no more than 4 inches above the knee. I think it was mostly an effort to make the schools look superficially better ("See! Our kids are polite and not slutty!") without really doing anything to actually address why the schools were doing so badly.

No. They just thought kids were all little hoodlums who could stand to have a little respect for authority shoved down their throats. Because, disrespect of educators and the educational system in general has nothing to do with people underfunding public education and bashing it all to shit, or dismissing anything intellectual as "worldly" "out of touch" or something to be mocked. It's all the bratty children's fault.

I don't know the boys rules, but for girls, it was no tank tops, no midriff tops, and shorts can fall no more than 4 inches above the knee.

I'd love the boys rules to be simply, "Put it away!"

Sounds like the school uniform movement here.

"Let's find a band-aid! Screw funding or listening to what the actualy educators might think the problems might be!"

It was annoying as hell. Personally I thought uniforms were a good idea, but they're not the be all and end all of good education for pete's sake.