For high-school students, etiquette not only sends them on the path to success, but also helps build their characters in a positive manner.

Is it important for Bayshore High School students to learn how to conduct proper etiquette?

“Yes, it is definitely important,” said Laura Roberts, career advisor at Bayshore. “If students present themselves outside of school using poor etiquette, it will affect their job performance and other beneficial opportunities.”

Etiquette is the accepted rule for social behavior, though some students take it more lightly than others. Some examples are “cutting in line, leaving food and utensils on the table, talking with their mouth full, having stairwell chaos, interrupting, lack of respect for authority, and spitting on the ground,” said Mrs. Roberts, about the etiquette student’s display around campus.

To be well-mannered means to be polite, courteous and/or civil. Some examples include:

n Walking up the stairs the right way, which means stay to the right.

n Not spitting in front of people or near them.

n Opening the door for women.

n Helping the elderly.

n Not skipping in the lunch line.

n Honoring your commitments.

n Saying please and thank you.

There are many different forms of proper etiquette. “Students need to look for role models such as, educators, committee leaders, and family that emulate proper etiquette,” Mrs. Roberts said.

Etiquette most commonly is learned from parents, but also can be taught in the workplace, such as a first job.

“I was taught proper etiquette from my parents and my Catholic school teachers,” Mrs. Roberts said. “As for workplace etiquette, I learned from a mentor at one of my first jobs in marketing.

“It would be nice to have the etiquette across the board,” she said. For example “chivalry, which is measured by graciousness and courteous behavior, and honor, especially towards woman.”

Proper etiquette can be taught at any age. With it, it helps one get farther in life.