Manners Matter

Here's the set-up: a comet is passing near Earth, causing some seriously weird behavior in adults. Parents and teachers have lost all courtesy and manners, and end up exhibiting all the rudeness one would expect from, well, the target audience for this video. The role reversal is amusing and effective--seeing adults in professional attire bicker and pester one another drives home the absurdity of poor behavior. Whether illustrating the importance of saying "please" and "excuse me," or underscoring the need to keep one's hands to oneself, each vignette demonstrates that the root of courtesy lies in basic respect for other people. Between skits, three kids discuss what they've seen and give a "courtesy tip" to the viewers. Unfortunately, the whole thing was shot in an empty school, with the end result being that the dialogue is not only overacted but also distractingly echoing. An elementary teacher viewing this with me felt that her kids would be turned off by the "cheesiness," but admitted they could definitely use the reminders this video presents. Optional. A companion volume, Courtesy Counts, is also available. Aud: K, E, I. (E. Gieschen)