Manners (The Lack Thereof)

My first post ever was on the lack of positive thinking in this world. I was recently reminded that manners, and respect for other individuals, is also very hard to find in many places. My daughter was in a dance recital, and we (parents, family, friends, etc.), were instructed to stay quiet during the dance routines and to clear the aisles as soon as possible between dance routines. It was a total joke! You could sure tell when relatives and friends of certain dancers were not performing. Adults were talking, to each other and on cell phones, and moving about like nothing was going on. It was ridiculous! My family, and several others, were following directions but it did not matter. There were several times the instructor had to wait for the next performance because people were not doing what they were supposed to. We are talking about adults! My son was better behaved than many of the adults. Don't all young people that work hard on a routine for months deserve everyone's attention for a few minutes? I will be honest. I do not like dance recitals. I am a sports person. I am also a teacher. Even though I do not like dance recitals, I do know that all these young people worked extremely hard to be able to perform in front of this large audience. We, as a family, did what we were told so that everyone could enjoy the show and focus on the child they came to see. I can not even begin to count how many adults I have heard complain about children not listening or following directions. How can we expect children to follow directions when we, as adults, can't follow directions? For some reason many adults feel that they are immune to instruction because they are adults. Just remember, children do what they see!

By the way, the dancers were all wonderful! You could sure tell they worked hard. Congratulations to the teachers and dancers for putting on a wonderful program.