There is a YouTube video showing how in the Japanese community, children are groomed for independence and taught good manners right from their childhood. These children are trained to be respectful to all people whether at home, in communities and at school. This is what shapes them into a respectful community and well-behaved people. In the video, children are shown taking themselves at school, they are also seen bowing to a car as a sign of respect and appreciation for letting them pass on cross-walk. At school, these children clean their classrooms, wash their dishes after meals and at home, they help their parents with house chores. This style of learning and nurturing shapes children’s lives for independence and provides a country with well-behaved citizens. It also shows us that schools can be places for nurturing students beyond teaching them how to read and write. Grooming children with manners from a tender age has an impact on both their lives and that of their communities. Jean Pacifique Kalisa, a university student shares that when he was still a child, his mother always stressed the importance of being polite and respectful to everyone explaining that it will be a reward once he grew up. “And it has; whether at work, at school or in a different place I have been respected by many people because of how I present and carry myself in front of them. I do believe that learning about this early shapes you into a better person,” he says. According to Evelyne Mutesi, a language teacher, teaching good manners to a child at an early age is very crucial and fruitful. “Even in the Rwandan culture, there is a saying that ‘igiti kigororwa kikiri gito,’ which means that for a tree to grow straight, you have to straighten it from the beginning. All parents should teach their children manners at an early age because it builds their overall personality from which families and countries can benefit from, like having good leaders and responsible people,” she says. Children are not always with their parents, they spend a lot of time at school with their teachers and hence, it is very important that schools too consider teaching them good manners and respect, says Germain Ngabonziza, a school manager at Nyanza TVET School. “Teachers and school principals play a big role in educating a child, but also education does not end with class lessons and home work. There are other important things beyond that like respect and good manners that shape the child’s personality. Educators should put much effort in teaching the importance of being well-behaved and showing respect to everyone, because when children go out in the world after school, this is what will define their future and take them to various opportunities,” he says. American lawyer Clarence Thomas said: Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot. But this starts at home; teachers will not teach your child what you didn’t teach them as parents. Alice Munyana a parent and teacher says children imitate what they see, practice what they are shown and present themselves based on how they were brought up. If a parent never cares less to teach their children good manners at an early age, it will be difficult to teach them when they grow up. All parents want a well behaved and respectful child but it is our job to shape them the way we want,” she says.
