CASE 3.2: A CLASS LESSON IN ETIQUETTE

2. Mr. Peyton was mindful enough to meet with Ms. Hollingsworth prior to her visit. How, if at all, could he have prepared Ms. Hollingsworth for her visit, knowing that she previously had worked with a more privileged group of students?

I think Mr. Peyton was too easily satisfied with Ms. Hollingsworth’s over confidence in her ability to teach “all students.” First of all, he should have expressed their concerns to her. Kevin, a student, told Mr. Peyton that this is not real world material because they “will never be invited to a fancy event.” This raises a real concern about how the students think of what will become of their own lives. Ms. Hollingsworth said that “demographics don’t matter,” but I think Mr. Peyton knew better than to go along with that, especially since she has always worked with privileged students. Mr. Peyton should have tried harder to explain the differences not only in the students’ socioeconomic status, but their attitudes and how they viewed the world. Ms. Hollingsworth was naïve to believe all students are equally teachable, when her typical students have had exposure to “fancy events,” and etiquette, but Mr. Peyton’s students had not. Mr. Peyton’s class was having a difficult time even seeing the value in learning proper etiquette. Overall, he could have done more to better prepare Ms. Hollingsworth, regardless of what she said. In the end, it negatively affected his students.

3. Why might Tanya have responded the way she responded? In what ways might her response be connected to Ms. Hollingsworth’s approach to teaching etiquette?

I think Tanya might have felt Ms. Hollingsworth’s tone and responses toward the students was condescending. Ms. Hollingsworth disregarded the fact that the students in Mr. Peyton’s class come from a totally different world than the privileged students she normally teaches. Not only did she condense her class to a 2-hour session, but she expected these children who had no prior exposure to proper etiquette to catch on very quickly. When the students ate fruit with their hands, she stated it was “simply unacceptable,” and became frustrated when they could not remember the correct order of the utensils. Many students were turned off by Ms. Hollingsworth’s approach and began to lose interest in the class. Tanya, who was normally outspoken, said she was teaching them to be “snooty.” I think Tanya was more turned off by Ms. Hollingsworth’s attitude, rather than what she was actually teaching them. She probably thought, “If learning this stuff will cause me to be rude like her, then NO THANK YOU!”