Manners, What Happened To Them?

I was sitting in a colleague’s classroom (Colleague A) earlier today, and I was telling her about my eventful weekend at BaltiCon. Soon after, while I was still talking, another colleague (Colleague B) came to the door, said hello, and started a conversation, essentially bulldozing what I was saying. After she was finished with her “entrance,” Colleague A did not ask me to continue.

I became upset, but I bit my lip, exhaled, and hid it.

As a teacher, I continually try to instill—by instruction, modelling, and reminding—manners that were obviously absent in the example I provided above. All manners, actually. It’s an uphill battle, but I persevere. And when I say “persevere,” I mean that I continue to try to teach my students manners as calmly and practically as possible, despite the singular lack of results.

Here are the problems I have with what had happened earlier. Colleague B, without regard to what was happening in the room, without regard to a conversation taking place right in front of her, entered and immediately interrupted what I was saying. Colleague A did not say anything about this, did not try to correct Colleague B, nor did she ask me to continue when Colleague B finished her entrance spiel.

And so I ask, what happened to manners?

Not to be an ageist, but I expect a level of mannerless behavior from my students. I don’t blame them, I don’t ponder who modeled these lacking behaviors for them, I just teach them what is proper. It’s what I do.

But my colleagues, one of whom is as old as I am, and who, supposedly, was raised learning the exact same manners I have, neglected these teachings, these manners. And this gives me pause, ultimately leading me to believe that many of my colleagues are, indeed, hypocrites. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

So, I wonder, am I upset that Colleague A did not seem to care about my weekend? Or is she really hypocritical? And what about Colleague B, just entering and bulldoziing my moment? I don’t want to think that any of my colleagues are without manners, but what am I to do? I don’t believe that my concerns warrant me talking to both of them about this, for I would sound both preachy and whiny.

So I ask again: Manners, what happened to them?