Sophophobia- Fear of learning: Etiquette

This is something I actually wrote several months ago:



As time goes on, it seems that more and more classes are becoming available to students eager to learn, progress, and boast impressive highschool transcripts. The opportunities nowadays are astounding: advanced placement classes, higher level math and science classes, and so on. However, there seems to be an ever growing trend at the same time, one that is highly disturbing. People seem to have forgotten almost completely the basic etiquette that bound us not so very long ago. The self-centeredness is borderline childlike, immature in the extreme. Moreover, many do not seem to realize when they are being rude until someone who does remember the old etiquette points it out. I am guilty of poor etiquette myself; indeed, I am cursed with the embarrassment that seems to be a constant in my generation when we are confronted with situations that require etiquette, such as merely knowing when to say "please" or "thank you". Of course, this lack of manners is something that can and will be detrimental in the long run, as it will affect our relationship with others, including our superiors in the job industry. It is the goal of schools to prepare their students for the real world, to provide them with the capability of being full-fledged citizens in society. Therefore, as a training in etiquette could only aid in this education, it ought to be a mandatory course.