Expressing Gratitude- I was brought up in a "please" and "thank you" household and am very adamant that everyone should be polite individuals no matter their circumstances. I see a sense of entitlement from students in my classroom and when students demand "I need a pencil" or "You didn't give me the packet pages I need," I try to rephrase what the student is saying from a polite standpoint and request a gracious answer when they receive what they "need." For example, just yesterday I printed a form for a student and he began walking away from me without acknowledging that I did him a favor. I requested he come back to my desk and ask him what might he say to a person who has done you a favor, to which he said "Thank you." Another example was when we took our students on a field trip, I waited for all the students to get off the bus and heard one out of about 25 students say "thank you" to our bus driver. I made a point to address the students on the way home and relay to them how important it is to acknowledge the people who do things for us, like get us to our location safely. Students aren't malicious nor do they purposely act this way, but it is important to remind students how important manners are in their lives.
