Dear Parents

Many of you will have been taught by your parents the importance of good manners. Throughout my 38 years of teaching I have endeavoured to highlight the value and significance of good manners and treating people with respect, being civil to those we come into contact with.

 Incivility includes mocking or belittling someone to teasing people in ways that sting to telling offensive jokes to texting in meetings.  We may not mean to make someone feel disrespected, but when we do, it has consequences.

Incivility is contagious, and we become carriers of it just by being around it.  It affects our emotions, our motivation, our performance and how we treat others. 

Researchers in Israel have actually shown that medical teams exposed to rudeness perform worse not only in all their diagnostics, but in all the procedures they did. This was mainly because the teams exposed to rudeness didn't share information as readily, and they stopped seeking help from their teammates. 

 Being truly civil means doing the small things, like smiling and saying hello and listening fully when someone's speaking to you. Of course you can have strong opinions, disagree, have conflict or give negative feedback – but civilly, with respect.  

Why does civility pay? People will see you as warm and competent, friendly and smart. In other words, being civil isn't just about motivating others. It's about you. 

 Small things can make a big difference. Thanking people, sharing credit, listening attentively, humbly asking questions, acknowledging others and smiling all have an impact.

 When we have more civil environments, we're more productive, creative, helpful, happy and healthy.

God Bless