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By Jennifer Parker
Special / DTL
Concerned citizens, educators and civic leaders in West Point have joined forces to start a revolution in their community – a revolution of courtesy, self-respect, and respect for others. Believing today’s culture to be suffering from widespread lack of manners among children and adults, these local organizers, volunteers, and sponsors have combined their resources and abilities in the Community of Manners Project.
The Community of Manners Project is a joint effort to bring the national 501(c)(3) organization Manners of the Heart to their area in October to offer four unique training events to parents and teachers, to local youth, and to members of the local business community.
West Point School District’s Bright Horizons/Partners in Education took the lead in coordinating the partnership between area schools, churches, businesses, the public library, and West Point civic and community groups, all for the purpose of bringing these educational events to their area.
According to Claire Craig, the WPSD Bright Horizons coordinator, she has been overwhelmed and “tremendously encouraged” by the outpouring of support from local churches and groups. In addition to more than17 area churches and the Sally Kate Winters Family Services, local partners supporting the Community of Manners Project with funding and/or volunteer assistance include Bryan Public Library, City of West Point, BancorpSouth, BankFirst, Delta Kappa Gamma, Project Homestead, Southern Ionics, Excel by 5, Rotary Club, Parents in Public Schools, Edwards, Storey, Marshall, Helveston, and Easterling, and Junior Auxillary, just to name a few.
Because of these and other local partners’ commitment and dedication, West Point will have the distinction of being named Mississippi’s first Manners of the Heart community.
Project volunteer and local resident Jennifer Parker, who also serves as the children’s and young adult services coordinator for Bryan Public Library, says the library is pleased and proud to be among the institutions and groups supporting the Community of Manners Project.
“This is not only a great opportunity for all of us to get behind community education on multiple levels, but it’s also an inspiring example of local collaboration and unity of purpose,” said Parker.
“It means a lot to me to see West Point come together like this,” Parker said, “with churches, businesses, schools, and organizations all working as one to push an important idea – that manners matter and that knowing how to treat people with respect can be a stepping-stone to success.”
The four upcoming workshops include Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World (to be held Saturday, Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at West Point High School North Campus), a program that equips parents, grandparents and guardians to instill manners and the values of self respect and respect for others in their young children. Lunch will be served.
Another program, this one for high school students, is called Leaders by Example (Oct. 28 from 2 — 5 p.m., also at WPHS North Campus) and is designed to prepare high school teens for the job market, teaching them valuable social skills, etiquette and workplace ethics. An evening meal is included, scheduled for 5 —6 p.m.
A third training opportunity titled Manners of the Heart (Oct. 29 from 8 —10 a.m. at East Side Elementary School) will show day care workers and K-2nd grade teachers how to instill manners and self respect in the hearts of children as a foundation for their moral, physical and mental development.
And the fourth program, The Business of Manners (Oct. 30 from 9 — 11:30 a.m. at the West Point Civic Center), provides intensive corporate skills and ethics training for managers and workers in small businesses, large companies and corporations. Lunch will follow the training from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pre-registration is mandatory, as attendance is limited.
The presenter of these four unique programs is family advocate, author/columnist and TV personality Jill Rigby, founder of the Manners of the Heart nonprofit organization. Rigby, who also authored a book titled Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, says today’s society is one in which people “need to get away from self esteem and start building self respect.”
Many of society’s worst problems can be traced back to self-esteem, self-gratification, and self-centeredness, Rigby asserts. And the remedy she proposes for this is a return to the values of respect for self, respect for others, and service to others. That’s what the Manners of the Heart presentations are all about, she says.
“The present generation is not rebelling against the right but against the wrong,” the author claims. She describes Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World as a powerful presentation that gives hope and guidance to parents seeking answers and teaches them how to be coaches to their children rather than cheerleaders.
Meanwhile, Leaders by Example enables high school students to experience new keys to success in business by teaching them “the old lesson: treat others the way you want to be treated,” Rigby says.
And by the same token, she says the Manners of the Heart staff development session for teachers and day care workers and The Business of Manners seminar for corporate workers will equip adult participants with these same important, values-based tools and principles to multiply their effectiveness in their respective fields.
Of the four Manners of the Heart training events taking place Oct. 27 — 30, the first three programs are open to the public. The fourth event, The Business of Manners is restricted to the first 50 business people that register.
However, Sheila Brand, of Sally Kate Winters Family Services, notes that if sufficient interest is shown, an additional Business of Manners session may be added.
Pre-registration is important for all of the Community of Manners Project events, as organizers need an accurate count of how many attendees each program will need to accommodate. The deadline to register for any of these events is Oct.19.
For registration information, those interested can call 492-5883 or click on “The Community of Manners” link at http://www.westpoint.k12.ms.us. Mail-in or fax-in registration forms are available at Bryan Public Library as well as online at the WPSD website in Word and PDF format.
Registration may be sent by U.S. mail or hand delivered to the WPSD Central Office, 429 Commerce St., West Point, Miss. 39773, or a copy of the registration document may be e-mailed to
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or faxed to 494-4200. |
