Students taught table manners at NEISD elementary school

School is out at Encino Park Elementary, but at 3:00 p.m., it’s still a packed house for the school’s ‘Boys to Men’ club.

The students meet several times a month and come dressed to impress for this week’s lesson about table manners.

“They are learning how to set a table, how to serve, what to talk about at the table, what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate, and dinner conversation,” fifth-grade teacher Neil Shelby said.

Shelby and other teachers and coaches all are an important part of the program.

Shelby said it’s an important skill to learn especially in today’s day and age where kids and parents can often be glued to their phones. 

“So often you go to restaurants or you go to peoples’ houses and you see every member of the family on their phone but nobody is talking to each other so why are you even together? That’s where you have time to bond, get to know each other, have fun,” he said.

Students like ten-year-old Brandon Raine is bringing manners back to the table.

“If you don’t really know how to set up a table and you are at a fancy restaurant, it’s just going to be awkward,” he said.

Raine said the gentleman in his life that he looks up to is his dad.

He also said it’s important to be a gentleman at any age.

“A gentleman is someone who holds doors and is always kind when no one is looking and does stuff right,” Raine added.

“This community is very close-knit. The school has been here 30 years; the community and the schools are one in the same. We think that if you have a strong community, you need a strong school and it works both ways. You want to teach these children to be life-long learners not just academically but all aspects of life,” Shelby stressed.

Many of the students’ parents are excited to see their children setting the table at home.

The ‘Boys to Men’ club is just one of the many ways Encino Park Elementary is inspiring students and serving up a positive message.

Shelby said he just wants the kids to grow up to be good guys and do the right thing.  

“I want them to know so much! The big thing is to act as themselves, be respectful, be productive. We don’t want you to be perfect, we just want you to the best you that you can be…just to be you.”

Discover the NEISD way, where our educators teach students social skills and embrace new and old traditions every day.