Please join the line…

That was my mantra last month…travel is supposed to broaden your mind. I really wish it made people wait for their turn!

Some chap moved in front of my friend as we waited at the ticket counter. I directed him to the back of the line in my no nonsense teacher’s voice. My friend burst out laughing—at his audacity and my choice of words. “I would have said, ‘Hey, Can’t you see the line here?’ You were too polite.”

The next incident was when we lined up to board the plane. Another person butted in and the person ahead of us sent him redirected him.  Our neighbor then pointed to a businessman waiting in line“See that person waiting in line? He is a minister in my country…and here we have someone else trying to cut in!”

Then it was time to get off and that set the people in the back alight…while I waited for the passenger in front to get his bags, a couple started to push their way through…I can keep listing these incidents.

I was puzzled though—no one was going to miss the plane, nor would they catch an earlier one. Everyone had their assigned seats—you can’t get a better seat can you? Why do we not wait for our turn?

Over the next two weeks as I spent time in different classrooms I noticed some teachers were deliberate in teaching their students to wait for their turn.  The teachers were able to spend their time on teaching and guiding as the students took turns without interrupting. And when they did, the students knew the appropriate ways of doing so.  Activities and discussions in these classrooms were very productive.

In other classrooms there was way too much chaos. There was no order as the children called out answers randomly or too many of them got up to run errands. Not surprisingly the teacher had to spend a considerable amount of time on classroom management.

Is this only the teacher’s responsibility? No. Parents too have to teach their children to wait for their turn. How often do we see parents push their children ahead of the line because ‘it is ok?’ Your child will not miss anything by waiting for those few minutes. In fact the reverse holds true—etiquette plays a big role in how well you advance in the workplace.

Ms. S