Boys mind their manners-and learn them-after class at a San Antonio elementary school
Alia Malik, Staff Writer
Jordanny Callabero, 9, adjusts his tie before an after-school meeting of Caballeros Distinguidos, a boys-only etiquette club at Briscoe Elementary School . The boys wear dress clothes, practice handshakes and learn table manners and other etiquette rules.
Josie Norris /Staff Photographer
Sonny Aguirre Jr. didn’t mind his manners very often until he joined the boys-only etiquette club at Briscoe Elementary School.
“I’d talk back,” said Sonny, 10, a fifth-grader. “When someone sneezed, I wouldn’t even say, ‘Bless you,’ and I didn’t open doors for my mom.”
But when two teachers asked which fourth- and fifth-grade boys wanted to learn the social graces, practice personal elegance and cultivate leadership skills, Sonny signed right up.
“I knew it was going to help me to be polite more,” he said.
“I think they already were gentlemen,” club sponsor Anna Ulate said. “Somebody just had to give them the chance. ... They really wanted to be respected.”
The club meets every other Tuesday. After the dismissal bell rings, the boys file into Ulate’s room wearing their dress outfits. They practice tying neckties, some proudly helping each other. They’ve learned handshake and dining etiquette. They’ve been planning service projects.
Club members will deploy at the Pearl next month to serve as greeters at San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez’s annual speech to local business leaders.
“They have a spring in their step now when they wear the attire,” sponsor Davila said. “Of course, we’re clear to them that’s not all it takes to be a gentleman.”
“It’s always about being leaders,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from.”
The boys also voted to choose a fundraising cause from among four options: the homeless, stray animals, clean water and “car wash.” Sitting on Ulate’s rug in dress clothes and sneakers, they cheered every time Davila tallied another vote for “car wash,” which won overwhelmingly.
The car wash wasn’t a cause, so Davila told them to form small groups and think of who it might benefit. Suggestions included the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and victims of the wildfires in Australia.
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