Anonymous wrote:https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1MkwUyYhMd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The most random things pop into my feed, but this one prompted me to post here.

The link is to a video of British boys trying American food for the first time (fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea).

What’s immediately apparent is how polite and refined the British kids are. Their language skills and word choice are very different from what you would hear from any American kid…regardless of income or education.

Why?

And what can be done to improve things over here?

PS - The video is a fun watch.

Manners are important to the Brits whereas Americans have no use for manners.

Anonymous wrote:British kids take a lot more hard drugs and drink a lot more alcohol than American kids.

Ever met a Brit on four pills of ecstasy? Total degenerates.

Hmm...mmm. It's possible no country in the world has changed as much as the UK has, demographically, in the last 25 years. Alcohol and drug usage among youths have fallen sharply in Britain.

As it is, the notion of poshness has faded substantially in Britain as a meaningful factor, it doesn't carry the same connotations it did in, say, 2005, and especially not in the 1980s-1990s. Class dynamics are different these days. The kids in the video are cherry picked by the school and told to be have nicely and I am sure they are nice kids. Just like there is no shortage of nice American kids either.

Anonymous wrote:I’m British, and it’s very clear to me that these kids are not UMC. Nor are they especially well-spoken. I find that kids here - and I am unfairly comparing my kids’ private school to this school which is public - are much more articulate and polite than most British kids. (Table manners are a different story, however!)

Are you talking about actual table manners, though (take small bites, chew with your mouth closed, sit up straight), or is this the tedious British fixation with Americans who don't eat by pushing all their food onto the back of their forks, mixed up so it looks like dog food?

Anonymous wrote:https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1MkwUyYhMd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The most random things pop into my feed, but this one prompted me to post here.

The link is to a video of British boys trying American food for the first time (fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea).

What’s immediately apparent is how polite and refined the British kids are. Their language skills and word choice are very different from what you would hear from any American kid…regardless of income or education.

Why?

And what can be done to improve things over here?

PS - The video is a fun watch.

This video is staged. The food is from Popeyes an American chain with many locations in the UK.

I noticed that most adult Brits also have good manners. Everyone says, yes, please, thank you, etc. and are calm and measured. (Not drunk soccer hooligans but in other situations.)

Anonymous wrote:Selection bias.

+1

It’s a different country. Why would we expect our people to speak the same way?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw this thread title and thought “thank God I don’t know anyone who uses the word “posh”.

It’s a British word. You rarely hear it in the US. Hence the thread.

Do you seriously think I don’t know the origin of the word posh?

Are you surrounded by idiots or something?

Nope. Merely responding to your post about your relief and not knowing anyone who uses the word posh. I mean, why would you hear that word in the US…when nobody uses it here?

But that’s the point of the thread, right? We use different words and speak in very different ways—with Americans being far less formal.

Honestly, your post is rather helpful insofar as demonstrating the typical American aversion to fancy language…to the point of feeling compelled to hurl insults. Well done, pp!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw this thread title and thought “thank God I don’t know anyone who uses the word “posh”.

It’s a British word. You rarely hear it in the US. Hence the thread.

Do you seriously think I don’t know the origin of the word posh?

Are you surrounded by idiots or something?

Most American kids don’t have manners, can’t make eye contact and carry on a coherent conversation. It’s a result of the American culture and education.

British kids take a lot more hard drugs and drink a lot more alcohol than American kids.

Ever met a Brit on four pills of ecstasy? Total degenerates.

Anonymous wrote:I saw this thread title and thought “thank God I don’t know anyone who uses the word “posh”.

It’s a British word. You rarely hear it in the US. Hence the thread.

I taught 10 minutes from that school. A few things. 1) This is Fulham. Yes it’s a free school. Yes there will be kids from housing estates. However, a good majority of those kids will still come from a UMC background. 2) We had absolutely zero tolerance for rude or disrespectful behavior at my school 3) Uniforms. When every child is wearing the exact same suit and tie, it’s amazing how much more respectful they are to each other and their teachers. 4) Accents. Even chavvy accents sound more posh to Americans than an American accent.

I saw this thread title and thought “thank God I don’t know anyone who uses the word “posh”.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think British children have a better vocabulary than American children of the same age. Parents are more involved and they would be mortified if their children spoke like Americans.
They don't dumb down conversations and they realize children can learn to converse in big words.

You have no clue. The video showed kids from a specific social class.

These kids come from very socioeconomically mixed backgrounds. FBS is a special place and the kids that they select to be on Jolly are just lovely.