The Etiquette School Blog

What is a Finishing School?

I often see the words “Finishing School” labeling what in reality is just an etiquette program.  I suppose the consultants doing this believe that if their training has a lofty name associated with it, their business will be perceived as illustrious and their clients will have certain bragging rights.

I equate this to moms who now call what used to be a baby-sitter (or domestic help) their nanny.  Or the ladies who pretentiously announce that they are attending a High Tea, when in fact, it is a Low Tea or Afternoon Tea that they are going celebrate.

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines a finishing school as: “A private school for girls that emphasizes cultural studies and prepares students especially for social activities.”

Vive la difference…in our Country!

When my stepfather, a man from a small homogenous Kentucky town, came for the first time to my son's school’s Grandparent’s Day, his comment was, “My goodness… that school is like the United Nations!” clearly referring to the ethnic diversity of the institution. 

My son jumped at the opportunity to “educate” Grandpa by listing the nationalities and religious backgrounds represented in his classroom.  I beamed!  My son, an elementary schoolboy, had “gotten it”!  He realized that the richness of this world is not in the sameness we share, but in the differences that we posses.

This is why, when I learned about the
defacing of property,  of one of our
foreign physician's home and the one on
DePaul University's campus, my feelings
ran the gamut from frustration to ire.