Miss Manners: What would you tell 12-year-olds about the importance of courtesy?

Dear Miss Manners: I teach seventh grade in a suburban school. I have noticed an increasingly unsettling trend as I walk around the room to check on students: Nobody says “yes, please” or “no, thank you” anymore.

I have tried to remind them in many different ways what the polite response is, but it never really seems to stick. Finally, I decided to invoke Miss Manners. I told them all about you and how Miss Manners, who is a real person, would like to remind them the proper way to respond to questions.