Students check pamphlets on manners and politeness at the start of a new semester. photos provided to China Daily

For many kids, this style of education started much earlier than December last year.

Beijing's education authorities put significant emphasis on civic education in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, aiming to improve etiquette levels of all the city's residents and present a refined image to visiting foreigners. As a result, many schools started and maintained their own etiquette classes.

One such example is Xinxian Primary School in Dongcheng district, which began courtesy classes at the time. The school gives three to five etiquette classes every semester, depending on the different grades.

"Students learn polite conversation, manners and the importance of respecting the elderly," said principal Sun Wenyan.

In addition to formal teaching, Sun and the relevant etiquette teacher also try to set a good example by standing at the school gate and welcoming students in the morning.

"Politeness and courtesy are habits that can't be acquired through only a few classes. They need days and months, even years, of practice," Sun said.

"If we set a good example and stick to it, our students will eventually foster good behavior."

Baijiazhuang Primary School utilizes a different approach to teaching etiquette. The school has shot a film that involved actual students, to show how to apply manners. It is repeatedly broadcast inside the campus.

The idea has come home too, with some parents latching onto the subject with their own opinions.

Wang Lin, mother of a 12-grader at Jingshan Middle School, thinks that the public's uncivilized behavior and a flood of "unhealthy" information on the Internet are hampering her son's development.

"I often notice queue jumping, spitting and littering," she said. "Teenagers who haven't developed a clear sense of right and wrong tend to copy these adults."

She said her own son had recently been taught to eradicate his bad habits, such as not addressing Wang properly and using bad language.

"The text messages he sent to his friends were full of bad words," she said.

Wang said she hoped relevant authorities could strengthen the supervision and control of Internet content that teenagers can access.