A Matter of Manners

Alex and David have been banished from Whit's End for the worst manners in town - three scoops of ice cream crammed into one mouth was the last straw. But after cramming from a book on politeness, the boys pass Whit's test and take things too far, handing out good-manners badges at school and docking points for every elbow on a table and missing "please." Soon nobody can measure up, and when Russell asks to sit with them, they turn him away for a score below zero. So Whit and Mandy give the new "manners police" a taste of their own medicine, grading every lick and sip of an ice cream cone by the obscure rules in the back of their own book... until the lesson ends in shouting and flying ice cream. The boys cry unfair - and Whit gently shows them they've judged their friends the same way, because courtesy is for loving people, not scoring them. Over free cones, David finally offers a thank-you that's real.

Found on In Your Wildest Dreams Album 34 · 17 episodes

The run See every episode

0442b Sticks and Stones When a former classmate he once tormented returns to Odyssey as a potential business rival, Bart Rathbone launches a scheme to drive him out of town before old scores can be settled.

0443 Changing Rodney A gifted young student sets out to reform the school bully with relentless kindness - and learns that changing a heart is harder than acing any test.

0444a Career Moves A middle schooler's career-fair internship at the Electric Palace teaches him Bart Rathbone's sales tricks - until a customer's return puts his conscience to the test.

0444b The Bad Guy When a notorious troublemaker from his past arrives in Odyssey claiming to be a changed man, a skeptical Nick Mulligan sets out to prove the transformation is too good to be true.

0444c Bethany's Flood When a flooded bathroom coincides with the story of Noah's ark, young Bethany's imagination sets sail on a wildly mixed-up voyage that teaches her about trust and obedience.

0445 No Boundaries Tired of his parents' rules, a boy gets the chance to experience a life with no limits at all - and learns what freedom without boundaries really costs.

0446a A Matter of Manners When two boys banished from Whit's End for rudeness reinvent themselves as the school's manners experts, their newfound politeness becomes a weapon nobody can defend against.

0446b The Seven Deadly Dwarves A little girl's mixed-up Sunday school lesson becomes a fairy-tale dream in which Princess Snow DeWhite, misled by a talking mirror, flees her father's hardware-store kingdom and falls in with seven dwarves named for the deadly sins.

0447 Potlucks & Poetry A teenage poet's secret reading collides with a church potluck as three generations of her family scheme to avoid embarrassing - and being embarrassed by - each other.

0448 Mandy's Debut A young playwright's opening night at Whit's End puts two comedies of guilt and neglected chores on stage - with her friends cast as themselves.

1 of 2 0449 The Big Deal When her parents forbid her from taking the theater role of a lifetime, Aubrey travels through the Imagination Station to the wilderness of a fearless prophet, hoping to learn how to stand up to them.

2 of 2 0450 The Big Deal A young girl caught up in the story of an imprisoned prophet risks everything to win his freedom from a king swayed by pleasure and a queen bent on revenge.

0451 Life Trials of the Rich and Famous When Nathaniel suddenly starts avoiding his friends, their curiosity uncovers a secret that changes how everyone sees him.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 3 more roles

3 supporting roles

David Straussberg Jeff Ellison Principal Johnson Walker Edmiston Russel (b) Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer Phil Lollar Director · Producer Rob Jorgensen Sound Designer · Producer Al Janssen Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Alex Jefferson encourages David Straussberg to stuff three scoops of ice cream into his mouth at once while other children watch. Their behavior is the last of several disruptions at Whit’s End, and Whit banishes them for at least a week. They may return only after they have learned good manners and passed his test.

The boys study a book called Manners for the Socially Challenged and soon impress Whit with exaggerated politeness. Once welcomed back, they convince their principal to let them award good-manners badges at school. They begin scoring everyone’s behavior, subtracting points for elbows on tables or missing words and adding points for creative expressions of thanks.

Their standards become nearly impossible. Even a successful student has ninety-two points left before earning a badge. When Russell asks to sit with them, Alex and David reject him because his score is below zero and claim that associating with an ill-mannered person might harm their own behavior. Their polite words only make their unkindness sound more insulting.

Whit appoints the boys as manners police at Whit’s End, then asks them to demonstrate the proper way to eat ice cream. Using obscure rules from the back of their own book, Whit and Mandy deduct points for the direction Alex licks his cone, the order David eats his toppings, the timing of every sip, and many other tiny errors. Frustration quickly turns the lesson into shouting and flying ice cream.

The boys complain that the test is unfair because they had not learned those rules. Whit points out that they have judged their schoolmates just as unfairly. Good manners are not tools for displaying superiority or excluding people. Saying please, offering thanks, and showing courtesy are ways to love neighbors and bless them with respect.

Alex politely asks for another cone, and Whit gives both boys free ice cream. David pauses to offer a simple, sincere thank-you. For the first time, his courtesy is not a performance or a point-scoring system but genuine gratitude.