By Cathy DeLozier
What do Birmingham-area children, participants on the reality television show The Bachelor and the governor of Arkansas all have in common? They’ve participated in etiquette classes taught by Amy Rainer. A former Crestline Elementary school teacher, Amy helps children develop leadership skills through etiquette, respect and kindness. She and her colleagues—Cathy Turner in Homewood and Meredith Cashio in Vestavia Hills—teach these skills and many others through etiquette classes held in their homes in fall and spring. “I want to help children walk into any social situation and be comfortable and confident in themselves so they can be gracious to others,” Ranier says.
Ranier began her business during her first teaching job in Atlanta by hosting Turkey Tea Parties to teach preschoolers table manners before Thanksgiving. The classes became so popular, she held them every fall and later expanded to include first impressions, general etiquette and others. “I had etiquette classes growing up in Atlanta, and I loved them,” she says.
After working in the Atlanta area for five years, she moved to Birmingham to teach third grade at Crestline Elementary and brought her etiquette classes with her. Ranier says, “I like to take something that could be boring and make it fun and relevant. I like to use humor, real life situations and role play with children to get them engaged and to see the importance of manners.”
While Ranier usually teaches children and tweens, she has taught adults, most notably Colton Underwood and Hannah G. from the 2020 season of The Bachelor. Hannah, who is from Birmingham, wanted Colton to learn how to be a Southern gentleman before meeting her parents for dinner. Ranier met with the two to go over some of the South’s more traditional manners but ultimately told Colton to be himself.
Another notable class she taught was in the governor’s mansion in Arkansas. Amy says she usually doesn’t conduct classes in such “hoity toity” places and thought that having a lesson there was a bit much, until she realized that the Governor herself—Sara Huckabee Sanders—was booking the class. “Then it made sense,” she says. Ranier made the trip to Little Rock to teach etiquette to “all the Huckabee grandchildren.” Amy says the older children received lessons in public speaking and how to avoid “Ums” and “Uhs” while at a podium, and the younger ones learned the importance of table manners and making a good first impression. The session culminated in a big dinner in the dining room for all the children to practice what they had learned. “It was definitely one of my wilder experiences,” she says.
Currently there are eight different programs for kindergarteners through fifth graders that focus on making manners and table manners fun, the art of making conversation, making a good first impression, goodness and grace and behaving like a perfect gentleman. Programs for eighth graders focus on etiquette for dinners and dances, as well as a refresher for what was learned when they were younger. Classes are offered January, February and March and August, September and October.
“I love it when I run into former students out in the community. They are often a little shy from a distance when they see me but usually gather themselves to approach me and my husband, take off their hats, shake our hands and speak to us. It’s so gratifying,” she says.
Ranier is passionate about her profession and considers character development and how we treat others as paramount to her lessons. “I can help children who may not excel academically or athletically by teaching them how to present themselves and how to treat other people with kindness and consideration. They gain confidence and then they shine,” she says.
For more information, etiquettewithamy.com
pointers for
back-to-school
ETIQUETTE
Add RESPECT to your checklist.
Greet your teachers by name, with
a smile and a firm handshake while
making eye contact.
Hold the door open for others. Right
before you open a door, glance
behind to see if others are close.
If so, let them go first.
At lunchtime, don’t add to the chaos by jostling to be first in line. Let others go before you; you’ll still have time to eat.
Show respect to parents, teachers and other adults you see at school or out in the community by speaking to them
first and calling them by name.
Use your words to encourage your
friends and fellow classmates, even
if you don’t know them well.
Earn trust by respecting yourself
enough to make good choices (even
when no one is watching) and to
develop your character.
Have a fresh start every day by
showing respect and kindness to
your teachers, your friends and
classmates, and yourself.
