Manners to be taught is schools

So the word on the street today is that the Government is forking out a huge sum of money for the purpose of teaching manners to children in schools - since as the big wigs assume, most kids don't have any. Now, and please forgive the despair in my tone; if there is money to be spent on education why oh why is it not being spent on measures to ensure that children will leave full time education with a rudimentary knowledge off the three R's? I am exhausted at the amount of school leavers that I come across who are unable to string a complete sentence together or write a formal letter. There is a dire need for teachers who are qualified, not just on paper but in practical terms to impart useful knowledge to children that will equip them for a successful future. I guess in some ways I hold to traditional values in that I believe after spending a huge percentage of life in the classroom children should have something to show for it.
I have no real objections to the suggestion of manners being taught and I reflect the sentiments that many kids today are lacking in certain areas. However the learning of manners begins very early in life, it starts even before a child can construct a full sentence. There are so many levels involved in the impartation of acceptable behaviour it could not possibly be effectively instilled in the classroom. Attempting to teach manners to a 15 year old is a waste of resources; a measure that is essentially a day late and a dollar short. There is a fundamental difference between teaching and reinforcing, the latter of which is effective in the classroom.
It is therefore the responsibility of parents to impart their knowledge of the world, of good and evil, of right and wrong to their children. Many argue that the young parents of today don't have the skills themselves. WRONG, they do, most parents have been brought up with a general understanding of right and wrong but choose not (or simply fail) to pass this knowledge on to their children for whatever reason: not around their children enough, working lengthy hours, lack of communication due to the techno/cyber age - who knows. Parents need to go back to what they learnt as children, revisit their own childhoods and pick up where their own parents left off. We all have a responsibility to do our part in creating a healthy wholesome, and safe environment for those who come after us. If we slack off on our responsibilities we are teaching the next generation that that is the thing to do. It's just not O.K to load our responsibilities off onto teachers who are employed to impart knowledge, not raise our kids.
Now what I would support is an enhancement of what has already been learnt in the home. You may argue that with the diversity of cultures in our schools it would impossible to establish a general rule. WRONG again, with slight variations, there are general codes of conduct which transcend all cultures and religious backgrounds. Generally speaking the rules of the indigenous population carry. So how about this, rather than attempt to teach manners and respect, try teaching social etiquette, customs, traditions: - which fork to use for the salad, do you wait for everyone to receive their food before eating; how to use chopsticks properly, how to use cous cous as a spoon; is it rude to slurp in a tepanyaki restaurant. Don't know about anyone else but these are the lessons that would have been valuable to me and money well spent at my school - not to mention FUN.