``The sixth-graders are more mature,'' 12-year-old Zach said of the girls. ``If you walked up to a girl in this class and asked her to dance, she'd probably take it sardonically.''

Sardonic seventh-grade girls notwithstanding, Zach seemed to enjoy the activities in a lesson on table place settings given by manners guru Teresa Grisinger Reilly.

Dressed in a tailored black and white dress and adorned with pearls, Reilly reviewed place settings with the students, whom she called Miss or Mr., along with their first names.

After the boys practiced seating the girls, the seventh- graders set their tables and politely nibbled on bread.

Young people, said Reilly in an interview before the class, are never too young to learn good manners.

She defined etiquette as ``socially acceptable behavior'' and noted it can help smooth conflicts among people.

``We depend on one another. We want to communicate we come in peace. Etiquette allows you to come from a common understanding.''

Reilly, who has a degree in graphic design, gives etiquette lessons at Genesis and other private schools for students in kindergarten through high school.

For younger students, Reilly offers hands-on lessons in place setting, proper seating at the table, dining tips and correspondence.

For teaching rules of place setting, she helps youngsters remember where utensils and dishes go with a rhyme beginning, ``Hey diddle diddle, my plate's in the middle.''

Other material includes pointers for gentlemen seating ladies, tips for managing difficult foods such as pasta, and writing thank-you notes.

Reilly's interest in etiquette began in childhood when aunt Kathryn Grisinger trained her in the appropriate manners for lavish Thanksgiving dinners served in a formal dining room in her home in Tiburon, Calif.

``The glass crystal, the silver - it was dazzling,'' Reilly remembered.

``Learning to hold the utensils properly and not chipping the china required a lot of practice.''

Reilly has been giving etiquette lessons in the area since 2002 and works part time as an account executive at Design Graphics Advertising Associates in Port Richey.

Her family moved here in 2001.

Etiquette classes cost $10 a lesson.

Thus far, classes have been only in Pasco County, but Reilly hopes to expand to Pinellas and other counties.

Her next step is to teach in public high schools, where lessons in etiquette would fit into required life management classes, she said.

Feedback has been positive, she noted. ``Parents love it. Their little ones set the table. The older ones are more polite.''

Youngsters also enjoy it, she said. ``Even in dancing, boys want the structure of it. They want to be told to go and ask a girl to dance.''

Her book, ``Etiquette Lessons,'' will be published by iUniverse at the end of the year and will be available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

For information, call (877) 847-2748 or visit http://www.etiquettelessons.com/.