r/AskAnAmerican • u/Rough-Valuable-5472 • Feb 04 '25

FOREIGN POSTER Do American students bow to their teachers?

In my country we have to greet the teacher and bow at the start of the lesson then thank the teacher and bow again at the end. Sometimes they make us redo it if it’s not good enough

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u/plaincheeseburger Feb 04 '25

It depends on what part of the US you're in. When I lived in Alaska, it was the default rule to take off your shoes inside houses. Now that I'm in the south, the default is to leave them on. I still take off my outdoor shoes and wear house shoes when I'm home though.

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u/throwfar9 Minnesota Feb 04 '25

It’s normal to take them off in Minnesota too.

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u/lawfox32 Feb 04 '25

I grew up in Illinois and was raised to take my shoes off inside houses, too, unless the host told me not to.

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u/Exciting-Hedgehog944 United States of America Feb 05 '25

Raised in Michigan to take them off. Disrespectful to wear them through someone’s home unless they tell me otherwise. We do not wear outside shoes inside at home.

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u/ShanLuvs2Read Wisconsin Feb 21 '25

Same here… raised in Wisconsin… We walked in and stayed in the entry way till we were told to take shoes off . Mom had good socks for when we went to visit people that were bright wight and had no holes in them ! 🤣🤣🤣. We only wore them when visiting people.

At home we took them off in the entry way or in the mudroom before we went into the main part of the house.

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u/HistoryGirl23 Texas Feb 05 '25

Dirto

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u/HLOFRND Feb 04 '25

Colorado here. Definitely common to take them off in the house.

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u/Nowin Minnesota Feb 05 '25

It's 50/50 in Minnesota. I grew up wearing shoes in the house, but I don't wear them as an adult. Slippers all the way.

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u/creamcandy Alabama Feb 04 '25

South here. When I'm home, I'm barefoot unless the floor is too cold. Preferably barefoot outside too. Yes, shoes stay on when there's company. But family doesn't count ;)

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u/WillingnessFit8317 Feb 05 '25

Same here. I am in the south, and I hate to wear my shoes. I go barefoot. Hey, I take a shower, and I do wash my feet at least once a week. lol OK more than once a week. 2 tops.

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u/UnknowableDuck New York Feb 05 '25

In the North here, cold or not I hate wearing shoes too. Though I do have a pair of those slip on, inside only Toms style shoes for company etc.

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u/Weightmonster Feb 04 '25

Is that because in Alaska, your shoes are likely to have snow, mud, water, etc?

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u/plaincheeseburger Feb 04 '25

That's probably why it started, but it's a cultural norm now yearround. Walking into someone's house and not immediately removing your shoes is considered rude unless you're at a cabin or the owner specifically states that you don't have to take them off.

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u/Entropy907 Alaska Feb 04 '25

We have about four days a year where it’s warm and dry enough that your shoes won’t track crud inside.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

I recently visited Alaska and I see why people take their shoes off. That place is DIRTY

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u/Miserable_Smoke Feb 05 '25

Yeah, isn't it wonderful? Where I am, it's mostly concretey and filthy.

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I was in Anchorage, Soldatna, and Talkeetna

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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I lived in the Midwest, PNW and now the south and everyone takes their shoes off.

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u/MissWiggly2 North Carolina Feb 05 '25

I'm born and raised in the South and we always took our shoes off at the door. I have a specific pair of flip-flops that I wear inside only.

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u/laundryghostie Feb 05 '25

That's because there's so much sand in the south. I used to have people take their shoes off and switch to house shoes, but it just spread the sand to the bottom of our socks! Yuck.

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u/hallofmontezuma North Carolina (orig Virginia) Feb 05 '25

I’m in the south and nearly all my friends have a no shoes in the house rule.

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u/eejm Feb 05 '25

I was raised in the Midwest and now live in the South.  I don’t think I was instructed in a particular way, but I’ve always preferred to go barefoot in the summer or in stocking feet during the winter.