The classroom is a two-part system: teachers and students, but if one side doesn’t respect the other, the whole thing will fall apart.
Every classroom has a different atmosphere, but in my opinion, the worst atmosphere is the one in which the teacher is belittled. High school students are vicious, we all know that. If one stray student sees a weakness, they pounce, and for some reason they seem to believe it’s alright when they pounce on a teacher.
Ever since we were little kids, teachers have seemed like enigmas, entities trapped inside a school, and only a school. When we saw a teacher at say a grocery store or Sunday service, it was simply mind blowing. Even though we’ve grown up and are near-adults, our minds seem to maintain that childish-viewpoint that teachers aren’t people.
The problem is, when we view a teacher as “just a teacher”, it seems to make students feel like it’s justifiable to jump down their throats for every little mistake.
I’ve seen students blatantly ignore a teacher’s instruction, yell while the teacher is talking, have an argument with them while the class is happening, and don’t even get me started on substitute hazing.
The problem here is, teachers are people. They have feelings that can be hurt just as much as everyone else and when they have a class of 20 or so teenagers criticizing their every move, well, could you handle that? I know I sure couldn’t.
Yes, you’re not going to like every teacher you have. Yes, some teachers are and will continue to be jerks, but when someone stands in front of you attempting to do their job by teaching you some simple information, it’s your job as a student and as just a decent human being to be respectful to them.
It’s easy to say, “Oh, everyone is ragging on the teacher so I can do it too,” and so they laugh, or make a game of Bingo where the spaces feature a teacher’s quirks, or to try and get some laughs from their peers by making cruel jokes, but all of this is bullying.
All of this would have serious repercussions if it were happening to a student. Although I’m not saying everyone who doesn’t respect their teacher should get expelled, everyone who takes part in this should realize the effects their actions can have.
We have multitudes of wonderful people in our school who try their best to be kind to all of their peers, teachers included.
The sad part is, those who are mean sometimes overshadow the kind students.
Every single person simply trying to be kind or to understand the hardships others might face is an easy solution to so many problems we see today.
If students would just respect their teachers, respect the classroom and respect the goals of this institution, our teachers would greatly appreciate it and this school would be a much better place to be.