In the first week of school, I witnessed countless students disrespecting teachers. Disrespect such as students talking during the lesson, laughing at the teacher, making jokes behind teachers’ backs and purposely being disruptive to make other students laugh. Some behaviors are worse than others, but nonetheless, boundaries should be drawn on how we treat our teachers.
It’s not just McIntosh. In fact, it’s a national issue.
According to the VNHS Mirror, another high school publication, this issue has gotten worse post pandemic in 2020. “Students talking over the teacher, going on their phones in the middle of a lesson and disregarding their schoolwork is all commonplace in the classroom.”
In an article published in the School Superintendents Association (AASA) website, “American kids today are immersed in a culture of disrespect: they disrespect parents, disrespect teachers and disrespect one another. Within the context of that culture, mocking one’s teachers is funny and will earn you points with your peers.”
Not only is it shocking to teachers, but it is also visibly shocking to students. Immature behavior is rewarded with “social status,” meaning the students in the class who are considered “popular” share a laugh with the child who committed the act. For high school students, as I have seen at McIntosh, being accepted by the “popular” group of kids means they don’t mind going out of their way to be rude to a teacher or any other authoritative figure just to become a little more popular than they were before.
Although this behavior is rewarded in social status, it is in disregardance to the feelings of the teachers. Many of my teachers mentioned how they spent countless hours over their summer break to create lesson plans, and they feel as if their hard work to make this school year good is not being appreciated.
Before the global pandemic, teenagers disrespecting those who have authority over them was not as common.
According to ASSA, “The popular culture in which American kids live today differs markedly from 50 years ago. In that era, popular culture supported the authority of parents and teachers and taught respect for school and educators, whether it was delivered through ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ in the 1960s or ‘Family Ties’ in the ’80s. Today, the culture of social media, television and motion pictures undermines the authority of teachers and parents.”
When the pandemic struck, many children spent their time indoors on video games and or multiple social media platforms, of which the culture is brainwashing children by encouraging more and more screen time, different jokes and trends. Now, how the “popular kids” view them has become more important than respecting authority.
The administration should have a no-tolerance policy for aggression towards teachers and other students. No more three strikes. No more second chances. Students who want an education and work hard should be rewarded with a respectful and stress-free environment with little to no distractions. Not only should it be the administration’s goal to eradicate this type of behavior in school, but the Board of Education and possibly even the state should look into possibilities to keep disrespect towards authority (to whichever degree) at a minimum.
