Respect

Respect in the classroom is a two way street. Naturally, students must show respect towards their teachers. Students are expected to listen to, and follow instructions given by their teachers. This is necessary for teachers to be able to have authority over a class, and teach to the best of their abilities. On the other hand, teachers need to show respect towards their students as well. Teachers need to pay attention and listen to the questions and concerns of the students. A student who does not feel respected by the teacher will lose interest and learn less in the class.

Respect, and the lack there of, can have a great impact on the classroom. Classrooms in which there is mutual respect between the teacher and the students, will run much more efficiently and effectively. A greater amount of learning will take place, and that learning will come about more easily than if there was no respect. A classroom without respect can be hard on both the teacher and the students. Teachers whose students do not show respect towards them, can become very frustrated, and discouraged. Teachers in such a situation could start to throw out their normal teaching style and focus on controlling their class, rather than effectively teaching their class. Students whose teachers do not respect them may also become frustrated and discouraged. In the students case this can lead to students misbehaving in class, not doing homework, and not performing well in class. All around a lack of respect leads to an undesirable classroom situation.

Every teacher will find a different way of establishing respect in their classroom. Establishing authority right from the start is one way to start building respect, but is not enough to fully establish respect. Teachers need to be well prepared and confident in their lessons, to keep a sense of authority over a class and keep the classes respect. Keeping class interesting and relating class topics to students' lives will help to keep students interested and engaged in class, which will help to maintain respect from the students. Most of all, to maintain respect, teachers must respect their students, and treat their students like human beings. Just because a teacher is in an authoritative position over a student, does not mean that teacher has to rule with an iron fist and treat students as inferior in every sense. A teacher is there to facilitate the learning of young minds, to help them grow into knowledgeable well rounded adults. Treating students as humans, and realizing that they will all have personal likes and dislikes, will help to keep the respect of students.