RESPECT AT SCHOOL: HOW TO APPLY IT AND CONSEQUENCES - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The respect in school is one is one of the most important values to teach; Disrespect in school can be extremely detrimental to the teaching objective to be achieved, damaging both student learning and the well-being of teachers.

In recent years, certain cultural changes have caused respect to be increasingly absent in the classroom. In the old days, teachers enjoyed very high levels of authority; But right now, attempts to change the educational paradigm have resulted in many educators not being able to get treated properly.

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On the other hand, it is also quite common to hear stories of teachers who abuse their power and do not adequately respect their students. Due to this, in recent times there have been several initiatives that try to restore this fundamental value in all areas of the educational system.

Although respect does not depend exclusively on what happens in the classroom, it is possible to promote the learning of this attitude from within the educational system. In this article we will see how it can be achieved, and why it is important to do so.

How to apply and encourage respect?

It is not known what exactly causes respect or not in school. Far from there being a single factor, there are several interrelated factors that make the appearance of this value more likely. The most important are the education that children receive at home, the attitude of the teacher, and direct work in this area.

Education in the family

Many experts agree that the most important factor in determining whether there will be respect in school or not is the education that children receive at home.

Depending on the messages that parents transmit to their children about their teachers and classmates, it will be more or less easy for them to respect their educators.

In the old days, the predominant message in our culture was that teachers were always right. If a child failed a test, for example, parents generally assumed there was a good reason for it and the blame was placed on the child. In this way, children learned that educators were the authority at school.

Today, the message is usually the opposite: when a student has poor grades, parents tend to blame the teacher, convinced that their child is perfect and cannot be wrong. This sends the wrong idea to children, increasing their ego and causing them to disrespect their educators.

Something similar happens in the case of respect for other colleagues. If at home children are taught from a young age that it is necessary to accept everyone no matter what they are like, they will be much less likely to appear disrespectful or harassing attitudes towards other peers.

Teacher attitude

Within the area of ​​respect for teachers, the attitude and behavior of each educator has a fundamental role. Within the same school, a group of pupils may treat one of their teachers with the utmost deference, and totally inappropriate with another.

Children naturally tend to seek the limits that other people impose on them and try to overcome them. According to numerous investigations on the subject, respect is achieved when you have clear limits and reject all attempts by children to exceed them.

Thus, a teacher has to learn to impose his authority in a non-violent way in order to achieve the highest possible level of respect. This can be quite difficult, although there are numerous intervention programs that can help educators acquire this skill.

Something similar happens in the case of children whose peers do not respect them; although in this sense, because all students start from a similar level of authority, it is much more difficult to ensure that the limits that they try to impose are respected.

Direct work on respect

Some experts believe that one of the most effective ways to foster respect at school is by working directly on this value with students. The idea is to help children develop skills such as empathy, listening and emotional management so that they are able to put themselves in the shoes of others.

Theoretically, when this is achieved, children stop disrespecting their teachers and peers because they understand the damage they are doing. In practice, however, it is necessary to combine this approach with the two elements seen above for it to really work.

Consequences of disrespect

Lack of respect at school can cause all kinds of negative consequences, both in terms of learning and living together. Depending on who the person is who is not being treated correctly, the effects can vary quite a bit.

If the person who is not respected is the teacher, effective teaching may simply be impossible. An educator who is not capable of imposing himself will not be able to transmit the knowledge on which he has to work. In addition, in very extreme cases this situation can lead to emotional problems for the adult.

On the other hand, when the victim of disrespect is another student, the consequences can be much more serious. On many occasions, these situations can end up in situations of harassment or bullying, which can lead to very serious emotional problems.

Examples of respectful situations at school

Respect or lack of it plays a very important role in many different situations within the educational system. Below we will see two examples to better understand where it is necessary to promote this value.

Teacher with speech problems

Imagine that a new school teacher stutters when speaking, making it difficult to understand. The students find the way they communicate funny. If they have been educated in respect, they will work together with the educator so that the classes are developed in the best possible way.

However, if children have not learned to respect their teachers adequately, it is most likely that they will not treat them well, so it will be very difficult for classes to run normally and the educator may feel attacked.

Student with different characteristics

Within most classes, some children will have characteristics that are not common among children their age. One of them may be overweight, or gay, or just very tall, short, or wearing glasses.

Children naturally tend to attack those who are different. However, if they have been taught to respect others regardless of their condition, these differences do not have to be a problem and a proper coexistence can be achieved in the classroom.

References

1. "Teaching guide: respecting others" in: Good Character. Retrieved on: March 31, 2019 from Good Character: goodcharacter.com.
2. "The Value of Promoting Respect in Schools" in: Thought Co. Retrieved on: March 31, 2019 from Thought Co: thoughtco.com.
3. "Lessons and activities for teaching respect" in: Education World. Retrieved on: March 31, 2019 from Education World: educationworld.com.
4. "Teaching respect in the modern classroom" in: Proud to be Primary. Retrieved on: March 31, 2019 from Proud to be Primary: proudtobeprimary.com.
5. "How to promote respect for classmates from the classroom" in: Children's Guide. Retrieved on: March 31, 2019 from Children's Guide: guiainfantil.com.