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I think the source of the problem is that so many jobs these days require a college degree when these same jobs only required a high school diploma at one point.
People aren't getting any smarter, but they're expected to complete more education. That just means education gets dumbed down and people say a Bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. Students feel more pressure to get good grades in high school so they can go to college because a high school diploma is not enough anymore. But they don't magically get smarter. The only way for certain students to get good grades is if high school gets dumbed down. If all you had to do was get a high school diploma to be successful, grades wouldn't matter as much as long as you got a diploma. Students that don't belong in college end up going anyway because they think their life would go nowhere without a college degree.
Last edited by city_data91; 08-14-2010 at 09:19 PM..
Depends on their background (any time in the private sector?), intelligence, logic and analysis capabilities, ability to teach, expertise and enthusiasm for their specialty field, etc. Same as for anyone.
I treat them like everybody else...they have to earn my respect.
I have had some really good teachers that I highly respect, and bad teachers that I still hate and will never respect.
I cannot fathom going through life treating everyone as if they don't deserve respect until they earn it, personally, from me. IMO, this attitude says a lot about what is wrong with this world. When you withhold respect until it's earned, everyone is always on guard and guarded with everyone else. You never know how a stranger will treat you. Whether they'll treat you with respect or demand you earn it first. IMO, this is sad.
I think the source of the problem is that so many jobs these days require a college degree when these same jobs only required a high school diploma at one point.
People aren't getting any smarter, but they're expected to complete more education. That just means education gets dumbed down and people say a Bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. Students feel more pressure to get good grades in high school so they can go to college because a high school diploma is not enough anymore. But they don't magically get smarter. The only way for certain students to get good grades is if high school gets dumbed down. If all you had to do was get a high school diploma to be successful, grades wouldn't matter as much as long as you got a diploma. Students that don't belong in college end up going anyway because they think their life would go nowhere without a college degree.
ITA. Not everyone is college material. Which is a good thing. If we didn't have garbage collectors, we'd be waist deep in our own refuse. There are plenty of jobs that are needed by society that do not require a bachelors degree. What we should be offering those who aren't college bound is vocational training and apprenticeships.
I cannot fathom going through life treating everyone as if they don't deserve respect until they earn it, personally, from me. IMO, this attitude says a lot about what is wrong with this world. When you withhold respect until it's earned, everyone is always on guard and guarded with everyone else. You never know how a stranger will treat you. Whether they'll treat you with respect or demand you earn it first. IMO, this is sad.
It seems we are using different definitions of respect. I tend to think of respect as esteem, as a positive emotion towards someone.
So while I behave respectfully, and am considerate and courteous towards people I don't know, I don't consider that the same as having respect for them. That type of respect does have to be earned. Until I know a little bit about someone my feelings towards them remain neutral.
To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge. Erich Fromm
So while I have respect for a profession, the people within those professions aren't automatically any worse or any better than any other person I don't know. I don't hold the individual in higher regard simply because of their profession.
I was hoping to be surprised by this poll but I'm not. 50% do not respect teachers or demand teachers earn respect before they are to be respected (no one has answered how long into the school year this takes). This is so backwards from the world I grew up in where I was taught to respect my teachers and elders. I have no idea how anyone can learn anything from someone they do not respect. This explains a lot about why kids don't learn today. If you have no respect for the person standing in front of the room, you're not going to learn anything from them.
The poll results fit with what I see in the classroom. About half of the students have no respect for teachers or anyone in authority for that matter and it's not suprise when I meet mom and find she thinks she owes me no respect until I earn it (but she and her child deserve it just for breathing, lol).
I was just reading an article about the number of teachers who leave the profession due to lack of respect. I'm sure that doesn't help because it's, likely, the ones who have other options who leave.
I really was hoping what I've been seeing wasn't the norm. Too bad it is.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 08-15-2010 at 06:54 PM..
It seems we are using different definitions of respect. I tend to think of respect as esteem, as a positive emotion towards someone.
So while I behave respectfully, and am considerate and courteous towards people I don't know, I don't consider that the same as having respect for them. That type of respect does have to be earned. Until I know a little bit about someone my feelings towards them remain neutral.
To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge. Erich Fromm
So while I have respect for a profession, the people within those professions aren't automatically any worse or any better than any other person I don't know. I don't hold the individual in higher regard simply because of their profession.
I'm using the dictionary definition.
"
2. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.
4. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly. "
Do teachers have worth? Does their education and training speak of excellence? Are they in a position of authority? Is their position one to be accepted and given proper courtesy? Do they, rightfully, belong there? Are they to be listened to? Is their instruction worth having? Does what the teacher has to offer have value?
I grew up respecting my teachers and elders. I can't imagine learning from people I don't respect or my parents putting me in classrooms lead by people they didn't respect. I was taught that those who were older, more experienced and more learned than I had something to offer me. It was valuable and worth having and that I'd better appreciate their willingness to pass the torch because they don't have to pass it to me. They could choose to pass what they know to someone else or not at all. It was their option to help me or leave me on my own to learn what they learned the hard way. And yes, I do think that's something to respect.
When you look at what teachers go through just to get the job and what they put up with once they have it, I think they deserve respect. These are people who are willing to stand in front of a classroom and teach your children in spite of everything. It's much easier to have a job in the "real world". Much less complicated, more respected and less work. You also don't have to invest as much of yourself in most professsions. The teachers who stand in front of those rooms do so because they want to pass the torch. Because they think they have something valuable to offer. I find it sad that half of the parents out there don't agree. That they withhold respect until it's proven. I'm still curious as to how long it takes a teacher to prove they're respectable. If you don't respect me, your children won't respect me and if they don't respect me, they will not learn from me. I will spend my time trying to get them to listen instead of teaching.
I think we need new and separate polls for whether we respect:
Anybody, doctors, pharamacists, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, bricklayers, garbagepersons, ditch diggers, nurses, counselors, clergy, management, auto workers, etc until we've exhausted the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.
When we have a concensus of what the general level of respect is for everybody, then we can compare it to teachers and see if anything needs to be done. Until then the poll is just a more germaine way of starting a new kind of FLAMING POST by people who have an axe to grind against one occupational group.
Zarathu
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