Respect

November 12, 2022. Saturday.

In almost a month and more, I have been observing the various classes or sections in the school where I have been deployed, and I have noticed one thing.

Knowing that the young people or thr youth are the ones that I am observing because they are high school students. But every time I observed different grades, sections and batches of children, I noticed this one thing.

Some of today's youth don't know how to respect anymore and they don't even know the word respect.

Among the many students I have handled, there is a students in a section where young people are rude and do not know how to respect. I know that we are only FS students (Field Study) or better known as ST (Student Teachers) but it is not that we are not professional teachers so that we will not receive respect from students. It's not that I'm complaining because they don't respect us, but we're still a few years older than them, right?

Usually the students just call us "Ate/Te" or sister in English. It's fine with us when they call us that when we are outside the school but when we are inside the school they should still call us Ma'am. They have been reminded several times by the real teachers at that school and also by the heads and principals but they don't seem to know how to listen.

Among the students I handle in different sections, I have never experienced rudeness from them, maybe the reason for that is that I show my strict side to them, so they are a little afraid of me. I know that if I just joke with the students, there is a chance that they won't really respect me because they know that they can fool me. That's why every time I face students, I adjust myself and my aura. I don't scold them but I tighten them up a bit because if you show that you are kind, they will abuse your kindness and won't listen to what you say.

But some of my fellow FS or ST have experienced disrespecting. One time one of my co-FS was told that she is only ST and that she is not a teacher so why they should follow her. Wasn't what that child did disrespectful? The other co-FS of mine, said that while she was in front and discussing, the students were not listening and were just using their cellphones, she said that she forbade them, but she was not really obeyed. My other fellow FS said that the students were fighting right in front of them, she was weaned them up but she said that the other students were doing nothing and even inciting those who were fighting. I, on the other hand, experienced a similar incident, the only difference is being that there was a teacher in front and I was behind at that time observing. While the teacher was teaching in the front, there was a student in the back of the class who was talking bad to a fellow student until the person he was gossiping to got angry and started to attaked him, fortunately the male students weaned the fight. Look, there's a teacher in front and there's another ST in the back, but the students are still doing things like that.

My co-FS are losing the will to continue teaching at that school. They are already stressed by various things they have experienced. Then there are so many activities that we do at our University and the ones that the teachers at the school where we are deployed go along with. The thoughts of us, FS, keep on going at the same time until we are having a problem with what should be done first. And high school students still do and treat us like that.

I don't know why the students are like that today. Whereas when I was still in high school, we were afraid of the teachers and we always obeyed them because if you disobeyed you would receive a punishment. The students were kind then and only a few were stubborn unlike today when almost all students are nasty, stubborn and most of all don't know how to respect teachers and other elders.

That's why parents should teach the child in their houses first how to respect those who are older than them so that when they are in another place and school, they will know how to respect people. But children nowadays can even disrespect and disobeyed their parents itself, so what else is with other people, right? They can really do that.

So I just want to suggest that the subject of GMRC or Good Manners and Right Conduct and the other subjects about student behavior and attitude should be brought back. If possible, they would have brought back the subject about Religion or Bible Studies too so that the children still know what the Bible is and the contents of the Bible. It's as if the young people today have forgotten or don't know what the Bible says to be learned.

And that's all for today. Thank you so much for reading this article.

God bless us all.

Lead image source: Unsplash