Should students respect their teachers?
Of course they should. Over at Bouncing Back today I explained why everyone, as a child of God, ought to be treated with dignity and respect.
So what if it doesn’t happen? What if others fail to treat you respectfully?
As a teacher, I quickly surrendered the notion that my position would automatically generate any sort of admiration, trust, or even (sadly) basic respect from parents, community members, and students. I watched many colleagues leave the profession when they couldn’t tolerate this “lack of respect.”
Police officers, firefighters, military personnel, teachers, social workers, missionaries…the list is endless, and all of them make different kinds of sacrifices to do the work they do. When you devote your life to service, it’s nice to have others recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate your service.
But, as one who’s been there, if you need external appreciation to make the job worth doing, you may be doing the wrong job.
You serve because you believe in the people you serve and the cause you support. You serve because you believe in your team.
Treating others–all others–with respect is a circle, common ground from which we can all choose to operate. But nothing will happen as long as we cling stubbornly to “I won’t respect you if you don’t respect me.”
Someone’s gotta blink first. I can’t force anyone else into the circle. I can only stand there myself, invite others to enter, and refuse to leave.
Are you in?
Please leave a comment here.
