Reflections on Respect
In my experiences both professionally and academically, I believe that respect should be the central foundation of classroom culture and community. In order for classes to be positive, informative, and enlightening, there must be a mutual understanding of understanding, tolerance, and high regard between teachers and students as well as students and other students. As a junior high educator, the opportunity to focus on character traits is a unique one that helps students grow as young adults and leaders of the classroom and their greater community.
The understanding of respect in a classroom must be based on tolerance of others, and appreciation for diversity. As the LMU SOE Conceptual Framework states, “as educators we recognize the truth of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words that humanity will either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will die together as strangers (King, 1963)” (2). This sentiment must echo true in classrooms in order to enhance student relationships, class discussions, and self-discovery. In my classroom, open discussion of what diversity is, the beauty and benefit of its presence in our lives, and the forms of stereotypes that can damage it is important because students can fully understand the foundational concepts that make respect important.
During the beginning of our course together each student creates self-expression projects in conjuncture with a family heritage tree. The individuality of their personalities and values through writing and pictures allows them to present themselves as unique, while the similarities of their cultural backgrounds help them connect to each other. Discussions of family traditions, values, and personal experience all enhance the appreciation of diversity. A few weeks into the year students are also given an opportunity to sit as a class and list the stereotypes, slurs, and hurtful names that tear people down culturally, racially, sexually, and personally on a large piece of paper with a human outline on it. After we have created the person as an intimate group, I tear the person, crumpling pieces and tearing away and segments and handing them to students. They are then given two minutes to put the person back together- a challenge that is ultimately impossible. This not only teaches them the insulting words that they may not realize they are using, but it also metaphorically shows the lasting impact of words.
Respect definitions and respect agreements are also an integral part of my respect curriculum. Our September “character trait of the month” is respect, and students work in partners to brainstorm what respect is and create original definitions from the sentence stems “respect is…” and “respect is not…”. Based on the idea of sociocultural/constructivist perspectives of teaching, this allows students to discover the meaning of the word “respect” by discussing where they have seen it or heard it, and what it means to them. After this activity students individually, as a small group, and then as a class create lists of what it looks like when students respect students, students respect teachers, teachers respect teachers, and everyone respects the school. This exercise brings the concept to life through real-life connections and perspectives. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to explore their own need to be respected by others and their teachers- a chance not often often to adolescents. There is involvement and ownership over the material and the class’ understanding of respect, therefore students are more likely to adhere to the community values. As the class list is created there is a discussion of agreement or collaborative development of the ideas in order to finalize the product, all students and the teacher sign the agreement.
Ultimately respect in the classroom must be based on an understanding of diversity and a cooperative creation of expectations. For junior high students especially, ownership is imperative for a classroom of trust and respect.
The understanding of respect in a classroom must be based on tolerance of others, and appreciation for diversity. As the LMU SOE Conceptual Framework states, “as educators we recognize the truth of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words that humanity will either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will die together as strangers (King, 1963)” (2). This sentiment must echo true in classrooms in order to enhance student relationships, class discussions, and self-discovery. In my classroom, open discussion of what diversity is, the beauty and benefit of its presence in our lives, and the forms of stereotypes that can damage it is important because students can fully understand the foundational concepts that make respect important.
During the beginning of our course together each student creates self-expression projects in conjuncture with a family heritage tree. The individuality of their personalities and values through writing and pictures allows them to present themselves as unique, while the similarities of their cultural backgrounds help them connect to each other. Discussions of family traditions, values, and personal experience all enhance the appreciation of diversity. A few weeks into the year students are also given an opportunity to sit as a class and list the stereotypes, slurs, and hurtful names that tear people down culturally, racially, sexually, and personally on a large piece of paper with a human outline on it. After we have created the person as an intimate group, I tear the person, crumpling pieces and tearing away and segments and handing them to students. They are then given two minutes to put the person back together- a challenge that is ultimately impossible. This not only teaches them the insulting words that they may not realize they are using, but it also metaphorically shows the lasting impact of words.
Respect definitions and respect agreements are also an integral part of my respect curriculum. Our September “character trait of the month” is respect, and students work in partners to brainstorm what respect is and create original definitions from the sentence stems “respect is…” and “respect is not…”. Based on the idea of sociocultural/constructivist perspectives of teaching, this allows students to discover the meaning of the word “respect” by discussing where they have seen it or heard it, and what it means to them. After this activity students individually, as a small group, and then as a class create lists of what it looks like when students respect students, students respect teachers, teachers respect teachers, and everyone respects the school. This exercise brings the concept to life through real-life connections and perspectives. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to explore their own need to be respected by others and their teachers- a chance not often often to adolescents. There is involvement and ownership over the material and the class’ understanding of respect, therefore students are more likely to adhere to the community values. As the class list is created there is a discussion of agreement or collaborative development of the ideas in order to finalize the product, all students and the teacher sign the agreement.
Ultimately respect in the classroom must be based on an understanding of diversity and a cooperative creation of expectations. For junior high students especially, ownership is imperative for a classroom of trust and respect.