When was the last time you said thank you to your teacher? The last time you listened to their directions? Hopefully, that was recently. Unfortunately, I think a good chunk of students haven’t been respectful recently, and their rude behavior needs to be adjusted immediately. Countless times, I have seen students be blatantly rude to a teacher’s face, talk even after the teacher has told them to stop, whine and/or throw a fit like a 2-year-old, and more. We’re secondary students, not kindergartners. In fact, I have seen plenty of kindergartners act better than some of my peers. This needs to change. One of the biggest issues I see is when the teacher gives a direction like “stop talking,” and nobody listens to them. Then in turn, they dish out the most common consequence, a seating chart. All the kids who were talking proceed to start complaining, asking (in a voice that is actually almost identical to a toddler’s) something along the lines of, “Why are you moving me? I didn’t even do anything; you’re so unfair.” Well, maybe if you would’ve listened, this wouldn’t have happened.

A poll done by Harris Poll shows that parents believe this kind of disrespect, as well as other kinds, seem much more prominent than when they were young. Kids disrespect teachers, parents disrespect teachers, and on and on. I would like to see this change. Teachers are already paid very little; they don’t need to have to fight with a troublesome student. And, of course, there are countless students and parents that are respectful, cooperative, and kind to the staff and teachers, but there’s still a concerning amount of disdain towards these people that are trying to shape our future.

Besides the aspect of decent human courtesy, disrespect has its own share of side effects. For instance, middle schoolers can’t have their phones out to listen to music because somebody at sometime abused that privilege to mess around. That annoys me on many levels. I guess that kid just couldn’t wait till the end of the school day to go on social media, just like everybody else does. Those kinds of students need to learn some self-restraint so they don’t ruin something for everybody else. Plus, if one keeps up the habit of being bad-mannered in junior and high school, who says he or she won’t do it in the future? This could go wrong in the work force, family life, romantic life, friendships, etc. Practicing being respectful can help prevent most all of this trouble from occurring.

Both children and adults can always improve their levels of respect, and the ways to do so are surprisingly simple. Here’s three great tips to show more respect, especially in both grade school and in college. First off, actually listen to the teacher. Believe me, it helps. You’ll know what you’re doing, and thus won’t have to distract the class by asking a friend, which’ll no doubt please your teacher. Secondly, it is useful to actually acknowledge that you made a mistake. Instead of making a massive fuss, just know you did something wrong, and accept that that’s why you have to move, for example. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be upset that you have a new seating chart or something, but there’s no need to exaggerate or be too obnoxious. Lastly, you can try and think about the teacher’s reasoning. Teachers want you to succeed in life. They wouldn’t give you an instruction if it wouldn’t benefit you.

Overall, kids should learn more respect for teachers, staff, materials, and more to help them function successfully for years to come.