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Earning Respect Cynthia
Carbone Ward
Check out Cynthia’s Book, How Writers Grow: A Guide for Middle School Teachers,
published by Heinemann.
Don't confuse respect with popularity.
The latter is a shiny penny kind of thing -- it's nice, but
by itself it isn't worth much. Respect is earned over time,
seldom acknowledged, and not very flashy, but it's the essential
underpinning of your relationship with students. Since I
believe first and foremost that respect is a two-way street,
I decided that I might get pretty good insights on the subject
from some of the kids in my own sixth and seventh grade classes.
Their advice was so sound, I have not been able to improve
upon it. Here, in their exact words -- with the spelling
corrected -- is what they said makes them respect a teacher:
- I respect
a teacher who gives us two chances at things.
- Treat
everyone equally.
Don't favor one student.
Be fair. Be generous.
Be sensitive. Be
on schedule. And
never say one thing
and do another.
- Teachers
I
respect
are
knowledgeable
about
the
topics
they
are
teaching.
They
lay
down
the
rules
from
the
beginning
and
don't
alter
them.
A
teacher
should
never
show
that
he
favors
one
student,
even
if
he
secretly
does.
- I
respect
a
teacher
who
listens
to
your
ideas,
who
listens
to
you...a
teacher
who
makes
learning
fun
and
interesting...a
teacher
who
has
time
for
you.
- I
respect
a
teacher
who
really
tries
to
help
someone
improve.
- To
get
respect
from
a
kid,
you have
to
be
credible.
Also,
be
nice but
stern.
Know
what
you
are
talking about
and
be
creative.
- I
respect
a
teacher who
is
not
lazy, who
works
very hard.
Be
consistent.
Mean what
you
say, and
follow
through.
And don't
try
to be
one
of
the kids.
Being "cool" is
fun
at
first but
it
doesn't
work. Kids
need
to have
a
grown-up
in charge.
- What
makes
me respect
a teacher
is when
they follow
through! I
like it
when they
like kids
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