Respect

It is something everyone wants, not many have, and few want to give. Some people would appreciate having a little bit of respect from others, and some should make efforts to show some more respect. Unfortunately, this does not happen all the time. Maybe this is because respect is not clearly understood. What is respect? The dictionary defines it as an act of giving particular attention or high or special regard. Another definition shows respect as a feeling or attitude of admiration and deference toward somebody or something. This does not explain completely what it is, but at least it gives us an idea about what it may be. As a matter of fact, there are many forms of respect.

Some people say that you should give respect to everyone. Other people say that respect should be earned. I think that respect is a two way street. To get respect you have to give respect. Respect is neither a right nor a privilege; it is something that you earn over time through your actions.

Earned respect builds a stronger relationship between people, can be more specific then demanded respect, and is more stable than demanded respect. Also, true respect must be built on experience, and therefore it is not right to just demand it. Earned respect builds relationship between people. When another person earns your respect you work harder to have that same respect returned to you. I think this is very true among teachers and their students. If a teacher sits and yells at the kids, that is not showing them respect. I think that respect is taught by example, as most good things are. The main thing is to treat other people how you would like to be treated. Most people, when treated decently will treat others the same way.

I think that respect is hard to give when someone does not give it back to you. Being a teenager, it is very hard to get respect. People tend to think that since we are young, that we do not deserve respect and I tend to disagree. Just because we are young and sometimes different, does not mean that we don't have feelings or want to be accepted. There are a few people of our generation who give all of us a bad reputation. But I think that is stereotypical. You shouldn't judge a whole group of people on how some of them act.

We have always been told that we need to act correctly in class and in whatever we do, but as humans we like to communicate and impress others with our wit or lack there of. So it is hard to know the line between respectable communication and lack of control. If we talk too much and are lucky enough to get away with it, we think that this is the line. So we assume that we can go to this line and maybe even push it a little, this is the wrong set of mind. We should be trying to reach farther then the standard, going beyond the call of duty or respect. If the teacher calls you down, that is not the line but should be considered past the line. We should see that the teachers like wholesome talk, but, like all people, they also need to maintain control of their environment, which is the classroom.

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