Why I Don't Demand Respect from my Students

Recently I've been sitting in on a number of teacher interviews. Invariably candidates will mention Respect (capital R) as a key element of their management style, teaching philosophy, or intended classroom atmosphere. It often sounds something like this:

"My classroom will be one of mutual respect. I expect the students to respect me and I'll respect them."

But too often this translates to "If students will just sit quietly and absorb whatever half-ass poorly planned lesson I put before them, I will not hate them as much."

I'm afraid some teachers think that Respect is the starting point--the good soil--and that happy teaching/learning will blossom from there. In truth, it is the reverse: a teacher's job is to establish the seedbed and tend the delicate shoots. Respect is a blossom, the end result that follows knowing your fertilizer: excellent planning, sensitive formative assessment, and responsiveness to the students who walk through your door.

So instead of starting with an expectation of Respect, consider this pre-Respect groundwork:

1) Plan like it's your job. (It is.) Plan each day's teaching to be engaging, meaningful, and interactive.
2) Teach like a rock star. From bell to bell, let your classroom be known as a place where students are not merely expected to learn, but guaranteed to learn.
3) Find something to love about every student in your charge. Yes, even that one.

Good soil doesn't just happen. Yet too often I see educators who skimp on the sweat factor that goes into raising a crop of trusting, hard-working students. Instead, teachers plan lightly, ineffectively, or not at all, then teach blindly, ignoring the myriad ways students will say "I don't get this" or "I'm dying of boredom."

Instead of beginning with an expectation of Respect, begin with an expectation for teacher preparedness. Good teaching--well-planned, highly engaging, responsive to what students need and know--builds trust. Respect is then an outgrowth of this fertility.

Teach well, day in and day out. Nurture the buds of Trust. The bloom of Respect will follow.