To the students who refuse to do what is asked of them. To the students who hit teachers. To the students who argue with teachers. The students who cuss in class. The students who fight in class. Who disrupt class.
This is for you.
I am writing this letter to express my disgust in the overwhelming amount of disrespect in the classrooms. It has been brought to my attention from social media, news, and other forms that students are out of control. Having just graduated from high school six months ago, I also noticed the lack of respect from first hand experiences.
Teachers are not in it for the pay, they decided that career path to help students to their future. They deserve to be respected. In the classroom, YOU ARE NOT SUPERIOR to the teacher. The teacher has gone through school succeeded and now they are there to pass on the knowledge to you. They are there every day and want to help you.
You, students that I see on the news, are acting as though you have no home training and think school is a game between teachers and students.
NEWSFLASH! Teachers are on the same page as you. They have the same goal as you: Get you to graduation and prepare for your future.
One of the big stories that I have seen on the internet is a student from Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina being slammed over a desk by a resource cop.
The cop was completely out of line and should have never touched a student, a female student, like that. As many of you know, the resource cop has lost his job because she did not deserve that type of punishment for her action, BUT many people have missed the root of the problem. The student was refusing to follow directions and was asked to leave the classroom and would not leave.
She showed examples of being unruly and a classroom disruption. Both are clearly written out as punishable actions in most school rule books. Even though she did not deserve to have her arm broken of flipped over a desk, she put herself in that situation.
This student could have avoided everything that happened to her if she had simply followed her teachers orders.
You never know what the consequences will be, so try not to put yourself in a situation where you could receive a bad consequence.
Another student from John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, New Jersey slammed his 62 year old teacher to the ground after he took his cell phone. The 16 year old boy had no business touching a 62 year old man.
You set examples for your classmates. Although the other students in the video did tell the boy to stop they were also laughing, which encouraged him.
Even if you are not the one directly, being disrespectful, you still need to learn to stand up and tell a student to stop instead of encouraging them.
Your disobedience and lack of respect has been on the rise and your participation in extracurricular activities has been declining in public schools.
You are inclined to act up in class if you feel like they need attention. You feel like it's funny to misbehave but really you are only hurting yourself in the long run. The teacher will most likely keep their jobs and you will be punished.
I noticed before I joined extracurricular activities, I was the student that was constantly sent outside the classroom or lost multiple privileges in school. I found it funny and thought that I was getting more popular for misbehaving, but really I was only disrupting everyone's learning time. After joining marching band and other activities, I gained confidence because I was having fun doing something I was good at. I made friends easier because I was with people that shared the same interest as me.
Participating in extracurricular activities will make you popular in your own way. You will be around people that are like you, which will help you make many friends.
Extracurricular activities will help you learn respect and leadership.
In most extracurricular activities, you will have to respect a higher person, like coaches or the leadership team. If these people are disrespected, you serve immediately punishments, such as running laps, planks, or even sitting out for the game or presentation.
When I was in marching band, I hated being punished or simply being held longer to be fussed at. Although it was dreadful at first, it made me more successful. I would start to get mad when others acted up instead of finding it funny because we all got punished. I became more aware of how my actions affected other people. I found a new respect for my teachers and peers and noticed a change in my behavior and attitude for the future.
You develop the leadership skills that you need to tell other students that act up that it is not funny and show other students that school is not a game. You have more confidence to tell your classmates right from wrong.
School became more important to me after joining extracurricular activities. when students would act up in class and disrupt my learning time, I started to tell them that it was not funny. I made sure not to give them the attention that they were hoping to gain, so they would eventually stop.
While participating in extracurricular activities, you learn how to focus and be involved.
Extracurricular activities make you want to come to school and work towards something. You have more intrinsic motivation to do well in your classes. You start to set an example or your classmates.
The more students that participate in extracurricular activities, the better the behavior, focus and leadership will be in the classrooms.
When you are involved in extracurricular activities, you have a way to express yourself and your emotions. It allows you to spend more time doing something good for you and your future instead of spending time doing something you are not supposed to be doing.
You are less likely to get involved in drugs and other illegal activity if you are involved in extracurricular activities.
Join an extracurricular activity and do something with your time. Extracurricular activities are not only good for your social life but it is great for your future. You learn the skills that you will benefit from in the future.