Creating a Climate of Respect
School
climate reform means measuring the level of respect and then using that
information to improve the quality of school life.
For
some, the notion of respect implies
a courteous, decorous, civil, or deferential attitude. Here we use the term to
refer to the experience of being taken seriously.
Acting respectfully reflects appreciative feelings for another person or group.
In
school, respect can sound like this:
They actually listen to me here. The teachers
care about what I think and feel. They want me to be part of making this school
even better. Like when they realized there's much more bullying going on here
than they knew. Now they're really trying to do something about it.
—A 15-year-old student
In
contrast, this is what the absence of respect can sound like:
They don't care what I think. All they care
about are the tests. There aren't even stalls in the bathroom. They dis' us.
—A 16-year-old student
Ten percent of kids in my class…are so bad that
I've just given up on them.
—A teacher
Sarah
Lawrence-Lightfoot (2000) has suggested that respect "is not something
that one can imitate, but something one must embody…. It is only in the
individual acts of respect that the quality becomes actual". We agree. But
practically, what can we do to make respect an integral part of school climate?
Respectful schools are, by definition, democratically informed learning environments where people feel safe, supported, engaged, and helpfully challenged. Respect doesn't happen in isolation; it's based in relationships. As we learn and teach, we are—or are not—respectful in the context of our social, emotional, civic, and intellectual interaction
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Leyne, B. Respect T-chart. [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/9499849194517842/
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