I took the West E on Saturday at Hazen High School. There were hundreds of us there, and as I went through the door a man standing at the door with a name tag asked me if he could take my cell phone. I told him, no thank you, I had left it in the car, and he said, "then don't block the door. Move. You don't have to check in." I walked away, thinking about how out of place rudeness is in most circumstances where a person has a name tag on. In most other situations, a person might say just as easily, "ok, you can wait anywhere, you don't need to check in. They'll be calling your number shortly."
Maybe he was in a bad mood because he had to give up his Saturday--the first sunny day we've all been waiting for. Or maybe it's just the school environment--he's so used to talking to students that way that he forgot we're all adults. In any case, it made me think about the relationships that form between staff and students, and how easy it can be for school staff to treat students disrespectfully.
When my son was in middle school, he told me of a time that he was coming into a door the same time a food service worker was coming out. She pushed him aside and said "move." I once overheard a middle school teacher say to my daughter "maybe someday you'll get some social skills."
Of course these teachers all have RESPECT: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? posters up in their classrooms. I know that school staff are dealing everyday with a lot of students, and sometimes I'm sure it's easier to take the direct route--"just do what I say"--but common courtesy is something that everyone at every age deserves, and respect goes both ways. As teachers, we earn it by modeling it.
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