Monday, September 10, 2007

Laughter in the Classroom

So, I've begun to notice how, in my classes outside of the IB world, that students show an increasing amount of disrespect towards teachers. I would never dream of this, but many of them laugh at, talk over, and make fun of their teachers in class, specifically when the teacher is talking. Why? These men and women are adults, older, wiser, and in charge. Perhaps these students feel that they no longer need to act like good little children, but respect is still necessary. So, what do you all think? Is there anyway to justify the behavior? What does this suggest of the morals of the new generation? What does this mean for future generations?

11 comments:

Kenshin_Himura said...

There is more than just kids/teens showing such disrespect.

My mother is taking a college banking class, and she comes home with many interesting stories about the sheer amount of rudeness, and complete lack of respect that occurs.

What I believe happens is that they learn such horrible traits as children, and they never grow up.

tsizzinc said...

people do anything to feel superior because the superior survives in the wilderness, they laugh at other people mockingly to feel better for themselves, give 'em a break, we laugh at them for being immature because it makes us feel mature. im sorry, but mocking is done by everyone and its a natural thing, just dont pay attention to it. people are just that way, in fact i believe its essential to feel that way, if you've never mocked any1 in your life, well you are WEIRD.

ethan_is_ninja said...

I agree with TC, those disrespecting students are simply insecure and makes fun of others for their own pleasure. We've all done it one time or another and it is human nature to determine who's superior to others. It is also because of peer pressure because it is almost impossible for one person to sit there silently mocking the teacher if there weren't others around that influenced his actions.

Mr. Pseudonym said...

Lack of capital...er corporeal punishment in the classroom.

Dani said...

WOLF! Please do tell us your feelings...sheesh =D

I've noticed this, and I completely disagree that its natural. Ever since I was a young child I've been taught respect for those older and wiser than me. Of course kids mock each other, its a way to establish to social hierarchy, but a lion cub wouldn't challenge the king of the pride (unless he was a Darwin Awards contender). I don't understand how a teacher could try to teach to those in their class who actually wanted to learn, and once it gets that out of control, those who had wanted to learn may feel pressured to follow the party line and begin to mock the teacher as well. Should one care to exaggerate it, should teachers start allowing it will lead to anarchy. We learn respect mainly through our parents and at school (authority, thats why we assume we can know stuff from an authority, we respect them), since thats were we spend most of our time growing up.

Stitches said...

It could also be a way of rebelling against "the system". If you think about it, the kids that are in IB are generally intesrested in learning. Not everyone outside of IB is. Sometimes they just go because they're required to by law. We all generally "rebel" or strike out at things we don't like, so maybe this is just the easiest way (not necessarily the nicest)for them to express their discontent.

Elliot Ross said...

I agree with what everyone has said so far...exept with the capital punishment which should be reserved for the select few (just kidding).

Some people just feel like they need to be in charge and the center of attention and when the teacher takes that away from them, they get upset and rebel. I agree with what Stiches said; the reason why we don't see much of this in IB classes is because I think most of us in IB are more interesting in learning than playing the whole "alpha dog" game and winning some popularity contest by putting the teacher down.

Who knows...some teachers may even be cool...

katrina337 said...

I actually kind of agree with Wolf, because there isn't much discipline taught in how to respect your teachers. And if you don't learn it at home and none of the teachers actually enforce it; how are they to actually know to do it? corporeal punishment isn't necessarily a bad thing...

But anyway, I disagree that it's only outside of IB that this happens. I've had instances in IB where the kids were just as rude and disrespectful to the teachers; regardless of those who actually did want to learn. But I'm not sure if I would call it 'natural', as Dani has pointed out.

Don Park said...

The teacher hasn't shown the fact that he's dominant in the classroom basically... Set guidelines, etc.

Sam Elder said...

That's funny... none of you address the possibility that some comments inserted during class might actually be helpful. It's always a behavioral psych question, rather than a question of good teaching versus bad teaching. A good teacher should never have these problems, not because he knows how to keep the students in check, but because he is such a good lecturer that the students WANT to listen. If true, this would indicate that one reason this happens outside of IB, and not as much within IB, is that the teachers who teach non-IB classes are of a lower quality on the whole than the teachers in the IB program, which one might expect.

katrina337 said...

I can agree with you, Sam, to an extent, but at the same time I do believe part of it lies within the students themselves. If the teacher can't keep the students' attention, then they probably aren't doing their job terribly well. At the same time, the teacher may be an amazing lecturer, but the students really don't want to be there and have no disciplinary action to keep them in check, and so are being rude to the teacher.