Disrespectful or not?

[mamagardener]

I find it disrespectful when teenagers mutter under their breath, if one of my sons did it I would tell them to cut it out.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Muttering is disrespectful, but sometimes it is a battle best ignored. JMHO

My son is 11 and just hitting middle school; I'm not looking forward to the next few years of hormonal young man trying to find his place in the world. I hope he is not as bad as I was. I should have been locked in basement when I was 12, had raw meat thrown at me a couple of times a week and let out again when I turned 18.

Thank God, I don't have girls.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:

 

[Camelot Farms]

Quote:
Thanks Miss Jayne. I will put this on my Books-A-Million list

 

[Chickenmaven]

My DS is a smarty-pants teen. When he was a smarty-pants elementary student, I emphasized that there are things that MUST be corrected and things that can slide. (If I recall, this was in response to him correcting ME: "it's not teal, Mom, it's turquoise.") ANYWAY, teal vs. turqoise is not a biggie, pointing people toward a closet door and stating that it's a fire exit - big deal!

If the teacher was saying multiply, when he meant add... that might be a call for clarification. I think the kid was trying to one-up the teacher. I have had college students pull that on me. I invite them to stay after class if "we have alot to chat about." They don't take me up on it, because it is not about the issue at hand, it it about the audience.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
if you'd like, i can pop it in with the eggs i am shipping you tomorrow.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Would you? That'd be fabulous.

Lindz is finally feeling better. She has been in school all week but with a wicked croupy cough (no fever). She has talked about nothing but her new fuzzy butts that are coming. lol.

I dont know where she gets this chicken addiction from... lol

 

[miss_jayne]

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oh! that is great that she is feeling better! maybe it was chickenitis!
boxing up and shipping out. my son is going down to get it off the bookshelf right now. i have the workbook that goes with it too. it really is great. it's all yours.

 

[Beekissed]

mom'sfolly :

It was disrespectful, the way it was described. It would also be perfectly normal teenage behavior to say under his breath each time "add", and "subract".

However, it is another thing entirely when a teacher who is wrong, and is confronted in a respectful manner brow beats a child into anger, and then finally admits the child was correct. This happens with very bright children more often than many would like to admit, and sometimes it happens when the child is to young to understand that correcting a mistake a teacher has made is disrespectful. We want our children to be able to speak up when mistakes are made, even if the mistakes are made by an adult. Children need to understand that questioning authority is okay. The attitude of the adult is always right, and it is universally disrespectful to confront or disagree with an adult is not a good message. It puts kids in a position where a "respected" adult such as a teacher, scout leader, priest or coach can do or say anything and it would be disrepectful to disagree.

Actually, I feel it's the parent's job to question authority. That is why we are here. And by doing so, one can teach one's children about life, fair and unfair, when and how to question authority. I really don't feel like we should be letting our children question authority without direct guidance. Being able to question authority comes with maturity and wisdom....just like anything else that they need to know to be decent humans.

Yes, some teachers are disrespectful in their attitudes to children. I've seen it and had to deal with it. During this process, my children got a real good lesson on the fact that, just because they are adults and in a position of authority, doesn't always mean they are right. A lesson they would have not learned efficiently if they were pitched as a child against an adult. That is an unequal battle and they shouldn't have to deal with that alone...even with coaching and teaching from the parent. Children learn best by example!

One teacher berated my child unfairly in front of the class(3rd grade). After the meeting that resulted from this, the teacher offered my son an apology there in the office. I suggested that he apologize for his behavior right where he made his original mistake. He resisted, I insisted. The whole class got to see a teacher apologize to my son.....I like to think they also got a lesson on how to question authority.

Take yer Mom......

When my kids ask why this or that adult doesn't act correctly, I always tell them that maybe they didn't have the correct instruction from their parents when THEY were children and aren't you glad that YOU do?

 

[hikerchick]

If you teach your children not to question authority, you teach them not to think for themselves.

I don't want my daughter looking to other people to tell her what to think. She is a strong, opinionated person. (surprise!!!) Yes, her mouth has gotten her in trouble but I prefer that a million times over a kid who is so cowed by authority that they believe everything they are told. Your education is supposed to teach you to think, not how to shut up and do as you are told.