There is no overstating the importance of a good teacher on a student’s education. Having a good relationship with a teacher can provide students with a space to grow, challenge themselves, and discover who they are. High turnover rates in our district make it harder for students to form relationships and learn. When it comes to concerns like low pay, poor communication, and lack of administrative support, it can seem like students have little impact. But there is one important factor of our teacher’s experience that is under students’ full control: respect.
In the Ithaca Teachers’ Association (ITA) exit interview results from 2023, the ITA stated that the high turnover rate at ICSD “feels like a crisis.” With the January 2022 percentage of open teacher positions at Ithaca almost double the percentage for Lansing, Dryden, Groton, Rochester, and Syracuse combined, there is certainly a concerning trend in our district. When asked about why they were leaving, the reasons for the historically low rates of teacher satisfaction were numerous and multifaceted—low pay, lack of support, poor communication, and burnout were all mentioned. All of these reasons, compounded with new issues like cuts from last year’s budget revote, bigger class sizes than ever before, and bathroom supervision duties taking away much-needed planning periods, means that all in all, ICSD teachers are being forced to do more with less. When asked about the support teachers would need, more financial security, compensated professional development, and clear and consistent communication from building admin were all mentioned.
In the same report written by the ITA, teachers who weren’t leaving the district were asked what brings them joy in their work, a staggering ninety-three percent cited students as a major reason. When asked about how highly interpersonal relationships rank amongst the most important parts of her job, Karen Seifert, a Geometry and AP Statistics teacher who has been teaching for almost twenty-eight years, stated that “interpersonal relationships with students is number one. If I didn’t have that, and if I did enjoy that, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
On the other hand, when these same teachers were asked what were the major drains for them, half cited lack of respect, sixty percent cited student behavior issues, and sixty-five cited higher student needs “post-pandemic.” Despite being one of the most important parts of the teacher experience, student relationships can simultaneously be a major drain for teachers, especially if the students are misbehaving and not showing teachers the level of respect they deserve, as both educators and humans.
ICSD teachers’ concerns about higher student needs post-pandemic are still real and impactful, and are struggles that teachers face nationwide. In the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress release, “eighty percent of public school leaders reported that they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement, ‘The COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects continue to negatively impact the behavioral development of students at my school.’” In this release, NCES connected the pandemic to growing rates of inattention; discovery and confiscation of weapons, drugs, and drug paraphernalia; misbehavior in the classroom; and students being academically underprepared for school. The lasting effects of COVID-19 should not be overlooked, and students should work harder to ensure that the working relationships between teachers and students remain healthy and intact, through being conscious of COVID-19’s general effect on classroom behavior.
When asked about the importance of respect and healthy working relationships, Seifert explained that “if there isn’t respect, I think it’s hard to have a good working relationship and if you don’t have that, students aren’t motivated to learn from you.” Nicki Zawel, the band teacher at IHS, also shared a similar view: “[respect] allows us to function. It is the only way in which we can exceed our potential, share and experiment with new ideas, and grow collectively […] when it works, it’s symbiotic—we’re all benefitting!” It is clear that respect in the classroom not only makes our teacher’s lives easier, but also makes it easier for everyone in the class to learn.
Disruptive behaviors in the classroom can range from overt distractions to nearly imperceptible actions. It is obvious how talking during lessons or verbally disrespecting teachers can derail class time and make it harder for both teachers and other students. Loud and showy disruptions easily distract from class time and are often rude and frustrating. There are also less obvious behaviors that can disrupt the learning process. Although choosing to not follow directions and participate in class might seem innocuous, if multiple people elect to ignore the teacher’s instructions, leading the class becomes increasingly more difficult. The more time that teachers have to spend on addressing and correcting these behaviors, the less time that is able to be spent productively with the rest of the class.
One of the largest issues with student behavior is inappropriate device usage. In a world of connectivity, putting one’s phone away can be difficult, but cellphone usage unquestionably makes it more difficult for teachers to do their jobs. When teachers have to interrupt a lesson multiple times to ask a student to put their phone away, valuable instructional time is lost. But not only is cell phone usage disruptive for the teachers, but also makes it more difficult for students to learn themselves. In a study done in 2022, The New York Institute for Technology found that students who didn’t have access to their phone reported higher levels of comprehension, lower levels of stress, and higher levels of mindfulness. For all of these reasons, Governor Kathy Hochul has instituted a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in New York State, which will take place in the fall of next year. “I know our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling—and that’s why New York continues to lead the nation on protecting our kids in the digital age,” Governor Hochul explained. This new ban will mean that students will not be allowed to have access to internet-connected devices from the start until the end of the day. The purpose of this ban is to address all of the concerns around inappropriate cell phone usage in classrooms today.
Teachers understand that students lead busy and sometimes complicated lives, and that it is unrealistic to expect everyone to be at their best all of the time. As Seifert explained, “you’re kids, and you’re still developing and figuring out the world, especially in high school, you’re in that stage where you’re supposed to push boundaries, you’re supposed to test limits.” Even so, habitual inappropriate use of technology, talking over teacher’s lessons, and refusing to listen to directions makes teacher’s jobs much more difficult, and holds back other students from learning as well.
If you see disruptive behavior in class, it is incredibly important to speak out against those students who are misbehaving in class and set good examples. By challenging disruptive and disrespectful behaviors, students can support teachers and take some of the burden off their shoulders. Making respect the norm will help guide the class into a productive direction and allow teachers to effectively complete their jobs. If enough students model respectful behavior and explicitly speak against disrespectful behavior, the class will be more efficient, and will have a greater capacity for learning. As Zawel explained, “This is the work of everyone who enters and shares the space…each person’s contribution really does impact the entire group every day.”
Everyone has a story of a teacher that has changed them fundamentally, and helped them grow for the better. These are the teachers who make our education what it is, and it is important to try our best to support them in the ways that we can. By treating teachers with respect, we are investing in important working relationships, our education, and the community itself.
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