When I was a kid I was really scared of all my teachers. I would never in a million years have disrespected them or talked back. I would never have cursed at them, shouted at them, laughed at them (unless they were telling a joke) ignored them, rolled my eyes at them, tutted at them, snickered at them, or any of the other disrespectful things that kids today seem to have no problem doing to their teachers. But one important thing to note is that while I was indeed scared of my teachers, this was not the reason I did not do any of those things. The reason was that I RESPECTED them! What has happened to that respect? Is it just that kids of today are "different"? Is it that the teachers are "different"? What has changed? Why can a parent now go to a principal and say' Take my child out of Mr XXXXXs class..there is a clash of personality.

WHAT IS THAT? A clash of personality? Are you kidding me? This is your child's teacher! not his buddy. How can a teacher be blamed for a child who..never brings a pencil to class, never does his homework, is sleeping in class, is not listening, refuses to participate and then asks to be moved to another class because of a clash in personality?

Yes I understand that sometimes teachers and students don't get along but do you think that is a new thing? Did all my teacher love me? I don't think so. But this was my teacher and like him or not. I was there to learn from him. and even though I might not have "liked " him, I DID respect him, so I was not disrespectful, I listened and I learned

Is it because children today just have less respect for adults generally? If so, who or what is to blame for that? Sometimes when I overhear the TV when my daughter is watching, I cringe at the way adults are portrayed and "stupid" while the cool kid mocks and insults him. I always try to use this as an opportunity to talk to my daughter about it and thankfully she is very respectful to her teacher (most of the time) Is it the the music they listen to?

Alice Cooper sang about blowing up schools and Pink Floyd told us "We don't need no education" but it did not make me not want to go to school or to be disrespectful. So what has changed? Why do today's kids have so little respect for their teachers.? Well here's a thought... Our Government puts more and more emphasis on test scores and less and less on teacher experience and what they actually bring to the classroom. Teachers are poorly paid and many have not had a pay raise in years, and more and more, teachers are expected to be the only disciplinarian in some of these kids lives, Every day on the TV we see stories of more teacher being fired because their kids did not make gains on the tests... So my question is this....what is all of that teaching our children? How on earth can we expect our children to show their teachers respect when we as a society do not?

We need to get behind our teachers and not allow these children to have so much power. We need to let our Government know that while there are "bad" teachers out there who need to be weaned out and replaced, making teachers solely responsible for the childrens test results and basing their continued employment on these results is just unacceptable. Teachers need to be able to teach and not just "teach to the test" Until we allow our teachers to do this and to show them the respect they deserve, how can we expect anything different from our children? What is your opinion on this subject? if you believe teachers are getting a raw deal these days, then call your local representative and let them know you want teachers to be respected and allowed to teach. Vote against any bill that makes teacher pay and job security solely based on test results. It is time to give America's teachers the respect they truly deserve for all their dedication and hard work. Read more. http://www.fierceover50.com.