It's the 'lazy' students
with the 'screw you' attitude that are denigrated, and in my opinion, deservedly so.

In the University that I attended in my own youth, I had 40 courses with perhaps 36 different professors. I remember two professors that, in my opinion, were boring and passionately wed to the sound of their own voice.

I 'cut' several of their classes and slept partially through others. I did master the material; I recall that Whitman & Emerson was one of the courses. The professors were eager to note my 'lack of participation' in class while grading my papers. The recognized my 'screw you' facial expression in class.

I'm certain that I now have some students that think I am boring and have no interest in improving their English. I respect their personal right to live their lives in the manner that they choose. If the University mandates attendance and they choose not to listen to me, despite my efforts to be informative and entertaining, so be it.

Neither I, nor the use of English, will play critically important roles in most of my students future lives. It is my belief that teachers earn both student attention and their respect. I feel no need to label individuals as 'lazy' when their behavioral choices differ from my expectations and fail to feed my need for affirmation.