Admiring, Avoiding Harm, and Being Polite: Respect in the Halls and Classrooms of EHHS

 Although the students and staff in EHHS can all define respect in a similar way, not everyone can agree on how much of it is present in a school setting. Many people can agree that respect is treating others the way you want to be treated.

Most teachers agreed that respect revolves around how you act and how understanding you can be. They see the good in the students and see a lot of respect within the school. They do recognize that there are a handful of kids that exhibit disrespect but the respectful kids outnumber them. Meanwhile kids in the school think that half of the people in the community show respect and half disregard it. Senior student Courtney Carvajal says, “Respect around diversity is very low.” Not everyone can see things through others perspectives so it is important to listen to them and see where they are coming from. You may not see the disrespect others see because of what you are exposed to.

A majority of the school understands that respect is a two way street. Mrs. Maria Pompano starts the year by saying, “My intention is to respect you, I expect the same from you.” Nearly all teachers expect respect from their students but according to students not all teachers show respect to their students. Senior student Kadence Sabatino thinks that students and teachers don't respect each other as much as they should. Students often see disrespect in classrooms such as people talking back to each other, not listening or being engaged and speaking out of turn. Kadence thinks that open communication can help everyone in the school build a safe and respectful environment. They say that, “Open communication is dialogue; just being able to talk freely without hate or judgment.”

Guidance counselor, Ms. Michele Madonna wants us to know that “respect is recognizing differences in beliefs and listening to everyone's voice.” Sometimes we can't understand where someone is coming from but being able to hear and acknowledge their voice goes a long way. She sees disrespect in the school but thinks it is important to learn where the disrespect is coming from and try to address it. Junior Auggie thinks that there is a good amount of respect present in the school although it is not where it could be.

There is disrespect in the school because there is disrespect everywhere we go. Acknowledging it is how we can move forward and build respect. As a community, Auggie says we “can’t give an overall bad grade to a few bad eggs” and “can’t judge a book by a few grammar mistakes.” Keep in mind that there are good people out there and be self conscious on how your actions can affect others.