Everything is relational, but you can’t build a relationship if they don’t respect you.
Fill in the blank: People gain respect in my community by ___________________.
In my community, you gain respect by not taking any crap. You gotta be strict, in charge, and you have to stick to your word. You can also be a little funny on the side.
In other communities, you gain respect by being rational and talking out decisions.
And in a community where I used to work, the easiest way to gain respect was to be good at sports.
Respectability feeds into many other aspects of the cultural iceberg, so ask yourself: Who do your students respect, and what is this person doing to gain respect?
Photo by Horváth Attila on Unsplash
How to Make School Better 