Junior Kelsie Blocker says she has been disrespected by teachers. “They have agreed to help me after school and then failed to stay after class because they ‘forgot‘, made fun of my work in front of the class and made fun of my hair, allowed racist remarks to happen during class and refused to say anything, and I see things happen to other students, as well.”

Sound familiar?  Many other students notice things, too. Kellyn Brooks, also a junior, thinks it’s disrespectful for the teachers to complain about having to grade everything. She says that, it‘s “like we’re supposed to feel bad or something.” Other students have also agreed that they shouldn’t give “busy work” if they are just going to whine about it.

In most discussions, certain teachers are picked out for being disrespectful more than others. Amanda Matherson, a newly home schooled sophomore, and Kellyn agreed that it’s awful when teachers shove their behinds in everyone’s faces (Amanda laughs because teachers are part of the reason she is home schooled now). Sometimes they can’t help it, but they should try to avoid it. Amanda says that they do it “especially when they’re explaining something to the student next to you.”

Austin Benjamin, sophomore, said that some teachers have been extremely disrespectful when dealing with the ID policy. “My friend was putting on his ID in fifth period and he was told to go get a temporary even after he put his on,” Austin recalled.

Many students wish that teachers would understand that after gym, students may forget and then remember as they get into their next class. They are hard to notice sometimes when they are around your neck.

“Teachers should trust students more,” believes sophomore Alicia Cook. She was unfairly accused of skipping when she had a pass to leave early.

However, students can’t put all the blame on teachers. Student can be rude and nasty the same way teachers can be. Teachers should uphold a professional attitude, but students often drive them to be impolite.

“One on one, most students are respectful, but they act out around friends,” says Government teacher Paul Vance.

He says that when he approaches a student directly, they are courteous to him. In his classes, “the majority of students are very respectful, but some are disrespectful that get a lot of attention and spoils it for others.”

Jamie Powell agrees with Mr. Vance.  She is a new teacher, which would cause students to want to be discourteous to her because they don’t believe she understands the minds of students yet. However, Mrs. Powell hasn’t noticed many disrespectful actions. “In large groups, talking can get out of hand, but it’s not malicious.” She says, “multiple students talk while I’m talking and that’s disrespectful.” Mrs. Powell also claims that she is one of the lucky teachers. “I get to deal with good kids,” she laughed.

Some teachers may not notice students being disrespectful, but it definitely happens. In just the same way, however, it’s also a definite that teachers disrespect students.
It isn’t fair of the teachers to ask us to respect them when they don’t always respect us. Kelsie says that “respect is a necessity for any adult when dealing with young people, and if the adult is acting like a child, then, well, that’s what they’ll be treated like!”

Billy Joe and Mary Sue Advice
I am having some trouble with my teachers and their respect for me. What do I need to do?
-Not Respected
Well, Not Respected, the only way to really gain the trust of an adult, and especially a teacher, is to respect them. Try saying yes ma’m, no ma’m, and being quiet and attentive in class. The more you respect your teachers, the more likely they are to respect you back. It may take a while to earn it, but eventually you will see a change.

One of my teachers talks while we are taking quizzes and tests and I don’t want to be rude but she really needs to shut up!
-Talky Teacher
The best advice we can give you is to politely raise your hand next time she talks during your quiz or test and ask her to stop. After one attempt, encourage other students to raise their hands and ask her to stop talking as well. If she doesn’t stop then, take the problem up with administration; they are really the only people who have control over the teachers.

Why can’t we wear what we want, I understand we need a dress code, but it’s to the point where we can’t express ourselves.
-Dress Code Crisis
Well, the dress code is in place for many reasons. And if you really understand that we need one, then you’ll realize that the dress code keeps people from being ridiculous. There are a few ignorant people who would be given and inch and take a mile when it comes to dress code. If they’re given a small window and are allowed to wear short shorts, then somebody will where booty shorts that let their “butt cheeks” hang out. Because of these ignorant people, all of us are restricted to a certain dress. The option of expressing yourself is not available for discussion because some people could claim that showing their cleavage to everyone is “expressing themselves.” The idea of free expression is so broad and general, that it is easier on administration to give us all general dress restrictions to eliminate the problems all together. Eventually, the style will evolve and the dress code will become more of a joke than a code. So don’t worry, the dress code will change; give it time. Check out some of the dress code articles on TYJNA.COM for more information on this topic.

Well, my boyfriend and I have dated for about a year and we have had some really good times. He and I love each other a lot but sometimes he gets angry with me and hurts my feelings. I don’t want it to be ok for him to do that, but I don’t want to break up with him. What should I do?
-Jaded Girlfriend
If he truly loves you, it sounds like he does, he’ll take the time to sit down with you and discuss what hurts your feelings. When you get the time to talk about it, tell him exactly what it is that he does to hurt you and tell him that it bothers you. He should respect your opinion and make a valid effort to change the things that hurt you. If he just gets mad that about what you’re telling him, then maybe it would be better if you just weren’t with him. If a guy doesn’t respect you enough to listen to your feelings and change himself to better your relationship, he isn’t worth it. There is a saying, “It’s better to leave the broken pieces of a relationship broken, than to hurt yourself trying to put it back together.” If you aren’t truly happy anymore, get out of the relationship now, before it’s too late. If you think he’s willing to change and the good far out-weighs the bad, then stay with him and work together to make the best of your love.

What should I do if I want to increase my SAT scores, but I can’t afford to go to special classes?
-Sucky Scores
If you can’t afford special classes, maybe you could buy the SAT practice books from local book stores. If you still don’t want to or can’t spend the money on those, try to find someone who has really high SAT scores and ask them to tutor you. The College Board offers online SAT practice tests that you can print and do yourself. If you don’t want to do it alone, take the tests with a group of students in your similar situation.

This might not sound bad to some of you. Who wouldn’t want five days vacation from work? The problem is that they aren’t getting paid and even if teachers want to come in and work in their classrooms without pay on these days, they can’t. Essentially, all Aiken County teachers are being given 5 days of unpaid “vacation.”

The building will be completely shut down for the furlough days in order to conserve resources. The days teachers will be furloughed were used for parent-teacher conferences and time for teachers to catch up on grading and planning.

All of these actions are being done in the name of budget cuts. Aiken County is in debt so far over their heads that they had to cut money in multiple places (including the new agendas). While these furloughs might make sense to some, many of our teachers still aren’t happy.

While talking to teachers about their opinions on the furlough, all wished to remain anonymous.

When asked how she felt about the furlough, one teacher said she felt it was “necessary, but aggravating.”

Her biggest complaint was that she had to do “the same amount of work in less time with no pay.”

Another teacher says that her biggest grievance about the furlough was that she “is going to have to do more work at home in order not to penalize the students.”

Some might ask what is more important, keeping within a budget or making sure that our teachers have time to prepare lessons. This question has been answered with actions by the Aiken County Board of Education. Unfortunately, the Aiken County Board of Education could not be reached for comment about the furlough days despite repeated attempts.

The furlough will not only affect the teachers, it will affect their families. “We will have to watch our money more” says one teacher.

Ironically, one teacher’s pay cut will affect her kid’s education. “I have one kid in college and one about to be in college.”

“The money doesn’t make me as mad as the fact that we can’t even come in the building; if I wanted to work on my lesson plans or do things in my room I can’t” says a teacher. Another teacher is especially angry about the fact that they weren’t “consulted about the days.”

While most teachers are angry about the furlough, there are some are looking for the bight side of the situation. “I’ll enjoy the three-day weekends and more time with my daughter” says a teacher.

“It won’t affect me, luckily my husband makes decent money, if we had to live off my pay check we would be in the poor house anyways” laughs another teacher.

The furlough is not reason enough for most teachers to leave Aiken County. One teacher states “if I didn’t want to come to work I wouldn’t.” One teacher says, however, that leaving Aiken County is “a possibility.”