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Should Pupils Stand Up When A Teacher Enters The Classroom?

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Should Pupils Stand When A Teacher Enters The Room?

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/20/pupils-should-stand-up-teachers-classroom-david-cameron_n_1440123.html

The above is one of the examples of the story that has come up.

So what do you think?

Some people say that expecting pupils to stand up when a teacher enters the room promotes respect and good behaviour and focuses attention on the teacher, hence stopping the chatter.

Others say it is entirely unrealistic, that it will disrupt lessons and whenever a teacher enters the room the class will have to be settled again. They also say that it won't work because most of the time the class line up outside so the teacher is already there when they sit down.

My personal view is that pupils should be expected to stand up. We had to at my school and it was a sign of respect - nobody talked and everyone quickly settled back to their work because that was what was expected of us. However it worked two ways - teachers didn't come into the classroom unless they were teaching us, it was an emergency or it was the headmistress, so there weren't many disruptions.
we also had a policy of greeting teachers if we met them in the corridor - it was surprising how much friendlier everyone was when you just said 'good morning' and made a little eye contact!

Do you think this would work in your school or is it just ridiculous?

EDIT: how about other things that happen in the classroom, like pupils eating, on their phones, or chatting? how about answering back? how far should teachers be able to go to establish respect in their lesson?
Would making classrooms more formal help? Where is the line between formality/respect and degrading?

I think we really need mutual respect - pupils should have to show respect, but the teachers should too. How could they do that without undermining their authority?

(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1

moopmeen

Ridiculous... can't imagine it :rolleyes:

Reply 2

hooooover

We used to have to do it - it's hardly a massive effort and I guess it's just polite. And in the middle of a lesson how many teachers are realistically going to randomly walk in?!

Reply 3

Pandabär

We did it up until about year 8...after that the teachers gave up.

Reply 4

Martyn*

I don't see the harm in pupils respecting their teachers, although the practice of getting pupils to stand up when the teacher enters the room sounds dated. Perhaps we have to instill a little respect in children, because they can often be very unruly, and we know about their cruelty already. We shouldn't be frightened of instilling respect so as long as it doesn't become oppressive to the child, and so as long as the teacher doesn't derive some sort of sadistic pleasure from it.

Reply 5

venenecinema

We did it at my school, wasn't really a problem. It took about 5 seconds and didn't disrupt the lesson.

Reply 6

. . .

Yes. It shows respect.

Reply 7

tazarooni89

I've been to two schools, one where we had to stand up when teachers entered, and one where we didn't.
Personally I don't think it makes the slightest bit of difference.

Reply 8

. . .

Original post by Pandabär

We did it up until about year 8...after that the teachers gave up.

What do you mean gave up? We did it up until about sixth form when the teachers much more lax and it didn't really matter, I don't think they gave up it just created a much more friendly atmosphere.

Reply 9

ElfManiac

No, I think students are quite capable of showing respect to the teacher without standing up, and standing up when told to is not necessarily a sign of respect for the teacher but just a convention.

Reply 10

lil-mazie

My teacher makes us say Good morning in my first lesson and she tells us to say 'and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!' I pretty sure standing up for 2 measly seconds won't kill you on the other hand it depends on the teacher i.e. if there nice or you hate them but I would never do it for the head she's such a lazy ****

Reply 11

Dragonfly07

We used to do it when we were kids. I hated it and I felt degraded. I've been to many schools and all the ones I went to that expected us to stand up for teachers were very much against questioning of authority of any kind. Kids shouldn't be taught to respect people automatically simply because they hold a position superior to them.

Reply 12

Evolutionism

I support student's standing up when teachers enter the classroom not only because its polite but it brings back some degree of formality in the classroom. From my experience (i'm sixteen), students have begun treating the classroom like their home; they eat in it, some ridiculous people walk around without shoes on and you see people slouching or falling asleep, talking is out of the question when the teacher is at the front teaching. In fact in East Asia the young have responsibilities to the elderly like you have to pour tea to your elders with both hands and at the dinner table you have to call all your elders individually. In South Korea people have to do 90-degree bows, standing up is nothing compared to that.

Reply 13

Americaniamh

Original post by canŵio

Do you think this would work in your school or is it just ridiculous?

I think it might work for some students, but personally, this would make me a bit uncomfortable/fearful of my teachers (don't judge me - I'm a wimp) and, therefore, I'd be less likely to ask for help. :tongue:

I don't like being too friendly with teachers but standing up is putting on airs a little too much once you get to sixth form/late high school.

Reply 14

concubine

No. Pointless. Dickhead kids will still be dicks.

Reply 15

rmpr97

A sign of respect is listening to them, behaving in their lesson.

Standing up to someone is a submission that they're better than you. No-one should have to stand up to someone else, no-one's better than me, and I'm not better than them.

And plus, how disruptive would that be? Especially during exam period where everything is rush rush and teachers have to go see eachother we'd be standing left right and center.

Reply 16

Starrstruck

They're teachers, not royalty. I agree with rmpr97, there are more practical ways to show your respect.

Reply 17

Triq6

I'm an asian from asia and we do it cause we bawse.

Reply 18

. . .

Original post by rmpr97

And plus, how disruptive would that be? Especially during exam period where everything is rush rush and teachers have to go see eachother we'd be standing left right and center.