Nothing irritates me more than when a classmate isn’t respectful to our school staff and fellow students.
Whether it’s being rude to teachers, stopping in the middle of the hallway when there are countless people trying to just go with the flow of traffic, or not cleaning up after lunch, there is always someone being inconsiderate.
For some reason, students tend to think that misbehaving makes them “cooler.” Some of them are too afraid to obey the rules for fear their friends will make fun of them.
However, I think the number of those who find you a nuisance will be much higher than those who find you funny or cool.
Having basic manners is so important, and that applies both in and outside of school.
You gain more respect from staff and students and it prepares you for future jobs. Not to mention, you won’t miss out on privilege-based opportunities due to your disobedience.
One simple gesture every student could do each day is to simply clean up after themselves, especially in the cafeteria where your mouth has been on everything.
No one else wants to touch your trash!
In the mornings after breakfast, every table is littered with garbage. It’s a bad look for our school, it’s a bad look for our cafeteria, and it’s most definitely a bad look for those who litter their
surroundings.
If you can only hold a few items, ask for help. If your friends aren’t cleaning up but you are too scared to tell them to toss their trash, do it for them; it will make you a bigger and better person for doing something selfless.
Second, stop clogging up the hallways by stopping and disrupting the flow of traffic.
In a school of over 1,700 students, we already have enough trouble getting from one location to another!
Just please do us all a favor: Walk faster! I promise you will see your friends and significant others again.
It’s hard for everyone to get to class when they are stuck behind lingering students. You can’t even pass them because they take up the entire hallway.
Try to walk a little faster or find a route that takes a little longer so you can still walk and talk.
Which leads me to my third point – stay on your side! Would you drive on the wrong side of the road? Hopefully, the answer is no, so why walk on the wrong side of the hall?
Having to move over or stop so you can walk through the left side slows down the flow of traffic. Stick as close to the wall as you can.
I know it’s a small space, but with some speed and patience, it’ll be over quickly. Stay on the right side so you stay on our good sides.
Finally, respect our staff. It’s so frustrating when I want to get my work done but the teachers are constantly stopping because you can’t behave! Throwing papers at other students because you find it humorous, making fun of the teacher, or making annoying comments is childish.
It distracts other students when they are trying to learn. If you see your friends doing these things, don’t follow their lead. Eventually, they’ll see no one is reacting, get bored and stop.
Our teachers can only do so much in 45 minutes. Their job isn’t to tell you constantly to stop acting up. They want to help and teach you, not reprimand you.
The same goes for our administration. They have to monitor every student in our school and make sure it’s all in order. Without them, we wouldn’t have a smooth-running school.
They don’t have time to focus on minuscule things that shouldn’t be happening when there are bigger problems to solve. So we need to respect them.
The lunch lines are a problem, too. The cafeteria staff works very hard to ensure we have enough food and time to eat.
When you don’t thank them, or make them guess what you want, it shows a lack of gratitude.
It also slows the line down when they have to ask you for each food you may or may not want.
Restaurants don’t read off the whole menu, so why should the cafeteria workers? Be clear about what you want, say please and thank you, and even smile at them!
It’s so easy to follow the rules and have respect for those around you. If one person can do it, we all can. It doesn’t make you look cool when you disobey and fool around. Having basic manners is an important life skill and the rest of our school will thank you.
