Let's Try Treating Students with Respect

A Short, True Story

When I was doing my teacher training I was on a placement in a school. I was in the prep room in the science department discussing a lesson I had just delivered. I was speaking to the host teacher.

I said that Student A had had a particularly good lesson and that she was making great progress.

The host teacher paused, looked at me and asked who I was talking about.

I described the young lady and the more experienced teacher who was supposed to be guiding and shaping me as well as all her students said...

"Oh him, he was gay last term."

I was left feeling quite shocked. Quite numb, actually. I mean, the student wasn't there. I had used the name and gender the student preferred; the other teacher had been needlessly spiteful in a closed environment.

Sometime I think of myself as being old, stuck in my ways, bald, grey, too into geeky stuff. Then I meet someone so vindictive and ten years my junior.

I don't what it means. I do know that I believe that if one expects to be respected that it is a two way street.

I don't know why that teacher spoke in that way but I didn't like it. It was so callous.

(Picture for illustrative purposes - Mr Bronson would NEVER deliberately mis-gender a student)