It was another incident of student being rude to the teacher.
The Straits Times reported that a secondary four student by the name of Jeremy Tan Wei Liang was sued in court by his Chinese teacher for using vulgar language in class with the intent to distress her. The teacher had confiscated his MP3 which he listened to during lesson. He confronted the teacher to get it back. When the teacher refused, he used abusive words on her and even rummaged through her bag to try to find his player.
After reading this article，I was totally appalled. Teenagers nowadays are so disrespectful for their teachers. They seem to treat teachers not as their higher authority, but as employees paid to be at their service. This incident, however,is not a lone case. The recent reports of students taking upskirt photos of female teachers and even physically abusing them have clearly shown that the status of teachers in students’hearts have dropped to a bottom low. And it is a pity that the last place for teachers to voice their plights and defend for their rights is actually the court of law.
In the past, the situation was completely different. Teachers are held in high regard by all the students. When teachers mete out punishments, students would meekly accept them as they know clearly that they have done something wrong.
The declining level of respect for teachers is really worrying. It reflects the rebellious nature of most teenagers nowadays. They are deliberately flaunting the rules and regulations set by the higher authority, without considering the consequences of their actions, clearly demonstrating the attitude of “I don’t care”.
This leads me to my next question. Why then are teenagers behaving in this manner? I feel that there are many causes to this problem. First is the lack of parental education. Scientists have shown that family education has the most influence on a child’s future life. However, most Singaporean parents are working adults, and juggling between work and family is already enough for them to cope with, let along spending time with their child and educating them. Thus, many basic values like respect for others are not inculcated in them from a young age. The media also plays a significant role in this issue. With movies, drama series and advertisement showing scenes of violence, it is no wonder that the young, impressionable minds of teenagers are being influenced by these inappropriate signals. Lastly, the fault also lies with the teenagers themselves. Teenagers nowadays are becoming more individualistic, eager to show off their distinct personalities. Therefore, by behaving rudely to the teachers or even physically abusing them, they feel that it is the way to differentiate themselves from the crowd and to gain attention from the student population.
This article offers us deeper insight into the becoming of teenagers nowadays. Why is the
Reference:
-Smith, David (2008). Parenting style linked to Teenage Delinquency Rates. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from Society Today Web site:
-Lauhari, Nurudin (2007). 2 boys taking upskirt photo of female teacher. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from A mind of my own Web site: http://mymind.escrito.info/2008/02/04/2-boys-take-upskirt-photo-of-female-teacher/
