STUDENTS showing disrespect towards teachers has, unfortunately, become quite common these days. The students speak with insolence and act with arrogance without any sense of compunction on their part.

The students of today do not seem to want to attend school or university with the intention of seeking knowledge. They do not even spare a moment’s thought before defying simple requests for opening up their books, and blatantly remain engaged in gossiping with classmates.

When asked a question in the class, they pretend being absent-minded. They put forward lame excuses for shirking homework or not submitting assignments on time. Often the banter between a teacher and a student turns acrimonious, resulting in the further distancing of the teacher from the students. The sphere of influence keeps shrinking all the time.

The reasons behind students’ insolence are varied and nebulous. Broadly speaking, they can be grouped under three rubrics: parents, teachers and the media.

Parents’ dismissive attitude towards teachers and education instil impertinence in their children. At home when children complain against teachers, and parents unquestioningly support them, it also evokes a sense of insubordination in students. When parents themselves talk ill of teachers, their children will definitely deem it kosher to do the same.

All this is not to say that teachers themselves are blameless in all cases. Incompetent teachers, too, are a big part of the problem. These days, teachers think it is okay to make fun of the not-so-brilliant students in the class. They openly ridicule them for their actual or perceived transgressions. It is no surprise then that these students resort to insolence as a tool of self-assertion and to assuage the bruises to their self-respect. When teachers are not focussed on students’ betterment, they are faced with disobedience and insolence.

For teachers, tolerance is sine qua non for their profession. They should be careful and not allow banter to turn bitter and slide into satire or ridicule. Bullying students is always counterproductive as students rather respond positively to compassion and understanding.

Another factor that plays a part in the friction between teachers and students is generation gap. Both parties get in a cycle of asserting their supremacy in the class, turning classroom discussions into a contest of egos compared to a space for acceptance and sharing of ideas and thoughts.

On the other hand, popular culture, as shown on television and other media, also affects the young students’ minds. Popular culture depicts celebrities glorifying disrespect and lack of classroom etiquettes, imparting the wrong message.

Unfortunately, such values are also inculcated through our faulty education system that has enabled the commercialisation of education and allowed it to become an uneven playing field. When students are not taken to task for their actions and behaviour merely because the institution feels they might lose a source of revenue, it emboldens the students’ negative habits, which, in turn, leads to bad behaviour. Doing so also promotes bullying and further squeezing of space for other, more deserving students.

Parents, teachers and media should all do their respective bits by being careful about their intended and unintended interaction with today’s youth. This will stem the tide of insolence among the latter. If not checked, this ill-placed ‘know-it-allism’ might risk producing a generation that is lost to everyone, including the nation, but themselves!

M. Nadeem Nadir
Kasur

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2022