It is no secret that in order to create a cohesive and happy student body at any educational facility, the students must respect their teachers, and teachers must also respect their students. But does Terra Linda High School harbor an environment where both teachers and students can feel respected, and so, educationally thrive? The answer may be yes for some, but for others the answer is a most definite no. Some people might even go as far to say that the way some teachers treat students would constitute being fired in any other professional setting. Respect must go both ways. It is not acceptable for teachers to yell at and possibly humiliate their students in front of other classmates, just as yelling at a co-worker at a business meeting would be unacceptable. With cases of depression in teenagers rising, a teacher’s actions can also transcend into a student’s personal life, which is an aspect of life that educators of any kind should not negatively influence at all.   

Teachers have a much different set of rules in terms of how they treat their students.  Because of the protection that teachers’ unions provide, it is incredibly difficult to sanction teachers for their actions. This gives teachers quite a bit of leniency regarding their actions with students. Respect can also extend to the quality of an education the teacher is providing. It is nearly impossible for both parent or student feedback on a teacher’s performance to make a sizable change.

Sophomore Morgan Denker says that “teachers should try to be more empathetic with students’ lives” and that some “the [teachers] yell a lot.” It is one thing to yell, but another to make a student feel uncomfortable or to impede their learning process. An anonymous TL student says that “when teachers yell a lot, it makes it really hard to ask questions,”  adding that “it’s kinda scary actually.” This student also raised the problem of teachers being overly condescending and making students feel like “second class citizens.” Another anonymous student said that teachers sometimes “make jokes or gestures that can make me feel bad about myself… and I spend my time feeling embarrassed instead of being a productive student.” The behavior of teachers in a classroom setting has a great effect on a student’s learning ability, and the abusive behaviors certainly do not cultivate an environment at which students can grow and prosper.