DISRESPECT. Disrespect not unfrequently results in sauciness, contradictions, flippant remarks, answers with no consideration of the one answered, and, finally, no consideration of age or sex. Where there is disrespect those in charge, not the children, are to blame. First, and foremost, parents and, in some cases, governesses. (There is in this volume a chapter, “The Governess”). The teacher has my sympathy. Seldom is she to blame. What can she do in dealing with “bold,” ill-raised children? The general impression today is that thousands of our best teachers are going into other work because of finance.
It is true that our teachers are underpaid, but this does not tell the whole story. Any number of teachers are leaving their profession because they will not endure what the parents take from the children, disrespect and disobedience. Listen to the school children after school is dismissed. Who does not love to hear those ringing notes of childish glee? But, in these days you will hear more, you will see more. You will hear flippant remarks, you will be crowded off of the sidewalk, and if you are in your car your “heart will be in your mouth,” by reason of the last moment defiance which you will experience, and after you have brought your car to a stop you will be jeered. The picture is not overdrawn. It is typical of thousands of children, not from the slums, but from some of our best American homes. Little wonder there is a dearth, not of teachers, but of young women who will teach and endure.