FREE ESSAY ON RESPECTING ELDERS

RESPECTING ELDERS

(FATHER): Billy! Billy!
(BILLY): What do you want?
(FATHER): Make your bed and clean your room, all right?
(BILLY): All right. I'll do it later. Just don't nag me about it.
15 MINUTES LATER
(FATHER): Billy, did you finish everything?
(BILLY): NO! I don't want to do it ! (muttering under the breath) Do it yourself.
Doesn't this sound familiar? Billy illustrates a disturbing trend popular in the youth of
today's society: 
disrespecting elders. The main victims of this unfortunate situation are the parents and
teachers. This 
problem was first blamed on adolescence; but lately it has been getting out-of-control.,
alarming many. In 
our efforts to strive towards a better age of technology and a better tomorrow, we are
losing some of our 
basic principles of foundation, including respect for elders. 
The first major victim is the parent: the person who gives us the gift of life. If
nothing else, one 
should respect the parent for that , for without that, we wouldn't be on this earth.
Islam, Christianity, 
Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism teach that the parent is always to be
respected, 
deserving the utmost amount, even if he is of another faith or religion. Whether it's
Honor thy father and 
thy mother or from holy Islamic scriptures, the message is still clear and simple: no
arguing, no talking 
back, and no being an insubordinate smart aleck. 
The other victim is the teacher. Just recently, the state of Louisiana submitted a
proposition to the 
state's school districts, which would force a student to address his teacher as 'Sir' or
'Ma'am.' Is it just me, 
or doesn't that seem like a common courtesy? Too many students don't realize how
important, how truly 
beneficial education is, and what a valuable opportunity our teachers are giving us.
Instead of realizing it, 
we choose to quibble over trivial matter. Why just this past week, I witnessed an
escalating disagreement 
between a teacher and a student (pause) refusing to (disgustedly) tuck in his shirt!
There was no way she 
was going to get him to tuck in his shirt, much less thank her for the privilege. Some
kids just don't get it! 
We are doing ourselves a huge favor by giving that teacher the opportunity to plant the
seed of everlasting 
knowledge. For such a significant, lifelong gift as education, the least we should do is
to give that teacher 
the respect she deserves. Furthermore, our kids' views of an exceptional teacher are
highly distorted. The 
question to be asked is What is a teacher, anyway? Better yet, What is an exceptional
teacher? In other 
countries, such as Japan and China, an instructor need not be popular or interesting as
long as he is 
informative and the students learn, and yet he'll still receive the highest regard. Being
respectful is just part 
of our responsibilities that we have as students. 
In retrospect, with every succeeding generation of children in our communities, there
seems to be 
a diminishing amount of respect being given by them to their adults, especially their
parents and teachers. 
We must instill these basic principles and moral obligations at young ages before time
runs out. 
Otherwise, the lack of respect will still be causing disgust and disappointment as usual.
Billy could always 
say, No sir, not yet. It will be finished soon, though. (From now on, emphasize words
written 
differently, i.e. italics, caps) Today's youth can still wake up and realize that respect
is a necessary way of 
life today, NOT a favor. The Louisiana laws and possible further measures may not be the
solution, but 
they just might be (pause) a step (pause) in the right direction.