In the beginning … there were one room school houses, with one teacher and many students of all levels, and ages. The teacher was responsible to instruct the children at least the basics: reading, writing, & arithmetic (“the 3 R’s”). Everyone knew each other, and teachers & parents worked together in the community to give the child as well-rounded an education as possible.
Then, the industrial revolution came along. Big business emerged, and big cities along with them. Parents might know their children’s teachers, or not; yet still, in the classroom, teachers were respected. They had something that every child needed to be a success—knowledge. It was clear to the kids what behaviour was accepted and what wasn’t, and if they chose the unacceptable, there was discipline. The teacher was an authority figure, and a source of information. Respect was built into the classroom environment.
Since the 1980’s, the United Kingdom has been phasing out any type of harsh discipline in the classroom. This has slowly changed the status of respect that teachers automatically receive from their students. Students could still get some type of discipline at home, but the tight authoritarian hold in the classroom was loosened forever.
Without a mere doubt, the most drastic change of all for the teachers & students in the classroom, has been the dawn of internet communication in the 21st century, where anything and everything can be found at the touch of the fingers. Students not having to depend on teachers to get an education have changed the need for teachers to actually earn respect from the students. Teachers are now encouraged to make friends with their students, & get online with them to find answers & guide their way. Teachers no longer need to be the know-all-tell-all authority figures of the past.