Hey, you! Listen up! Yeah, you! Who else would I be talking to? You know what? I can't stand people who won't be quiet in class. They act like whatever they are discussing is much more important than what their teacher is trying to get across to them. Don't get me wrong. I will be the first to admit that in some classes (usually English) I talk more than I should. But ever since I noticed how rude and disrespectful my peers have become, I have tried to be quiet and give my teachers the respect they deserve. Is not talking when others are talking a new concept for all of you? I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be. Isn't that one of the first things you learn in kindergarten - manners? How come kindergartners understand this facet of social etiquette, but high school students - including seniors - don't seem to "get" it? Another kindergarten rule, raising your hand before speaking, has somehow become a lost art. In most classroom situations, hand-raising is a necessity to keep the class in control. Because this simple gesture is becoming more and more obsolete, it's getting harder for teachers to keep the peace in class. I really can't stand the attitudes my loud classmates have. First they gossip to their friends while their teacher is talking. Their poor teacher tries and tries to get them to be quiet and asks them nicely, "Would you please be quiet?" But it doesn't work. So he says, "Please be quiet." The students keep talking - and sometimes get even louder. He tries a few more times. "You know what, you're being pretty rude. I asked you to be quiet, and you haven't done so yet." Finally, he resorts to rudeness. "Shut up!" Even THAT sometimes doesn't get the class quiet. Then, get this: the people who were talking all period get mad at the teacher. "Oh, my gosh! He, like, has SUCH an attitude problem. Where does HE get off telling ME to shut up?" So they go around whining to their friends that Mr. Whatever "has, like, totally got this attitude problem...." OK, wait a second. WHO has the attitude problem here? Who CREATED the problem? Who was rude first? Why don't you try putting yourselves in your teacher's shoes? He has to face 30 kids every period who do not always want to be there, and do not always want to learn. Instead, they would much rather talk. Does he get paid to let them talk? No. He gets paid to teach them (whether they learn is a different story). Can you see why, after a period or two of dealing with unruly, rowdy students who all act as if they should be PAID to attend school, a teacher would get a little cranky? How would you like to try telling people something important, and have them interrupt you, change the subject, talk about something else or just plain ignore you? Some of you out there might not care. (That just shows how apathetic and lazy our generation has become.) But teachers care. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone into teaching. Guess what, guys, they're not high school teachers because of the money. Believe me. They're here because they WANT to help you learn. I am sure by now I have lost most people who started reading this. After the first two paragraphs, they decided that they had better things to do with their time than read their peer's chastising. And some who are still reading are thinking, "That's not true. Mr. Whatever really DOES have an attitude problem." But that just proves my point: teenagers today do not listen. They do not listen to the truth, and they do not listen to what they should be listening to because they often misjudge what is more important in a situation. At the time, it may seem more important to talk about "the latest" in the soap opera of your life, but your teacher probably spent hours working on today's lesson plan. Your friends can wait till the end of the period to hear the latest gossip. Your teacher is there to teach you NOW, not when it's convenient for you. You may not want to listen, but you can at least respect him by not talking when he's talking. You don't have to learn what he's teaching you, but you do have to show some respect. If you do not respect your teacher, he will not respect you, and you will have to face the consequences. Unfortunately, teenagers do not want to be responsible for the consequences of their actions. They want to place the blame on somebody else. This is a classic teenage mentality - "I don't want to take the blame, so I'll blame someone else." I've tried talking to my classmates. I've tried explaining that the only reason Mr. Whatever yells at us to "shut up" is because we don't respect him - we don't even "shut up" after he tells us to. They tell me, "You can believe that if you want to." But when I've approached teachers about this problem, they say I've hit the nail right on the head. Until teenagers can accept the blame, they will continue placing the blame for their actions on others instead of learning from their mistakes.