A Culture Of Respect

Yesterday, I completed Title IV training in order to teach this coming semester. I especially liked that the training mentioned the phrase “a culture of respect”, as it is defined as “where diversity is valued, where individuals feel that their contributions are recognized and acknowledged, and finally, a culture where expectations regarding behaviour are clearly articulated and modeled by leadership” (Source: yourworkplace.ca/workculture). The lack of a culture of respect is clearly what is missing in our society today.

In downtown urban cities across our country there is an uptick in gang violence. We are questioning, “how to reach today’s youth?” If we don’t teach our children to respect other people, then senseless gang shootings and looting of stores will continue to occur. It’s not the lack of gun control measures or playing violent rated video games that is cause young people to die.

The root causes of this rise in gang violence is the lack of people not respecting firearms, nor any concern for the lives of those around them. Today’s youth do not have good role models to look up to. They would rather be part of a gang than to be in school or work at a a job. Protecting their turf or passing an initiation is more important than the life of another human being. If we don’t value others, then they won’t either.

Society as a whole needs to step up to the plate, secure our homes, towns, and communities in which we live. If we see something, then say something. But, without tougher consequences gang members will continue to cause havoc on our city streets. By listening to today’s youth we can help them grow to become a respecter of others.