martes, 7 de mayo de 2013

Talking to a child

A little girl is sitting in the school hall waiting for someone. She looks shy, and a bit nervous, but she handles all these feelings quite well. She is short and thin, and around 6 or 7 years old. She has long dark hair, and her skin is quite pale. Her big brown eyes stand out on her face. She is wearing what seems to be the school's uniform, and she is carrying a bag on her shoulder.
After a while, a young woman approached her. The woman was probably one of the teachers at the school and she came to welcome the new student.
    -Hello! You must be Sarah. I am Laura, and I am going to be one of your teachers here.
    -Hello!
    -I have been told that you do not speak Spanish. Is that right?
    -Yes, I am so sorry.
    -Do not worry. You will learn Spanish soon, we are here to help you. And you can help us with our    English. I am afraid it is quite rusty.
    -Thank you! I will try to learn as quickly as possible. And your English is quite good, I understand you very well, and I am very happy to have someone to talk to.
    -Ok, then. Are you ready to meet your classmates?
    -Yes, but I am very nervous.
    -There is no reason to be worried. They are looking forward to know you. They even have been asking things to the English teacher in order to be able to talk to you. I think you will get along very well.
    -Ok, I feel a bit better now. We can go.
    -Come on, then. This way.

Respect

This single word could be the solution to most of the problems there are in the world nowadays. If we unwrap the full meaning of this word, we will find that it is not just a word, it reflects a bunch of human behaviors that mostly differentiates us from animals. Respect is not about being politically correct, or trying to keep your bad behavior hidden, or not hurting people that you know. Respect is to be considerate of others, to care about other people. It is about avoiding to hurt others even if you have never met them, and it is about really trying to behave the best you can, considering other people's feelings and situation. This is what comes to my mind right now, but I am completely sure that I am missing something. Anyway, I think it is enough to make my point. Taking into account my previous definition of respect:
  • Do you think that politicians respect their voters?
  • Do you think that banks respect their clients?
  • Do you think that someone that beats his wife respects her, or loves her?
  • Do you think that a teenager that is bullying a classmate is respectful?
  • Do you think that someone who doesn't pay taxes having millions respects others who pay?
  • Do you think that a football player that fakes a foul respects his opponents and their supporters?
  • Do you think that someone that made a mistake and avoids to pay for it respects someone?
  • Do you think that a driver who parks his car in a place reserved for disabled people respects them?
  • ...
In my humble opinion, nowadays people mistakenly confuse respect with other things like admiration, envy, fear, etc. Therefore, politicians and banks "respect" you if you are a powerful person, or you have a lot of money because they can get some benefit from you. In the same way, an abuser will "respect" you if you are stronger than him or her, but just because he or she is afraid of you. And most people "respect" the rules, because if don't, they would be punished in some way. I am sure that true respect will solve a lot of problems in our world, but my doubt is how to teach respect? I consider that the best way is giving example. What do you think?