Thursday, December 12, 2013

The Level of Respect From Child To Adult has Changed.

I recently responded to a Thread on a Band forum   Regarding  Band Directors and their relationship with the students.  Basically he took note that he’s  sees a lot of students hanging with their band directors, he felt that It is Strange & makes the director look like a Pedophile.

For the most part, That’s a topic many of these guys will not touch. So on my part I decided to take a General approach, Because Its not only Band directors, but Other Teachers, Professionals or adults in general who typically have a friendship with a Grade School aged Child.  That relationship isn’t always a bad thing. but IMO it does defy some Professional codes of Ethics.

As a child, we were taught to not get in adults business & to respect adults and or authority. to be polite, and all of the things that come with transitioning from a child to adulthood.  Every adult was respected to the likes of our parents. There was an understanding that the child and the Adult were not on the same level socially nor even professionally. and  every age group or even occupation  Or Social Status, changes how a person is perceived, respected & addressed in a public situation.

Social Networking has changed the Landscape of Interactivity  between the Child & Adult.People are seen as "points of contact"   Theirs no separation between the Adult and the Child, therefore the respect level is not there. Your life status become less important unless you stress it yourself.

Now Days Teachers are connected to their students on Facebook. Instagram and Twitter, and they get to see the teacher engage in things that don't reflect their profession. These Students use those domains as a means to interact with the teacher as a Friend, rather than as a Professional Relationship.   

We all are Human, but at the end of the day, There is a cut off point between The Child & The Adult.  My Mother is My Mother, I will not address her the way that I address my friends. 

And just to go back to THe Directors. I used to sometimes catch rides with my directors in High School and there was absolutely no "Conversation" going on because I didn't see the director as my friend. Although My directors were real cool I never once got Out of line or out of "Student mode" with them when i was a student. Because I understood that their personal life was not equal to mine.

Social Network has Fused that, which means The Level of respect from Child to Adult has been thrown out the window,  There has to be a cut off point to keep Things Professional.

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