Are You a Respectful Person?
(Take this self-evaluation and decide for yourself.)

True	False
		I treat people the way I want to be treated.
		I treat people with civility, courtesy, and dignity.
		I am sensitive to other people's feelings.
		I never insult people or make fun of them.
		I never ridicule or embarrass people.
		I never go along with prejudices or racist attitudes.
I think I am/am not a respectful person because: ___________________

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If you are using the video, ask questions 1-3 before viewing.

1. What does it feel like to be respected?

2. What does it feel like to be disrespected?

3. What role does respect play in your relationships with friends and family?

4. What are some respectful behaviors?

5. How important is respect in our lives? Why?

6. Do you consider yourself to be a respectful person? Why or why not? In what ways do you show respect to others?

7. One student in the video said that you don't have to like someone to respect him or her. Do you agree? Why or why not?

8. Describe one person you respect in your life. What does this person do to earn your respect?

9. Does a person have to earn respect, or do all people deserve it?

10. How do you show respect to others? Do you show respect to strangers differently than you do to friends?

11. Does it feel different to be disrespected by a stranger than to be disrespected by a friend? How?

12. What are the benefits of people treating each other with respect?

13. When was the last time you disrespected someone? What was the reason? How did you express this disrespect? What effect did your behavior have?

14. When was the last time someone disrespected you? What do you think was their reason for treating you in that way?

15. What are some reasons people show disrespect for others?

16. How do you feel when someone judges you without knowing you or giving you a chance?

17. How do you feel when someone you disagree with calls you a name?

18. In the video, several students talked about the role that "differences" play in how people respect or disrespect others. What role do you think differences play in our positive or negative attitudes toward other people?

19. Does respect play a role in harmonious race relations? Explain.

20. In the video, some of the students talked about the idea that, "It's one thing to respect a person, but another to respect that person's beliefs." What did they mean? Can you think of someone you know who has a different set of beliefs than you? How do you respond to different beliefs?

21. In the group discussion, Vanessa and Aidan talked about an incident with a water bottle in which Aidan accidentally cut Vanessa and didn't give her a real apology right away. Have you ever experienced something similar? What happened?

22. How do you feel when someone bumps into you in the hall and doesn't apologize? What does saying "I'm sorry" have to do with respect?

23. Agree or disagree: Courtesy and politeness are only for adults. Explain your answer.

24. One of the kids in the video said that if someone treats you with disrespect, you don't have to treat that person with respect. Do you agree? How should you respond to someone who is disrespectful of you?

25. How do you think respect affects your community, the world?

26. Does everyone deserve respect? Why or why not?

27. Think of the students from Georgia and their stream clean-up. Have you or your friends done something to help take care of the environment? What did you do? How did it make you feel?

28. What is the difference between respecting a person and respecting our planet?

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WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

1. Write down the name of someone in your life right now who you respect very much. Name two things that person does that cause you to respect him or her. Do you share either of those traits with that person?

2. Write about a time recently when you felt you didn't treat someone with respect. Describe the situation. Why did it happen? Was it the right thing to do? What were the consequences? How did it make the other person feel? Would you behave differently if you were given another chance? How, and why or why not? What did you learn from the experience?

3. Write about a time when you felt you were treated disrespectfully. What suggestions would you have for the other person to treat you better?

4. Write about something you see in your school, your neighborhood, or the world that shows a lack of respect. What would you do to change it?

5. Write a letter to someone in your life whom you respect. Tell why and how you respect him or her. Send the letter to that person.

6. One student in Benjy's blog talks about how people make assumptions that aren't necessarily true about other people. Write about a time when someone made an assumption about you, or you made an assumption about someone else. What does this situation have to do with respect?

7. Make a list of ways in which people show disrespect for Mother Earth. Now make another list of things we can do to show her our respect.

8. Describe three things you could do to be a more respectful person. How would that affect your relationships with others? How does it benefit you to be a respectful person?

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Other teaching guides in this series:

•  Trustworthiness •  Respect •  Responsibility

•  Fairness •  Caring •  Citizenship

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

1. Have students break into groups of three and share a time when they felt disrespected. What was the situation and how did it make them feel? Have students report back to the larger group on behalf of someone else in their group. The report consists of two parts: a)what was the situation and what emotions did it involve and b)what could you say or do to help that person either at the time or afterward?

2. As a large group, brainstorm issues or places you see in your community or the world that make you angry because they demonstrate a lack of respect. Then, in smaller groups, pick one issue per group and brainstorm some things you could do that would address that issue. If possible, follow through with some direct action to try to improve the situation.

3. Invite someone to come to your class who works with environmental issues. Have that person talk about how what they do deals with the issue of respect. After his or her visit, write a thank you letter explaining how you respect what that person is doing.

4. Bring in articles from newspapers or the Internet that deal with people respecting or disrespecting other people. Think of some actions that could be taken to improve the situation presented in the article.

5. In the video a Thai girl talks about how comforting it is to have other Thai people hold their hands together and bow to her. As a group, do research on the Internet to discover some ways different cultures have for treating people with respect. Present these to the class.

6. Brainstorm ways to make your school environment more respectful. Create a list of recommendations and place them in your school newspaper or on a poster. Compare your list with the "Are You a Respectful Person?" quiz above.

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