Respect

-- By MariaLaGumina - 19 Feb 2016

Respect Question Presented: How important is respect?

Throughout our discussions in class we have often circled back to the premise that being non-conformist is what is best for us as law students. After some hesitation I can see the benefits of not following the herd or sticking to the status quo but as I turned over this thesis and how it applies to me as a law student practically I kept coming across the same issue. The main stage to avoid the status quo is clearly in class, however every example we have discussed in our class seems to lack one thing, respect for the Professor. If I were to start cracking jokes in my Constitutional Law class it may at first seem like some levity but as I continued to waste time it would increasingly seem like I was disrespecting the Professor, and even my fellow students.

This premise then got me thinking about the other side of the argument, that is do these people deserve my respect. I believe that everyone deserves respect but if you subscribe to the definition of respect as a feeling of deep admiration for someone that is a result of their qualities then some may say that you have to earn respect. Then the question becomes “Have my Law professors earned my respect?” I believe that most people who go to the institution of Law School, especially Columbia, have trust in that institution and so trust the professors that work there to have earned their respect through their work and experiences. Thus, we should respect them as the experts in their field and the experts on how to teach us about their field. However, discussions that we have had in class have shown that Law School Professors are maybe not the most expert on how to teach.

This gets to an issue of where respect should come from. The two sources in my opinion are earned respect and inherent respect. In an ideal world all respect would be earned and warranted but more often than not inherent respect is more common. Particularly at Law School the respect is inherent, especially at a place that is referred to as an ‘institution’ more regularly than as a ‘school’. This inherent respect can cause us to not give a second thought to the merit of the respect that we give to the members of this ‘institution’. If we were to give a second thought to the merit of the respect then we would be leaning towards the view of earned respect as the pinnacle of respect.

Once we decide that respect should not be inherent we get into the issue of accepting that some Professors have not earned respect and so we do not need to give deference to them. Practically this poses a major problem. If Professors do not get respect then the class would devolve into a major time wasting session. Also, most Professors, especially here at Columbia, have a high regard of themselves and would not tolerate disrespect. The examples in class have laid out situations where the non-conformist behavior had happy endings, such as being hired as a research assistant, however it is just as plausible that the Professor would give you a C and effectively cut off many opportunities for employment in the future. Even if good grades are not thought of as important to a student, the embarrassment from being berated in front of his or her peers could also be a negative outcome from breaking the mold in the wrong way. The benefits of respecting your Professor may seem small in that the main benefit is keeping things the same and not upsetting the balance. But I think there are additional benefits such as mutual respect between the Professor and student and also the respect of your peers in not insulting someone who has direct control over their job prospects. Even setting aside job prospects, mutual respect with a Professor could lead to future partnerships and even a potential mentoring relationship.

On the other hand, if we give respect to those Professors who have not earned it, then we are condoning their habits. They will continue to not merit any admiration and we will continue to not learn and things will never change. We would forever be stuck in a rut because of the fear of disrespecting someone who seems intimidating and superior to us. Because of this I think sometimes going against the norm, which may be disrespectful, is necessary. However, knowing that it may be construed as disrespectful shows the large risk that these actions require. The size of the risk means that not many people will take it but perhaps there is another way to not conform that avoids this risk.

I think that there is an answer in the concept of reciprocal respect. While it is generally accepted that students have to earn respect of their Professors and Peers, typically Professors have respect as soon as they walk into the classroom on the first day of class. I propose that Professors walk in the first day with the intention of gaining the respect of their students in the same way that students are anxious to do during their first cold call. In proving the respect of both parties the non-conformist actions will be less risky since they will be done with respect since the students have earned their respect and the Professors have merited their respect as well.

A final caveat on reciprocal respect in my opinion is respect in other spheres of life. In education, and Law school specifically, reciprocal respect can be conducive to both learning and substantive change but in day-to-day relationships requiring someone to earn their respect as soon as you meet them is unlikely to make you many friends.

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