Recently, while driving through Noble Park immediately after school, we witnessed a troubling scene.
Students darting across roads without heed, ignoring the lollipop lady, and showing blatant disregard for traffic rules and drivers, even hitting the cars and scowling at drivers.
In contrast, at Carwatha College, where we pick up our grandson/nephew, there is a palpable sense of order.
Students and parents greet the crossing guard, teachers are present, and respect is evident.
In Japan, children bow to drivers after crossing the road – a gesture of respect and gratitude.
The contrast is startling.
What we are witnessing is not just poor behaviour.
It is a social shift.
Etiquette, manners, and basic decency – once expected in every home and classroom – seem to be vanishing from both.
The word “respect” has become optional.
And when teachers attempt to uphold it, they are often met not with support, but with complaint.
Teachers across Australia are expressing deep frustration.
It is not just about lesson planning or workloads – it is about dignity.
Many speak of being disrespected by students and, more concerningly, undermined by parents.
Social media groups for educators are filled with desperate posts: “How do I deal with a student who screams at me?”, “A parent just emailed the principal because I gave homework”, “My leadership team won’t back me up.”
This is not sustainable.
A 2024 survey reveals that nearly half of all teachers are considering leaving the profession within a year, citing burnout, disrespect, and lack of support as top reasons. (bowerplace.com.au, blackdoginstitute.org.au).
What Is Going Wrong?
The erosion of respect in schools is not solely a student issue – it is a societal one.
Parents defending misbehaviour, children emboldened by social media attitudes, inconsistent discipline policies, and a system more focused on appeasement than accountability all contribute.
Meanwhile, when you ask Google why teachers are leaving, the answers are clinical: workload, lack of work-life balance, desire for career change.
These are not lies – but they are only part of the truth.
And what is the government’s response?
The Victorian Government is currently trialling “Teach Today, Teach Tomorrow” and other employment-based fast-track pathways to bring new people into teaching.
While these initiatives may help address shortages, they ignore the bigger issue: Why are good teachers leaving in the first place?
We don’t need more rushed pathways into classrooms.
We need to hold on to the passionate, qualified teachers we already have, by supporting them, training them, and backing them when they uphold values.
The Root Cause
At the heart of this issue lies a lack of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and values-based education.
Without teaching young people how to behave with respect – for themselves, for others, and for those guiding them, we risk growing a generation that refuses to listen and a system too fragile to withstand them.
Let us propose what teachers are really asking for:
• Respect-Based Curriculum: Build emotional literacy and values education into every year level.
• Parent-Educator Partnership: Shift the culture from blame to collaboration – parents must support teachers, not sabotage them.
• Professional Dignity: Create policies that empower school leadership to uphold teacher authority without fear of backlash.
• CQ in Classrooms: Embed Cultural Intelligence training so students and staff alike understand diverse behaviours, expectations and respectful engagement.
There is still hope.
The teachers who remain do so out of love, not for the paycheque.
But love alone cannot sustain a broken system.
Teachers need respect. Students need guidance. And parents need to be reminded: partnership is not permission – it is responsibility.
Truth be told… if we lose our teachers, we lose our future.
– What do you think? Let us know at dailyeditor@starnewsgroup.com.au
