What Has Happened to Respect at Derryfield?

What do you think of when you hear the word “respect”? For most of us, respect is a word that our elders have ingrained in us ever since we can remember. When we were just beginning to develop social skills back in kindergarten, we were taught to respect our peers by way of sharing with and including others. When we began our athletic careers on the tee-ball or soccer field, we learned to have respect for our teammates, opponents, and coaches. I am sure everyone with siblings -- younger or older -- has been lectured on respect for their brothers and sisters more times than they can remember. The fact of the matter is that respect is nothing new for anyone, and yet so often we fail to uphold basic levels of respect for our peers at school. Why is that?

It is so easy to get distracted by the pace of our lives in today’s fast-moving world, and we forget to pay attention to the feelings of the people around us. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to slow down for a moment and reflect. During her Senior Moment at the end of April, Sophie Tarpey ‘17 shared with the school her concerns surrounding the often blatant lack of respect that has recently become more prevalent in the Derryfield community. Tarpey aimed to raise awareness of this upsetting issue and pointed to the presence of social media as a potential cause, saying, “The rise in popularity of social media has made it so much easier to insult, without a thought of the consequences... Making jokes at other people’s expense is not okay.” Violations of respect occur on so many different levels at Derryfield -- and everywhere -- on a daily basis. More often than not, people get offended and hurt by sarcastic remarks intended to be “jokes.” Perhaps Sophie is justified in asserting that people do so “without a thought of the consequences.”

Moving forward, it is going to be everyone’s individual responsibility to act on this issue. Instead of making insulting and sometimes harmful jokes, offer someone a meaningful compliment. You never truly know what is going on in someone else’s life, and so it cannot hurt to go out of your way to lend a helping hand or even make a gesture as simple as smiling; no matter how small of an act, you can make a difference.