When students and teachers have disagreements in class there is often a misunderstanding between the two, rather than an actual problem between them.

   “Beef is when a teacher gives me too much work and I don’t have enough time – then I have beef with them,” said freshman Sage Thompson.

   “Most students feel that having beef with a teacher is because they are an authority figure and they (the teacher) wants to uphold that authority. When I see someone older, I feel like I’m automatically supposed to respect them, but I don’t want to,” said Holly Winters, freshman.

   Sometimes disagreements such as these are taken as personal disrespect towards one another, when in reality it’s just having different opinions. 

   I have struggled with identifying the difference between a teacher having bias, and a teacher having a personal problem with me. 

   The misconception of these two different concepts can create drama and dislike within the community of our school.

   Oftentimes the student feels that the teacher doesn’t like their personality, when in reality it’s much more reasonable that the teacher just disagrees with the students actions.

   When these kinds of things happen so often, students can feel like their teacher has a grudge against them due to these disagreements.

   “I have experienced teachers coming across as very snarky towards me, and I feel like that’s a very unnecessary way to talk to your students. If they’re genuinely upset with something then they should be able to logically come face-to-face with me and talk about it. Before they start being aggressive and snarky towards me,” Jordyn Jamal Senior said.

   This can affect a student’s ability to focus in class and their success at school. 

   In order to avoid misunderstandings and loss of opportunity or education, we all need the time to recognize the situation, before assuming and jumping to conclusions about other people’s feelings.

   I believe it’s important that we work on the way we socialize by preventing drama  and building a community that everyone feels cared for and safe in.