The moment I realized my students actually respect me

I (30m) teach high school English in a relatively small school (about 650 students) in a small town that appears to be dying. Many of the businesses in our town are shutting down or switching to online-only, which has its downsides but also helps us stay ahead of the game in terms of tech itself.<br><br>I tend to get elected to the school's Teacher Advisory Committee, which is student-run. The student body elects student representatives, and an equal number of teachers are chosen by the administration. I've been on the committee for three years, and was chosen again this year. I normally don't like to participate in such committees, as I prefer to be on the side lines and listen, but these students are a pleasure to be around, and have so far done a great job of making sure their voices are heard without discounting ours.<br><br>Last week, one of the student reps came into my classroom my free period to finalize the agenda for the meeting last Friday, as we didn't have class. As he was leaving, he said something to the effect of "I know it's not my place to say this, but I'm really glad you're on the committee again, Mr. [Lastname]. You listen to what we have to say."<br><br>On Friday, we had the meeting. During the meeting, a number of students were trying to bring up extracurriculars, which wasn't on the agenda. We were there to finalize the schedule for the school year. Most of the teachers were trying to steer the conversation back on topic, but I piped up and said that in this case, I thought it was important to let them speak. We can always get the schedule done, but if they feel it's important to bring up, we owe it to them to listen. I got some weird looks from the other teachers, but the students thanked me and we went back to discussing the schedule.<br><br>The students have been making some changes these past couple years, and this year they're being allowed to get their own guest speakers to the meetings (they always had a choice when it came to the school assemblies). They choose who they want to talk to them, and the school will allow it. Last year, they got two alumni to come back and speak. This year, they decided on a student from a nearby school, who happens to be a good friend of one of our students, to come in to talk about scholarships, as they've received several and have done a lot of work in the college counseling office at their school.<br><br>The meeting went well. The student rep thanked me for listening again, and also said he was glad I was on the committee, as I was one of the few teachers who respected the students. The kid who had the friend coming in thanked me as well. This morning, I ran into another student rep in the hallway, and was again thanked and told it meant a lot to them that I treated them as equals.<br><br>To be honest, it's been a hard year and a half. Last year was my first year as a teacher, and my principal all but told me to kiss ass and do whatever I was told in order to get my contract renewed. In the summer, the administration went through a big turnover, and I got a new principal, but was worried he'd be the same. He seemed pretty strict at first, but he's really been open to listening to us, and the students, and making sure we're doing the right thing by them.<br><br>I've heard so many stories of people being pushed out of teaching because of all the hoops they have to jump through, and the red tape, and all the shit that comes with the job. I've struggled, but the students have kept me here.<br><br>A kid I had last year was in one of my senior classes this morning, and he always talks about college. He seems to be doing all right, and he still comes in to chat during his free periods. That was the best moment for me, knowing I'd been able to help him.<br><br>This is turning into a ramble, but I just wanted to say to any student teachers or new teachers who may be reading, listen to your students. They will try and take advantage of you, and you will be met with resistance from other teachers, but listen to them. Respect them. They will be the ones to keep you going when it gets tough.<br><br>Edit: Thanks so much for the replies, everyone. I apologize in advance, as I had to make this throwaway and don't have enough karma to reply to everyone. When I get back to work on Thursday, I'll do my best to contact the right people in charge of making these changes, and will update this post accordingly. <br><br>I also want to mention that the school is making these changes in part because of a lawsuit we won several years ago about the way school funding is allocated throughout the state. We're not the only school doing this, or even the only school in the district doing this. However, we are the only school to start this committee, and the only school where the school counseling offices are run by the students (they do have adult advisors, however). <br><br>We are also taking steps to work with the town, and other local towns, to try to get the students more involved within the locale. I'm not sure how well it will go, but many of the students have expressed a desire to stay here and help improve the town, even if it means taking pay cuts to do so.