The national flag of South Korea.

As a Korean-American raised in a traditional Korean household, I was taught that respect is the foundation for all actions. You have to respect yourself to work hard and achieve your goals. You have to respect those around you to build positive relationships. You have to respect your elders as figures of authority and knowledge. When it came to school, I was especially expected to respect my teachers. I should never talk back to them, give them attitude, be aggressive towards them, etc. I should listen to them and absorb the information they taught me.

In my role as a student I was expected to always be focused on my studies. I had to pay attention in class and try my best to understand the information. It was my obligation to work hard and succeed in school. It was my responsibility to get good grades because being a student was my job, and grades represented my performance.

While I have attended various types of schools including public schools during my elementary years, I attended a small prestigious private all-girls school for grades 7-12. Because I spent 6 years surrounded by peers who were also extremely focused on their academics, I felt all students should act that way. Although even at my high school there was a range of students who did or did not care, did or did not try, I suppose I still assume that students should feel it is their responsibility to put in effort in school. I understand it is not realistic to expect that all my students now will have that mindset, but I still feel that students ought to have some sort of discipline towards their academics.