I am and have always been an extremely respectful and well-mannered individual. Growing up, these things were important and stressed in my household, school, etc. I not only respect my students but I respect everyone period. However, I have not had that respect returned to me by many of my students. I have been cursed at, cursed out, talked back to, had kids toss things at me and expect me to pick them up, etc.
I think it's less a matter of teaching kids that don't respect you, than one of earning their respect. I know that, when I was a kid, respect was given freely to adults-- or at least that's how it was in my world. You respected the teacher and the mailman and the cashier simply because they were adults, and you respected your elders. Case closed. But things have changed. Kids (and sometimes their parents) now feel that respect must be earned. They'll give you the first day or two of classes, but after that you're on your own. Let's start with the basics-- tell us again what you teach. (Sorry, start-of-the-schoolyear-brain has killed my memory for this stuff.) How old are the kids? How did the school year start? When did it seem to go south? Are the other teachers in your school and grade experiencing the same thing?
It also may not be a matter of disrespect, but just how they are treated in this world. I had a little boy who called me all kinds of nasty names one year, well it turned out that is how his family referred to each other. He needed to learn that there is a time and place for that language and a time and place to act differently. We did the whole lesson on different places have different rules/expectations.
Before you can teach you need to have respect. When kids throw things at you, write them up. When they curse at you, write them up. That behavior is absolutely unacceptable in the classroom and you should not put up with it for a moment longer. If you can't get them to respect you, you should at least have them afraid of your consequences. I was a little s***-head when I was in school. I did things to teachers that let me get away with it. I can tell you that I never acted the same way in every class. In some classes I was dead silent, in others I was a little hellion. Learn to control them. Then begin teaching.
