Protective Mother Bear

I'm not sure how it is for other teachers, but for me, I've become like a protective mother bear over my students. Every time I tell someone what grade I teach, their reaction is always "Wow, bless you!" or "Whoa, that must be tough." And I have to admit at any other school, I'm sure it would be tough. I really have it pretty easy. My main problem is students chatting too much in class and not handing in an assignment cause it gets lost in their desk. The thing that kind of gets on my nerves sometimes is when someone or people assume they know my students. They assume that because every teenager is snotty, rude, loud, obnoxious etc. that my students are too. All I know is that I was brought up to treat others the way you want to be treated. And I've learned that you teach people how to treat you. So I guess I've gone by the motto when teaching junior high that if you want respect from them, you have to give it to them, and that doesn't mean you talk rudely to them or you treat them like 2nd graders. Now I understand that there are some kids that will need harsher treatment than others but that's where you can't assume that every teenager needs to be treated like that. So my "mother bear" instinct kicks in when my students are treated unfairly (when they're in the wrong, of course). I haven't gotten along with every kid that's darkened my door but I still get angry when people are mean to them, etc. They just want to be treated like a human and that you know they exist. They want you to know that they can carry on a conversation like everyone else. They want to feel like they matter and that's all. So I guess the moral of my soapbox is that the next time you meet a teenager - don't assume the worst about them!