The Origins of RESPECTisms

Poor educational attainment, social deprivation and a distinct lack of hope for the future permeate the minds of too many young people, filling their world with thoughts of instant success and a get-rich now or die trying attitude.”

This world void of hope, Ken Barnes knows only too well, having worked with young men and women with this mindset for over 17 years. Their world is a dark and clouded one, that is hard to see into and even harder for them to see their way out.

He was horrified when his daughter came home one day and told him that someone had been shot in the name of ‘RESPECT’ near her school and then she proceeded to sit down and eat her dinner, without a hint of shock or horror. ‘What kind of world is she growing up in?’ he thought.

He decided to act and reclaim the word ‘respect’ back from the streets. Working with teachers and researchers their task was to develop a framework that could effectively teach respect and responsibility to young people within a framework they could relate to. The word 'RESPECT' was used to create seven focus areas that could be used to affect one of the root factors of low attainment, a lack of hope and crime and disorder - the mindsets of young people.

This new framework is called ‘RESPECTisms’, a moral code, seven focus areas that can be used in homes and in our schools for successful living, collectively called ‘The Seven Principles of RESPECTisms’.

The Government, parents, schools and society as a whole are searching for ways to engage with teenagers around the area of behaviour and consequences, ‘The Seven Principles of RESPECTisms’ is an effective way that works.

Through The Seven Principles of RESPECTisms, we can nurture a generation of positive minded young people of good character, who will flourish to become responsible and caring citizens.