Promoting Respect in the Real World Classroom

How many teachers would have the mindset that being an adult equals automatic respect?  At least two generations ago the authority of an educated, professional adult was enough to keep students in line (despite the odd, courageous individual lad who had no fear of authority).  Now it seems that the exception has almost become the rule.  In teaching practice within the modern classroom, there appears to be a dearth of respect shown to teachers.  Undoubtedly there would be many practitioners who would argue against such an assertion, but this would be more of an indication of personal experience rather than firm evidence.  For example, some teach in affluent private schools in which pupil behaviour and attitudes tend to be less highly charged than in public schools located in areas of high deprivation (the author does acknowledge that disrespect can be found in all schools).
All of this seems quite negative but my experience has shown that the challenge of creating a respectful ethos is a positive one.  The constant media focus on the negative aspects of young people needs to be turned on its head.  There is, of course, the uncontrollable factor of home environment influence.  However, working with young people from deprived communities allows adults to deal with barriers and try to instil respect where virtually none has existed at home before.  There are some extremely useful approaches to encourage respect in these circumstances.
First of all, students can tell when teachers are genuine or not.  The key to gaining respect is to show real concern for welfare.  Token gestures are an example of doing the job more than trying to help.  If an approach is not genuine, or if the teacher struggles to be so then this has to change.  Secondly, make full use of colloquialisms.  Culturally Responsive Classroom Management encourages meeting points between the student and educator.  Linguistic differences naturally exist when educated adults engage with students who possess limited vocabulary skills.  Some educators come from backgrounds in which slang speech was the norm and this has remained an integral part of their communication.  For those who struggle to relate linguistically with young people, there are certain phrases and ways of speaking which can be adopted without lowering ones own vocabulary.  I have used a few examples which get attention and allow students to open up.  Since there are so many cultural variances across the globe, to give examples would be virtually impossible.
Perhaps an overarching principle is the importance of consistency.  My own children tend to improve in their general attitudes when the rules are upheld regularly.  In the context of school the same applies.  In fact many pupils with little or no social structure often react well to constant patterns of leadership.
These practices are certainly not full-proof and have to be adapted depending on the circumstances.  There is so much more to positive engagement and respect, some of which cannot even be written in a prescriptive manner.  The key is to have real concerns and care for the students.