Respect is important because it contributes to a context of safety, openness, and reflection; this context is crucial for the brain to effectively process and encode academic material, as opposed to being preoccupied with emotional concerns. Although educators genuinely intend to foster respect--and they spend much time identifying and following a wide variety of programs for doing so--disrespect and bullying continue to be rampant in many schools. Many factors, including broken families, poverty, exposure to violent media, and an increasing amount of pressure on students, have been proposed as explanations for high bullying rates. A closer look at these factors can be quite discouraging because teachers and educators have little power to change them. There is, however, an overlooked factor that can give them noteworthy levels of control and influence over school culture: staff members' well-being and professional relationships. The author asserts that creating a school culture of respect starts deep in the heart of a staff's well-being and professional relationships. She suggests that one may begin to create a respectful culture for students by first creating a supportive, uplifting, positive school culture for teachers and other school staff members.