There are several ways that people grow up. Not all of them turn out to be what they are expected to be. The way a person acts is carved out by the peers that surround him. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, a single-father of two school aged children, teaches life lessons to them, both explicitly and implicitly so he is an excellent role model for his children who can change them into better people. He teaches his children about the values of respect, understanding and tolerance.
As a man who values respect, Atticus chides his children when they display negative traits of people in Maycomb, "No putting his life's history on display for the edification of the neighborhood"(page 119). Even though he loves to see his children have fun, he does not want them to disrespect other people and businesses just for their pleasure. During the trials, Scout disagrees with the jury when they decided to put Tom in jail but Atticus explained "They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to fully respect for their opinions." (Page 120) to show that people have their own opinions and you can't do anything except to understand their point of view. .
The only reason Atticus understand this twisted people because he respects all that they have been through. Atticus understands that people is Maycomb are not as fortunate as him so he respect their part of the story. When Scout was punished at school for explaining Cunningham's' situation, she gets mad and goes to Atticus for comfort "First of all you never really understand a person until you consider things form his point of view" (Page 33). Atticus tells Scout that Ms. Caroline only punished her because she has her own reasons and if Scout still did not understand, Atticus said that she will know "until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (Page 33), to see things from all perspectives.