Copyright Laws

While learning about copyright laws in class, what surprised me the most was that things were automatically copyrighted as soon as they were typed, written, recorded, etc., although not copyrighted when spoken or sung, etc. I always thought that nothing was copyrighted until someone went through a legal process to acquire the copyright. I was especially surprised because the legal process of making it officially known to be yours was said to cost about $35 and I would expect that the government would lose a great deal of money by making things automatically copyrighted.
I do feel that it is a teacher's responsibility to help teach his or her students about respect for copyright. Copyright is law, and needs to be respected by everyone. In addition, I don't see how a teacher can expect to teach students to respect other laws, or not to plagiarize if they do not show that they have a respect for copyright as well, making it very important for teachers to also pay very close attention to copyright.
When I become a teacher I will model copyright ethics in my own classroom. I will do this be being very careful not to break copyright. Also, so that students realize that there are copyright laws, I may point out that I have obtained the correct permission to use something and explain to them why we can't use certain things without permission.