OUR TEACHERS DESERVE PRAISE

Jun 04, 2018 Editorial

The failures and high drop-out rates in Guyana’s schools have led many parents and stakeholders from various sectors of society to question the commitment of teachers to these charges and quite rightly so. It is questioning the integrity, obligation, devotion and professionalism of teachers to teach. Many believe that the teaching skills of today’s practitioners are nowhere close to those of past generations.
Even though questioning their commitment may have caused many teachers to become angry, it forms part of the social contract that they enter into with the society upon entry into the teaching service. This type of accountability is critical to the development of the profession and students, and must be welcomed if done in a constructive manner.

However, there are times when criticisms are levelled against teachers that are somewhat unfair and reflect a lack of understanding of the challenges they face today in the execution of their mandate. Teachers are challenged daily by children who obtain their values from social media, which display the happenings not only in Guyana, but from other parts of the world. The mere fact that television and social media have replaced parents in the home is very troubling.
As a result, most children have become fully aware of their rights and privileges, but not necessarily their responsibilities. For this reason, many parents are afraid to discipline their children, so they leave it to the teachers who must become both parents and teachers of their children. This is the predicament most teachers face in teaching in today’s society.
In the current dispensation, schools are seen as moral agents providing social guidance and satisfaction to students that extends beyond the classroom. The governing legislation for education has never envisaged such a broad-based mandate for teachers. It is true that the current model of our educational system against which it was crafted is woefully inadequate to the current needs of the society.

The students that characterized schools in that model came from a particular socio-economic background and thus certain assumptions could have been made about the role and responsibility of teachers. Such assumptions are wrong because teachers should not be held responsible for the behaviour of children in the home or in society. The view that education is a public good and should be available to all has not redefined the role, nature and purpose of teachers.

Unfortunately, parents seldom discipline their children. Therefore, teachers have to protect themselves against the violent behaviour of children, much to the chagrin of those who do not walk in their shoes. In any profession, there is an ethical violation rate of between ten and twenty percent and teaching is no exception. Given that there are thousands of teachers in the country, it is very easy to identify and hold them responsible for not upholding the expected ethical standards.
It is rather unfortunate that the great work that the thousands of teachers do in the classroom daily goes unnoticed or even taken for granted. Teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to nurture the adults of the future and to help them function well in society and in their job descriptions.
There are teachers who sometimes give children monies out of their pockets to commute home on evenings, to purchase lunch, take them on field trips that extend well beyond their school hours, give extra lessons free of charge, visit homes to find parents who will not visit the school despite several letters and telephone calls, purchase books and uniforms for needy students, and give students hugs when needed. These acts go well beyond the remit of teachers but they are performed on a daily basis by teachers across the length and breadth of our country. Therefore, we must praise teachers rather than question their commitment to the profession.

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