The Modern Teacher

Teacher Protests = Child Abuse?

2007-07-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Teacher Protest.... the same as Child Abuse?

Well, during the last couple months, the general teaching population in my country, Trinidad, has come under heavy pressure from the diligent parents and other concerned individuals who agree that teachers who protest for increased salary wages are, by thier absence from the classroom, abusing the children in thier care. They insist that teachers are "greedy" and "lazy". Parents have written to the local newspaper about remedial teachers who charge a high sum for thier time, and those who don't come to class at all. When I wrote letters to the editor in response, they were not printed. Instead, I continue to see letters to the editor condemning teachers. And no alternate view being published. Be mindful that one of my country's watchwords is "equality". I wondered what happened to the concept of seeing both sides and treating each with equal respect!

As a high school teacher myself, I must say that while I wear red to support fellow teachers who are involved in more active forms of protest (such as absenteeism and not teaching on pre-determined dates) I do go to my classrooms and teach my students. (They groan on seeing me. They miss out on a free period because I teach. Clearly some of thier parent's diligent attitude shined through there!) My heart goes out to the teachers in this matter. Not because I'm a teacher too but because I honestly think that they're justified. This is why:

- I started working as a government-paid teacher in April. (I didn't get paid till ooooh ummm... June!!!). That's right. I didn't get any salary for April or May. Just June. And guess when they finally got around to giving me my backpay for April and June? YESTERDAY! (JULY 27th!) I didn't starve because I have parents who'd lend a hand in situations like that! But what happens to the other teaching professionals who don't? How do they pay thier electricity and water bills? How do they pay thier rent? Mortage? Feed thier families? I see thier side. They signed on to teach with the understanding that they'd be paid a certain amount at regular monthly intervals. That was the deal so-to-speak: We teach your kids, you pay us. And the deal was, for many teachers (me included) clearly not kept. How could strike action not be considered justified? That was the deal-breaker.

Now, when these same individuals charge high prices for remedial classes on afternoons, they're condemned. Via remedial classes, teachers make an extra buck or two and students who are weak in the subject get some extra help. If parents cannot afford that, there are free programs for kids as well that they can utilise. I know because I was involved with one of them for years. Win-win situation as far as I can see. If high school teachers are well-qualified and hold BA, MA, Mphil level qualifications (as well as years of experience) I think that they're entitled to be expensive. They made numerous sacrifices and spent some hefty money to get thier degrees. They are entitled to high salaries. One choice point that detractors of teachers failed to consider was that other professionals with the same level of qualification as thier counterparts in the teaching profession get paid MORE in a recent local study done, than the teachers do.

Additionally, high school teachers deal with extremely large classes. (Larger than they should be). The average number of kids per class is 36. Some schools are forced to squeeze in closer to 40. Doctors charge per patient. Lawyers charge per client. Even airlines charge PER passenger. If parents want thier children to have individual attention in the high school classroom, then maybe the government should consider paying teachers PER student. That would bring people's awareness of how many students a single teacher interacts with on a daily basis. And to the detractors that claim that teachers get so much holidays... um... no we DON'T! What people call "summer vacation" isn't a vacation for high school teachers in my country unless they APPLY for leave during that time. If not, you could be called in to help with administrative things at any time.

There is also the problems of indiscipline and school violence to face. Teachers deal with some very troubled children on a daily basis. We are forced to be the guidance counsellor (There aren't many in the high schools of a developing country like mine) and sometimes even the parent (because some parents are grossly negligent of thier duties) and the children come to us. Most adults wince when they remember thier "terrible teen" years. Could they have handled 36 of themselves? And the teacher is the one blamed for "abuse". Ha! Honestly, things have changed. Inflation has happened to add to the change. Children have changed. Shouldn't the face of teaching and earnings change as well?

At the risk of sounding like one of the "greedy" teachers, I must say that I work damn hard, constantly doing lesson plans and research for the classroom, up late correcting assignments and exams, and missing lunch so often that I messed up my digestive tract and was sick for over a month! (Of course, being the "lazy" teacher that I apparently am, I took quick-fix-it pharmacy drugs and headed to my classrooms) and so I deserve a salary that reflects that. If we have teachers getting paid very little to produce professionals who get paid a lot them we, as a society, are teaching our children from young how to be userping adults (ie the kind of friend that only calls you when he/she wants something... the kind you just hate.)

Teachers have every right to protest a small salary! What they suffer daily is the actual abuse. No one has stated that there are some teachers more highly qualified than the Minister of Education (and her husband, the Prime Minister) for that matter... and yet, she gets 10 times more! She has never been a teacher one day in her life. So she has no classroom experience. Doesn't anyone think that remotely disturbing?

Every (wealthy) professional in this country passed beneath the hand of more than one teacher before he or she got to where they are now. Yes, they are the ones that studied. But teachers (whether they liked the teachers or not) are the ones that taught them. And yet teachers are still barely making ends meet. Why? I cannot comprehend how that could possibly be fair. And I cannot comprehend how a dedicated teacher can get a low-end salary because a couple other bad teachers give the profession a bad name! We're too advanced for that kind of thing to happen. If some teachers are not doing thier job, then it is the duty of the Ministry of Education to fire them and replace them with teachers who are doing thier job. Simple. It affects other teachers when these bad teachers remain in the system. The rest of us don't want them there! They only add to our work load because we try to pick up thier slack.

When we weigh all these things, can strike- action still be considered child abuse?

One teacher put the entire wage- increase situation plainly. She said to me yesterday, "I love my children, my students. But I can't take love with me to the supermarket".

What do you think?

Can Discipline Save Our Kids?

2007-06-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Any teacher can admit to having at least one student who constantly exhibits truly bad behaviour. More often than not, the student disturbs the entire class (Not to mention severly testing the teacher's sanity!)

Fellow teachers ask the question: After the time it takes to discipline the unruly student or students, how much teaching time has been lost... and what is the cost?

One teacher in a small island called Trindad spoke out in the local press this morning on classroom indiscipline and the obstacles faced in overcoming it. The Letter to the Editor that he / she penned reads:

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Discipline Can Save Our Children

Dear Editor,

I want to encourage Jack Warner’s sister, Jean King, and others in their no-nonsense stance in dealing with school indiscipline (Trinidad Express, June 18^th). Many teachers agree with King’s view, but can do very little. Our hands are constantly being tied.

Against us are disruptive and rebellious students and the parents who even demand that their children be given their own way on matters of discipline! Against us too is the Ministry of Education. How can anyone with a brain hand a child a cell phone (with text messaging capabilities and games on it) and then expect the child not to turn it on illicitly and play with it? Then there are the host of conduct rules. For the teacher! Not the student! Teachers must be careful how they speak to the students. We must not offend their delicate sensibilities. The same sensibilities that conceived of how to carry on porn rings and not get caught? Very delicate, aren’t they!

As King says, “drastic” measures need to be put in place to handle indiscipline in schools. For things to change, harsher penalties for misdemeanours must be utilised, large classes should be split up into smaller classes and more teachers assigned to schools (the government CAN afford it and there ARE enough teachers contrary to popular belief!) so we can keep track of each child’s academic progress AND behavioural patterns. Districts should have social workers assigned to them so that children can be removed from abusive homes and parents who need help can either get it or get out. In my grandmother’s time, faulty parents did time in jail because being a bad parent was (and still should be) equivalent to a crime.

School supervisors should be a more regular sight in BOTH private and public schools so that “absentee” or lazy teachers can be dealt with. The local police force should take up the responsibility of chasing loitering school children off the streets and into school during school hours and home after school. Religious Education (Inter-faith and ethics based) should be COMPULSORY in ALL schools. And I must ask, for those troubled young men in our society, doesn’t a military academy promoting national pride and universal respect fit in with Vision 2020?

The present system is as King puts it. “Scandalous.” How many more children need to fall through the cracks before we follow our own advice and clean up the mess we’ve made?

Worried Teacher,

Diego Martin.

(Source: The Trinidad Express Newspaper, June 19th, 2007.)

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What indiscipline problems have you faced as a teacher /parent? What measures do you use in your classroom / home to minimise disciplinary disturbances?