Improving teacher status

While teachers themselves may have contributed to this diminished status by virtue of their conduct, attire, mannerism and commitment to task, society must be prepared to invest in teachers by according them the requisite respect and recognition commensurate with the very significant role they play in the process of nation-building.

A nation that does not value its teachers cannot claim to love its children and the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.

In that context teachers must be seen and treated as exemplars and they must be told this in no uncertain terms. They must also know that the respect that is due must be earned.

Constant vigilance and accountability go with the territory when one occupies the prestigious position of nation builders.

The dignity that the profession once enjoyed has been undermined in large measure by the poor standard of infrastructure that teachers have had to work in over the years.

This has in no small measure led to teachers feeling a sense of disenchantment and disillusionment, leading to diminished output and commitment.

The recent call for the society to invest in teachers gets to the very heart of this dilemma. The stark reality is that if teachers are credited with the responsibility to shape and mould the generations of the future, they must be given the tools, resources, facilities and support to enable them to deliver on this mandate.

Berating, insulting and degrading them will not do much for their ego and levels of commitment.

Output would thus be minimal and this sets up the vicious cycle of failure, the consequences of which will be felt by the generations of the future.

Aside from issues of remuneration, teachers must be given the support and encouragement by parents and the wider society to do their jobs without threats of violence and intimidation.

Homes must be extensions of schools.

Teachers cannot educate children on their own and need the support and encouragement of other education institutions of the society.

The total responsibility of education for the nation’s children cannot be the burden of teachers alone, but must be seen as a shared responsibility with collaboration being the order of the day.

While much is expected of teachers much must also be given.

While teachers must be prepared to respect the right of parents to hold them accountable, parents cannot expect to be rude and discourteous to teachers, berating and insulting or even threatening them with grievous bodily harm.

Children must be taught from an early age to respect the authority of the teacher, while teachers must also respect the right of children to question. Teachers must also recognise that children can easily detect double standards and should never instruct children to obey instructions that they are not prepared to adhere to. Disrespect given is disrespect earned.

While teachers ask others to value the work that they do and the role they play in the scheme of national development, they must be prepared to value themselves and recognise that they play a very critical role in building a just and decent society.

Children will and do model behaviour displayed by their teachers. Indeed, approximately 75 percent of what children learn from teachers is taught informally.

It means that the teacher is under constant scrutiny from their charges and recognising that elite and elevated status they enjoy, teachers must always remember that once a teacher, always a teacher, in and out of the c