Teaching to imperatives of today’s society

As we look around globally and reflect even on our daily encounters with each other and our students, it is evident that there is global order characterised by disrespect, intolerance and selfishness.

This is evidenced by the willingness with which we dismiss the views and opinions of others, infringe on the rights of those around us without any sense of remorse, and the ease with which we are prepared to impose our views on others.

As teachers we are obliged to address this prevailing social malaise.

The corrective attention to this social dilemma must begin in the classroom from a tender age and must be supported by the efforts of the home and media.

Given the state of politics in some of our more mature democracies, it is obvious that more people are prepared to dismiss the existence of others on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or even social status.

The universal principles of human rights to which a civilized world ought to be subscribing seem to be a farce, with ever growing numbers of people boldly coming out to announce their personal prejudices and intolerance for people they deem different.

The political aroma of Western Europe and North America has taken the world into the cusp of an even more uncertain and dangerous future with self-destruction looming in an ominous future.

As teachers, we must pay close attention to these developments, for the noble duty of addressing these social and political issues fall upon our shoulders first and foremost.

Some may even argue that the current socio-political climate that has gripped the world is a direct result of an education system that failed to diagnose and address a social disequilibrium that has been in the making for decades.

The advent of social media has given ample opportunity for people to share their prejudices and fears with others of like ilk, resulting in an undercurrent of hate and mistrust that has the capacity to shake the democratic principles that we hold so dearly to the very core.

How do we, teachers and our education system, respond to this new narrative of hate, disrespect, intolerance and even bigotry? We certainly cannot afford to sit idly by and pretend that these issues will correct themselves or that it is someone else’s responsibility to address.

For teachers these developments signal a most passionate call to act from a conscience of deep social and moral responsibility. Our resolve to confront this basal state of human existence that threatens to engulf us all must be clear and resolute.

It may require us engaging in intense conversations firstly within ourselves as teachers and then with each other and the wider society.

As we position ourselves to confront a global agenda that is pregnant with hate, anger, mistrust and greed, our own resolve to be that beacon of hope to our charges for a world that is characterised by fairness, equity and social justice must never be in question.

The work we do in our classrooms and in the nation’s schools on a daily basis must be driven by these higher principles that guide our social consciences. Our duties as defined by our task environment demand that we pay very close a t t e n t i on to the new global order owing to advances in telecommunicat i ons .

The revolution of hope for a better future is our noble duty.