An educator’s dilemma
Credit to Author: JESUS JAY MIRANDA JR. OP| Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2019 16:33:04 +0000
Recently, “teacher shaming” became a trending topic in social media after one service-oriented show took on a case of an alleged violence against a child. In the footage, which was shown as evidence, the public objectively saw two things: on the one hand, an erring teacher; on the other, a child made to sit outside the classroom. All the rest that the public learned were strong opinions and the endless apologies from a woman on the phone.
I feel sorry for the teacher who, aside from being publicly humiliated on air, was also bullied to agree to have her license revoked. Her recorded experience continues to do the rounds on various media platforms. Also, being an educator myself, I also understand why students should be nurtured and protected against any form of physical and emotional violence.
Having concern for both the teacher and the student at the same time is not being self-contradictory. To understand this, one must learn what education truly is. To start, education is a collaboration and not a competition. In education, students, teachers, parents, schools, even society, win together. It is never winning over another. So, painting the picture of a teacher as a villain defeats the purpose of education. Educators are not adversaries. They are not perfect, but like other professionals, they strive hard to perform their duties.
The recent fiasco could have been prevented if the complainants had considered the teacher a partner in rearing their child, and not as an enemy who should be banned from any school. Proper mediation between stakeholders to attend to reports of abuse in schools should be possible. Shaming the teacher in public may have given a degree of relief to the family of the student, but it does not mean that the problem has been resolved. It could even have made it worse for both the student and the teacher.
Many times teachers deal with students, who apparently live in two real worlds: the homes where they come from and the school where they spend almost half of their formative years. This dichotomy brings a crisis in education, especially when the values taught at home contradict the values upheld in schools. For example, the teacher prohibits foul and abusive language, but students are exposed and allowed to use it at home.
Consistency plays a huge role in the formation of young people, and that consistency goes beyond the capacity of a teacher. Without the parents or guardians, the teacher will not be able to ensure that the home and the school, of which differences can cause confusion in a child, can be properly bridged.
The Department of Education affirms the responsibility of disciplining children belongs first to parents at home. In schools, the teachers discipline students by virtue of a legal provision “in loco parentis” (in the place of a parent). One seasoned teacher shared, “I treat my students the way I treat my real children.” That can also be where the dilemma lies because no two teachers are exactly the same and most likely follow the same rule of life as a teacher and a parent.
Joe Ruhl, an American teacher and TED speaker, has an advice when crises in teacher-student partnership arise: “At the base of any teacher-student partnership is love — love that is not warm, fuzzy, emotional love. But a love that is genuine, decisional, put-the-person-first kind of love.” If such wisdom could only penetrate the words and actions of all teachers, they can surely transcend and justify any form of perceived callous relationship between them and their students.
With the development of educational approaches, many schools have become learner/student-centered institutions. That is a good sign of progress knowing that schools must give emphasis in providing best learning experiences for students and their needs.
But being a “caring-for-teachers-centered” school should not lay on the roadside as teachers also assume an essential role in the meaningful journey of students.
Jesus Jay Miranda, OP is the secretary-general of the University of Santo Tomas. He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management (ELM) and teaches at the Graduate School of UST and the ELM Department of the Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC–College of Education of De La Salle University-Manila. Contact him at jaymiranda.op@ust.edu.ph.