Why must teachers take the rap?

When a student can attack a teacher, as a society, we need to honestly ask ourselves why we are raising kids like this.

Spray-painted graffiti at the school that led principal Nokuthula Magwanyana to lay charges of intimidation. Pic: Public Eye Maritzburg

The teaching fraternity in South Africa is under siege and I only have one group of people to blame: parents.

South Africa has a growing trend of helicopter parents who always swoop in at their convenience but are flying above the clouds when the school needs them to carry a burden that the school cannot handle.

When a student can attack a teacher – one who is responsible for their education and wellbeing and is a figure of authority – then, as a society, we need to honestly ask ourselves why we are raising kids like this.

Parents are happy when their children are bringing home excellent reports. But have we ever questioned – with 30-plus students in one class, possibly eight different classes in a day and more than 800 children in a school – at what cost do these marks come?

If a child is problematic, or even a bit exhausting, for a parent at home, have you ever wondered about the conditions under which these teachers are working?

At what personal cost does this education, multiplied by the hundreds and thousands that will go through the teaching system, come?

For us onlookers with expectations, it’s very easy to say “but it is the career path they have chosen”. But when we get to our own workplaces, we scream and shout when we feel mistreated or disrespected.

Just imagine if your line manager had to lay a hand on you – CCMA, labour court, social media posts, etc.

But when the victim of circumstance is a teacher, we dismiss it with “they are just children so what did they do to antagonise the child”, or “the education system is failing my poor baby”.

The excuses never stop.

My mother was a teacher so, yes, I am hypersensitive about teachers because any fool can lay blame at the door of a teacher and refuse to believe that maybe their offspring and his or her upbringing might be the problem.

Teachers are also someone’s parent, wife or husband and, in some instances, someone’s child.

They, too, deserve to be safe and comfortable in their working environment.