Teachers

"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).

This discussion is somewhat related (see especially the comments).

more related stuff from ST Forum Page (a continuation of this). Some highlights. First, an earlier one (Sep 30), by one Ben Leong Wing Lup:

I believe that it is good for students to learn that they can and should have an opinion. Some youngsters may have wrong or misguided opinions, but a wrong opinion is better than none at all. If a teacher should feel that her students are wrong in believing that she is a prude, then perhaps she should figure out why she's being labelled a prude and work on it. Talk to the students. Yes, talk, not berate.

Students will not be won over by being suspended from school. Suspending the students seems more punitive than rehabilitative, and is aimed more at appeasing an irate teacher. It may be asking for a wee bit too much, but I hope that teachers can learn to 'take the heat'.

Predictably, that last will eventually call forth a rejoiner, which came today (Oct 5). Writing in support of the schools approach in dealing with the problem, Siow Jia Rui says:

As these are not isolated incidents, I believe that a deterrent approach must be taken to nip the problem in the bud.

It is simply bad taste to justify such offensive remarks as a way of 'learning that they can and should have an opinion'. There are surely more constructive ways to encourage our students to become more opinionated, instead of doing it at a teacher's expense.

I question the students' intentions in posting such remarks on their blogs. More often than not, students' hurtful remarks centre on a teacher's looks, dressing or the way he/she carries himself/herself, and not the way he/she conducts a class. It is ludicrous to justify these as constructive feedback that requires the teacher to 'work on it'.

Why go behind the teacher's back to post remarks on student blogs where everybody gets to read them? To me, this smacks of a certain maliciousness on the students' part. If a student is sincere about providing constructive feedback to a teacher, a more direct and effective route would be to approach the teacher personally and articulate his/her opinions clearly.

This method is just as effective in helping students to form opinions about the things they encounter around them and to articulate these opinions clearly and responsibly.

I think not many are really interested in defending the substance of the students' blog--even legitimate criticisms can be voiced in better and worse ways. But I think the unhappiness is over the threat of lawsuits, and perhaps, to a lesser degree, suspending the students.

The next one, however, goes to the heart of the discussion over at Mr. Wang's (above). Tan Juanhe, a secondary school student writes that he has while he has "witnessed many instances of rude behaviour towards teachers, directly and behind their backs", neverthelesless, "such conduct is usually not without reason". In a nutshell (to anticipate somewhat):

This is the root of the problem of decreasing respect in schools. On one hand, students are overly critical of what their teachers say, nitpicking every minute fault, while on the other hand, teachers aren't exactly helping matters by setting double standards for themselves and the students.

There is an example of what is meant by the last bit:

A good example would be queue-cutting in the canteen, especially during recess and lunchtime. Teachers are usually given priority, jumping straight to the front of the queue to purchase their food, regardless of how many students are waiting in line for their turn. This phenomenon can be observed in most schools, and most students are unhappy about this, viewing it as abuse of power.

Certainly, teachers do have a higher status than students, but does this allow them to openly flout what I believe is a school rule in many schools? After all, in our society, people in authority are expected to set a good example and abide by rules. What makes a school any different? Besides, teachers tend to have more free periods than students during which they could buy their food. Why contend with hungry students?

Good questions, actually--though I am not familiar with the practices in the schools (anyone has comments?). Now while I am still undecided as to whether this is really a legitimate grouse (is there such a rule?), Juanhe's underlying point is clear enough. The fact is, the days when "students treated teachers with unwavering deference"--not just in terms of "absorbing uncritically whatever they were told"--but also in terms of how they relate to each other outside the classroom (the formal greetings and bows, treating teachers as one might one's elders and parents, etc.) are long gone. Whether or not this deference is (or was) a good thing, it can't seriously be revitalised in any easy way. Nor is its value really all that unambiguous--to say the least, its excesses are definitely contrary to the cultivation of a mature and free democratic citizenry.

The question today is nothing as exalted as whether traditional deference is a good thing, but the simpler one of how we are to make do with the hand we are dealt. Juanhe proposes two things that "must be done":

Firstly, the conceptual line on how much basic respect all students ought to have for their teachers must be redefined clearly. Teachers devote their lives to imparting essential knowledge to students, and in return we should treat them with a certain amount of gratitude. Just how much the minimum should be in today's society, so vastly different from the past, is an issue, but it must be dealt with so that students would understand the basic expectations of them.

Secondly, teachers have a part to play too. They must work on their image and not do anything that might harm it, since this diminishes students' respect for them. There must be a standardised guideline that all teachers follow, so that students can finally look up to them as their role models. After all, respect must be earned.

Again, I should emphasise: I wouldn't be too quick to 'take the side of the students against the teachers'. Juanhe's comments are cogent, well articulated and deserve serious consideration. But it is hardly obvious to me that every case of disrespect toward the teacher is explainable in the terms proposed; nor is it obvious that even if explainable, they are also justifiable. In any case, it is possible that some could well be immature enough to "flame" their teachers for no good reasons at all--and what Juanhe's observations contribute will be no more than casuistry in their case. Furthermore, not all respect is a matter of earning. Respect--in the sense of civil behavior and speech--is always called for simply in virtue of the fact that we are or at least aspire to be civilised people who are able to deal with each other in a civil manner--no matter what one might think of the other's abilities or even morals.

More thoughts from the Cap'n Intrepid, who is more direct than I have been.

update: Terz left some excellent comments in response to Tan Juanhe's letter which should be read in full.

related post by lzydata at Singapore Ink.