A teachers problem

   

 "A teachers problem"
           by: Genemar T. Marte

                    (third week)







     "My teacher my hero", short but has a great impact to the youth and the society, but sometime it creates a paradox in our mind that a teacher should lead to innovation and adapt the great changes on her surroundings. Over the years, the teacher and the teaching profession in the country have been confronted by various issues that are directly or indirectly affecting them. One is the deteriorating quality of graduates that school have been producing over the years. Some educational researches however maintain that we cannot distinguish between "good" and "poor" or effective and ineffective" teaching strategy if no one knows for sure or agrees what competent teacher is.

      The teacher may not be the only variable, or even the major one, in the teaching learning equation, but he or she can make difference, either positive or negative to the students. Here it should be noted that negative teacher influences have greater impact than positive ones, in that students can be turned into non-learners and experience loss of self-concept in a matter of weeks as a result of a hostile or intimidating teacher. Like if the teacher is not approachable the student creates a doubt to pursue learning if the educator is creating an intimidating image to the student. If teachers do not make difference, the notions of teacher evaluation, teacher accountability, and teacher performance are non-workable and the educational policy cannot be formulated, and the educational objectives and set standards will not be realized. In this case, the teacher and teaching profession must be looked into a larger perspective rather than inference.

      Teaching might not be the most popular profession in the world but it's undoubtedly the most populated. There are indeed around 57 million teachers in the world I think, and about two thirds of them work in the developing countries for money sake. What makes the teaching profession special is that it signify a per-occupying truth that teachers are very important forces in our societies because they are the guarantors and molders of the education of future generations who ultimately will be the builders and somehow leaders of the nation. Its drastic change the youth has a great importance to the life of individual, yet we cannot deny that sometimes teaching is done on a matter of hardwork and  dedication and perseverance to pursue and tolerate the nation building. But sometimes the teaching profession is esteemed downward that the number of students population is not inclined to the number of teachers. This is done through increasing of pupil to teacher ratio and double shifts schools and multi-grade classes. It's the teacher who suffers from the measure due to the difficulty in handling such kind of a class scheme. In this way the pressure is put on the teachers incomes and status have stagnated or even declined because its the teachers part to give a better education on her student no matter what large number she will handle.

      The people's attitude towards the teaching profession has something to do also why teachers feel weakened and complain about loss of their status and diminishing respect. Their unclear career path and poor prospects of mobility and momentum are down, their working conditions that are always required to perform a variety of tasks not directly related to teaching have put them at a loss.

      Teaching is really a serious profession, you are the molders of nations youth and create their path to take. But sometimes a teacher's problem will sometimes create a barricade to give the best education that they should acquire of the journey of life of a student. However, behind all these things, one thing is for sure, "teachers have a pivotal role to play in preparing the young generation to help realize our hopes that the coming century will see a more socially just, more tolerant and more peaceful world. It is but necessary that we should appreciate and acknowledge them, to empower and give them what is due to them so that they will be strengthened and not weakened so that they will encourage to act and to excel in the name of public service and a loving atmosphere.