Students seem to be taking undue advantage of the fact that teachers can be pulled up for being harsh
NISHANTH S COONTOOR
Every Teachers’ Day,when students felicitate and thank their teachers,I think of how much the student-teacher equation has changed.
Gone are the days when students respected teachers out of fear.Gone are the days when students would be corrected by teachers without fear. Here are the days where students are taking teachers to task – for all the wrong reasons. Recently in Bangalore, when a student complained about being reprimanded,threatening to take the teacher to the police, the teacher, who claimed she was innocent, resigned.
Student indiscipline has been on the rise for a long time now.With hyped reports of teachers punishing students, the students seem to have found a new weapon against schools.
The whole teaching community gets the rap for the fault ofone teacher. “People must understand that even teachers have gone through student life.All that they want is the well beingof the student. No one ever bothers to see the teacher’s point of view. Students can be wrong too,” says Rekha Dinakar, a teacher at Carmel High School. Another teacher says the fault lies with parents too. With no time to spare,they feel guilty and hence support their child.
Thanks to this, teaching is no longer a noble profession, feels another teacher from a leading city school. “It is in fact a high risk job. There have been cases where teachers advice others not to take up this profession.With this kind of attitude amongst students, not all go out of the way to correct students. It seems to have become a ‘I pay, you teach’ business.This can only result in chaos and a spoilt future of a child which otherwise would have been great.”
“Parents should build a sense of loyalty with the school and help teachers correct their wards. Listen to what the teachers have to say before blaming them. They must understand that teachers must be assertive to an extent. And now they are beginning to do so too,” says Dorothy Menezes, principal,Carmel High School.
Schools need not give harsh punishments at all. Making students do small yoga exercises is enough to ward off their laziness.And you can barely call it a punishment, she adds.
The Mirror Squad spoke to some students who feel that the onus is on both sides to maintain the teacher-student equation. Says Ravi, a highschoolstudent, “In my father’s time, if a teacher beat a child because he did not do his homework, it was okay. But now, the law says corporal punishment is not allowed. If a teacher is blamed unfairly, even I would not like it, but I also feel teachers should not be too rigid and understand that times are changing. We respect them still, but would not like to be treated harshly by them.”
His friend Kavya adds, “Parentstoo must teach children how to respect all elders, then they will automatically respect teachers. Teachers are like our second parents, so we must respect them more.”
“The fault of improper judgement lies on both sides.Lack of discipline at home and over-pampering shall only lead to more indiscipline. It’s not about taking sides, it’s about the answer. While teachers can counsel the child and encourage positive behaviour,parents can trust in their wards being in safe hands and co-operate with school authorities,”says Dr Sulata Shenoy, a child psychologist.
The Mirror Squad 