Of educators then and now (the STAR)

I read this interesting article recently. What do you make of it? Feedback welcome.

Of educators then and now (29th May 2011)

I AM always baffled when my younger colleagues tell me about the setbacks they face as teachers. What they experience now is nothing compared to what we senior teachers had to go through in the early days.

Apart from the numerous interviews we had to go for before being accepted into the teacher training colleges, we were posted to schools in towns and villages that were far away from our hometowns.

Finding a room or house was not easy and many of us had to still travel a considerable distance from the school. This required us to take the buses or ride on our bicycles.

We made sure we reached school at least 10 minutes before school started at 7.30am.

May I point out that many teachers these days have no sense of punctuality and often come to school later than their students!

These days, fresh graduates are luckier as many of them get to serve in their hometowns on their first posting which means they don’t experience the type of problems we faced.

As for teaching, we would come to class with a well-structured lesson plan compared to teachers these days who are unprepared. They have no passion for the job because they know that most of their students are being tutored outside school.

Those who cannot afford tuition will continue lagging behind, but do their teachers care?

Many teachers these days are also reluctant to attend additional courses so long as they fulfil the seven-day Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan (in-service training), which is mandatory for all teachers.

The reason why they aren’t keen on attending these courses is because they do not want their holidays to be disrupted.

This is not all, the school authorities are reluctant to take action against them.

Up to a decade ago, only a competent and experienced teacher would be appointed as Ketua Panitia to head the respective subject panels at school.

These days, a teacher with less than a year’s experience is allowed to head one of these subject panels.

While it may seem like I am griping, parents and many dedicated teachers in the profession will agree that teaching is no longer as noble as it used to be.

Those who have only recently entered the teaching line must buck up and take an interest in their job, otherwise they will be doing a disservice to their young charges.

DEDICATED TEACHER
Via e-mail

(credit: http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2011/5/29/education/8749624&sec=education)