Teacher bullies

AS a language educator and researcher, I am appalled that today’s primary educators lack essential human values such as compassion, tolerance, human care and empathy for their young students.

This is in reference to young children being beaten, all because they did not complete their writing activity on time.

Despite the work pressure, what was the need to push students to complete their writing activity?

We need teachers who are flexible, humane and innovative in their approaches to teaching our children in the primary and secondary levels.

The Fiji Teachers Union should step up and tell all the parents of Fiji and other educators of Fiji who do not condone such abuse in our classrooms, what action they will take against not just the assistant head teacher who gave out the physical beating but also the teacher who recommended it.

This is not the time to defend these teachers, just because they are financial members of a large union.

This is not happening for the first time.

Students are being subjected to verbal abuse, ridicule and contempt, aggressive behaviour and teacher bullying in all our schools. Every student has a story to tell.

Parents think teachers are disciplining students and therefore this authority is never questioned.

The lack of courageous and honest, transparent leadership by principals and headteachers has led to our schools becoming more like correctional facilities.

I am requesting the permanent secretary of the MoE and the minister to vigilantly monitor all primary and secondary heads and whether they are themselves positive role models for their teachers.

We need data from school heads on whether the pedagogies their teachers are using are based on fear and punishment or on collaboration, positive feedback and humane communication skills.

Are our young school prefects/ leaders also emulating the fear and punishment model from the teachers and heads of the school?

They need to be the students’ voice and not disciplinary agents of the school administration.

We don’t need teachers in our classrooms who behave like maniacs.

Our children at all levels, need more humane and caring teachers.

REGINA S. NAIDU

Lautoka ❏ More letters on Pages 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32.