The dilemma our

IT is indeed true that if a learner is immersed in his/her learning environment and is creatively involved, then real learning occurs. Today’s language educators in our primary and secondary classrooms are often faced with the dilemma to make or not to make noise in their classrooms.

It reminds one of Shakespeare’s philosophical dilemma in Hamlet’s soliloquy, “To be or not to be …”.

Like always, we have annually a round of Principals Annual Conference and Head Teachers Conference and speeches laced with quotes which support a student-centred learning philosophy, delivering stronger youth leaders, an intelligent and creative youth workforce and better academic results .

The pressing question is, are these principals and head teachers, administrative heads, speaking the same language as their teachers back in their schools?

What exactly is really happening in our classrooms?

Many education stakeholders are not aware or most are deliberately ignorant of what really is going on in our classrooms today.

Firstly under the guise or fear of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), our children, Fiji’s children are not getting the education they rightly deserve.

Take a walk into any primary and secondary school today and critically observe the school culture.

Classrooms which should be full of children eagerly learning, communicating, laughing, working in groups, learning or practising drama and role-play under the trees, debating or taking part in impromptu oral skill based activities in the hall or in the fresh air outside are not the norm but an exception in Fiji’s classrooms today.

Now ask yourselves one pertinent question. Why do all these classrooms all look and feel the same?

Why the sad silence? This question begs to be answered.

Majority of the classrooms are now artificial constructs with zombie like students and robotic teachers who adhere to the dictates of their principals and head teachers. Why do all these teachers not practise what they are trained for at university and in teacher training colleges?

The OHS policy has to be followed at any cost. For every principal and head teacher, OHS is bigger and more powerful than our very own constitution.

What exactly is priority for majority of these academic school heads? It is only discipline and class control. This is the very mantra that they all recite daily.

Discipline at any cost. Class control is essential to being a good teacher. No academic leader deems it important to question how this fear of compliance is affecting the emotional and psychological health of our children, our learners in this nation.

If a language teacher is teaching drama or poetry or teaching phonetics or reading skills, the law has to be followed. Absolutely no noise must come from that classroom.

If students burst out laughing or are discussing and excited and involved in the learning process especially in English language or literature classes, then immediately the teacher is deemed as a “weak”, “not good” teacher at all because this teacher has poor class control or poor class management.

One will often find that the head teacher or the principal or another head will quickly jump to douse the fire of learning taking place.

He/she will reprimand the teacher who is actually doing what he/she was trained for in the first place.

The teacher will be warned not to create noise or disturbance or else.

The threat hangs over their heads and their careers. Is that what all classrooms are meant to be?

Is this what teachers are trained for at university? In reality, it is only in classrooms as such where real learning is taking place.

It is teachers like these who need to be commended for showing courage and implementing the lesson in a creative and life giving manner.

Instead of being punished and humiliated, we must rally behind such dynamic teachers and reward them because they teach from their conscience and not out of fear.

Discipline at any cost. Class control is essential to being a good teacher. No academic leader deems it important to question how this fear of compliance is affecting the emotional and psychological health of our children, our learners in this nation.

Where in the OHS Act does it state that students are not allowed to communicate and discuss their subject content with their peers and teachers who are subject specialists?

Does it not seem like some academic heads have misunderstood the very purpose of OHS policy.

Let us look at the definition of “noise”. This is the most commonly used word by academic heads of schools in Fiji today.

Noise according to the Oxford dictionary means anything that causes an obstacle or disturbance.

A sound that emanates from the functioning of an apparatus, a factory or a plane flying overhead can be classified as noise.

Why then are students in the classroom who engage in the human communication mode classified as noisy?

Why is human communication in a learning environment classified always as noise?

How else will they learn if they do not speak their minds with their peers and their teachers in the learning process?

This culture of silence, of obedience

and total compliance has to be challenged. Schools were meant to be places of learning.

Real learning only takes place when learners are given a free space to articulate their doubts, their concerns, their joy and their skills.

Fiji’s schools have been transformed into military zones with classrooms looking and feeling more like graveyards and teachers doing graveyard shifts with content heavy curriculums and jam packed classrooms.

When you put many live chickens and ducks in small coops, like the many we see on our roadsides, aren’t they all screeching and looking shocked and scared in the hot sun.

We view this animal cruelty daily in our lives.

What about the torture our children and young adults go through each day in cramped, hot, crowded classrooms.

They are not even allowed to go outside in the field with their teachers to learn, are not allowed to run and feel free during their breaks, are not allowed to even talk, communicate in groups or make any kind of “noise” in the classroom or else the teacher will be reprimanded by the Academic heads.

Primary school students are not allowed to run and play during any break. What kind of physical development are we giving them?

All that they do whole day is write copious notes and some don’t even go out for P.E. regularly since majority of the teachers are busy trying to complete the heavy curriculum and do not take physical exercise seriously at all.

Is there any wonder why there has