Stop bashing our teachers

The Editor, Sir:

I wish to use this opportunity to express my disgust at how teachers have been verbally abused and misunderstood, misjudged and labelled for the preceding days leading up to now. I wish to point out that contrary to what many persons perceive, there are many hard-working, dedicated teachers who have sacrificed self to go the extra mile for students.

Being a veteran in the classroom for almost 18 years, and who has taught in many different schools, I wish to contradict some of my so-called colleagues who seem to be teaching in the 'perfect school'.

Teaching in most Jamaican schools is no bed of roses. Teachers encounter constant disrespect and many other things from students daily. The governing bodies need to clean up the high level of immorality, which are deterrents to students learning and stop blaming teachers for students' inability to learn. Students do not learn because of lack of interest, poor nutrition, many learning disabilities, poor parenting and influences from a corrupt society with sensual and sexual images constantly being portrayed daily in students' faces.

The unappreciative attitude

I want the society to know when I go to a classroom which is not conducive to learning, I don't encourage students to push drugs and get into gangs, I don't teach them how to be dishonest and I have never placed a gun in my boys' hands. Instead, I try my best to work with them, teaching values as well as academics, given the unappreciative attitude and the conditions that I have to work in.

Let me pause to say that some Jamaicans who are abusing and misrepresenting teachers can hardly manage the two children they have at home. How on earth could they possibly understand what it is like to manage 25, 30 and 40 students in the classroom, who are coming from many different, colourful and interesting backgrounds.

I want to encourage the society to get the facts about the classroom from all areas of Jamaica and refrain from 'killing' the nation builders.

I am, etc.,

Dedicated teacher

May Pen, Clarendon