Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defined thankless as being without gratitude. A perfect encapsulation of what teaching has become in today’s modern age. Once esteemed among other professions, the concept of teaching has been reduced to the idea of ‘anyone can do it,” a hobbyist experience in the eyes of many. The rise of the accessibility of information, together with the lure of AI and its innumerable applications, has conditioned the mindset of a majority to pshaw and pooh-pooh any idea of teaching as a noble profession.
Teachers have moved beyond the mere art of teaching or the fanciful rebranding of educators by some. They have adopted the job of social worker, psychologist, policeman, judge, lawyer, nurse, with none of the prestige, pay, or respect that these other careers have. A teacher is expected to resolve conflicts on the scale of a UN Secretary-General, role-play as an immersive counsellor, and interpret and adjust to policy decisions on the fly. Comfort and nurse students who lack understanding of their emotions. walk the fine line of in loco parentis, whilst at the same time realizing that we can’t substitute our judgment too much before we become public enemy #1.
There once was a three-pronged approach to learning: the home, the school, and the student, in developing the most holistic version of the citizen learner. That has gone alarmingly by the wayside with parents becoming younger and younger, overburdened by the capitalist nature of society, and with a modern curriculum that many are unfamiliar with. Students themselves have suffered a lost year to COVID-19 that continues to have rippling impacts on their cognitive ability to read, reason, and deal with higher order functionality. The rise of AI chatbots and their lure of easy grades and less work, combined with the way-too-early exposure to screen time, has created a society where the answer is more important than the process. Easy has replaced hard work, even though I do wholeheartedly with a former classmate’s adage, to work smart, not hard.’
It appears to be a drain on common sense, allowing for smartness to compensate for hard work, but rather a sad emptiness where either should be. Consider also how many students are bereft of any intrinsic motivation to perform well, even imagining the mammoth social and economic conditions that affect them, we must also query what lies ahead. Who will switch on the light for the many who seem unbothered and disinterested? Will our social safety nets be able to catch them before a ticking time bomb goes off?
And teachers? Well, what more can be said? Overworked, overburdened, underpaid, and underappreciated. Dictates from above to fulfill mandates and whims of ministers and permanent secretaries with nary a care for the teacher and their already fragile ecosystem. Year after year, people move out of the classroom, into administrative duties and seem occupied with how can I make it worse for those left behind as they relax in the AC suites on the waterfront.
The stress of national exams and preparing students for them often add on to the burden of teaching where students are taught to the test rather than ensuring the, quite overstuffed (many thanks to the new DHOPC coming on stream), curriculum is taught to ensure well-rounded students are delivered we seem to be providing a factory level rollout. There is also a very broad disconnect between parents and teachers who often seem at odds rather than engaged as allies. Parental interest and involvement at schools has taken a nosedive. It sometimes feels that the summer vacation, or days with inclement weather are seen as a burden for parents and teachers escaping their responsibilities rather than enjoying the unexpected familial moments.
With the other two planks under sustained and relentless pressure it appears that a teacher’s work is never done, a sad reality.