Competency of Teachers

The majority of teachers are doing an excellent job in spite of very difficult circumstances, but that job could be made a good deal easier were the department of education to spend more time on properly educating teachers and less time on continually changing the system which is just creating more confusion. Time is one of the greatest barriers when it comes to upgrading the abilities and skills of current teachers. Teachers are expected to attend courses and lectures during school terms, which are usually extremely short and abbreviated due to the fact that it takes up valuable teaching time.

The department of education has acknowledged that there is a lack of skilled teaching personnel and is trying to address this problem by training more teachers, but they tend to ignore the needs of current teachers causing them to leave the profession in ever increasing numbers. This loss of experience is one of the leading reasons why more and more schools are becoming virtually unmanageable. No amount of new teachers can replace the experience that is being lost. Experience has to be gained over time and cannot be taught in a college. Many classes are being run by students with inexperienced teachers merely doing what the students want in order to maintain a semblance of control. The education department has structures in place in order to deal with unruly behavior, but many of these structures have been designed by administrators who have little experience as to how they will be implemented at school level.

The only solution will be for teachers to get together and speak with a unified voice. Sacrifices with regard to giving up some free time and holidays will be required, but after all most teachers are doing this job because they love working with children rather than for the remuneration. We, as teachers, have to put the needs of the children first and be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices in order to ensure that we have all the required skills in order to give our pupils the best opportunities for the future. Teaching is by and large a labour of love, and if you do not love your job, do everybody a favour and get out of the profession.

Let us all work together to ensure a brighter future for our children. Remember that these children we are teaching today are the very people who will be running our economy when we are old one day and will go a long way to determining the quality of life we will enjoy during our retirement. We are not only shaping a future generation, but also influencing our own future as well as that of our own children and grandchildren.

Mike Roberts

02 December 09