Secret Teacher: Why adults are the ones who should be 'seen and not heard'
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How does the old saying go? Children should be seen and not heard?
Well, I’d like to apply it to Irish grown-ups right now. As far as I’m concerned, we’re behaving like brats and I’ve had enough of it. Yes, I’m referring to the ongoing fighting in the playground that is our education system; I thought we were better than this. Apparently not.
We are letting our children and our students down. We need to be ‘seen and not heard’ because everything we’re currently saying to one another is both damaging and unhelpful. Irish adults deserve a Victorian kick up the backside. We need to be sent to our rooms until we learn how to behave – how to behave like responsible adults and adequate role models for our children.
Last week Norma Foley announced on our national news that the safety of our schools is still intact despite soaring numbers. She then made remarks about working closely with all educational partners and announced that sixth year students and those with special educational needs would return to classes.
This is not what unions report to have happened. Norma Foley doesn’t seem to understand what consultation means. And so, when unions (who report being informed rather than consulted) refused to play ball, a considerable number of grown-ups in the country rushed to attack teachers again for being lazy and incompetent. Again, we had to listen to the same prattle about the need for teachers to behave like healthcare workers and shop assistants, even though we’re neither of those things. Punters demanded that teachers receive Covid payments even though teachers, like every other professional in the country, will continue to work from home during lockdown.
In response, a considerable number of teachers on Twitter called for Foley’s resignation. Some even mocked her dress sense like any six-year-old might.
Well, this is me blowing my whistle and stamping my foot. Stop it! Everyone! This instant!
Norma Foley, you need to apologise to unions, principals and teachers and you need to really consult with them in the decision-making process in future. You cannot announce that students are returning to school before you check the logistics carefully with the people involved. You left principals floundering, wondering how they could provide enough teachers to allow for necessarily ramped-up social distancing, whilst simultaneously providing online learning to every other student at home. You played with the emotions of children with special needs and their families.
Norma Foley, you need to stop telling us things – you need to really investigate and listen. Don’t tell the country that we ‘overwhelmingly’ want to preserve the ‘traditional’ Leaving Cert. Really ask that question, really look for feedback and opinion. Respond to the international studies that suggest our assessment is doing harm. Respond to the student surveys that speak of anxiety and stress.
Parents – leave teachers alone. If you’re not satisfied with the work your child is getting over lockdown, you must speak to that teacher and that school. Please speak in a respectful manner. Whether you like it or not, that teacher is educating your child and you need to foster a good relationship if possible. If that relationship breaks down, then you must speak with management and report your concerns clearly and openly.
Do not air your grievances through radio shows and parent WhatsApp groups. Do not speak of all teachers in a derogatory way because that impacts all children. Be a grown up and face the problem head on. Look after your child. It doesn’t seem to be acknowledged widely enough, but the staff recruitment and retention problem in the education sector is worsening every year. People don’t want to enter a profession that throws them to the wolves. You need to change that.
Teachers – continue to teach over lockdown. It is not acceptable to send out a weekly email with a list of tasks. There must be genuine contact and adequate feedback given to individual students. Continue to do your best. Look out for your most vulnerable students and support the parents, particularly single parents, parents managing the impossible. Don’t call for the resignation of Norma Foley before she has been given a chance to change. Wait for her apology, and if it comes, accept it gracefully to build bridges for the sake of your students.
To mock someone’s dress sense is the behaviour of a misogynist and a bully. Be better.
Our students deserve to have role models. Educators and politicians and parents must work together to create an environment that feels safe and secure. We must cherish our young people today, tomorrow and every day after.
I will be perfectly honest here and say that the only thing keeping me in the classroom is my students. I hate the way my profession is constantly bad-mouthed, and I find it highly de-motivating. You might not care about how I feel but you should care about how I make your child feel in my classroom. As it is, I close the classroom door, forget the noise coming from outside, and get on with my job. These last few months have made doing that feel a lot harder.
Grown-ups, if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all. Or say it like a grown-up should. Your children are watching.