The good, bad and the ugly

IF YOU ever Google the phrase, “teacher quotes” you’ll get approximately 3,630,000 results. When you go through some of the websites which turn up only on the first page, you’ll come across some of the best words that could ever be used to pay tribute to a teacher. Consider the following examples, for instance: “What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation” (Cicero) and “those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well” (Aristotle).

Of course, words can never really do justice to a teacher/educator who plays an important part in one’s life, be it a school, college or university. One may ask then, what motivates students to rebel against their teachers? Why do they like some teachers and despise others? There are many reasons for that and one of them is incompetence.

There was a time when students had a completely devoted to their teachers. They couldn’t even imagine replacing their teacher let alone complain about him/her to the school authorities. A teacher was assigned to their class and that was the end of the story.

Now, however, there is a marked difference. Students over time have learnt to evaluate their teachers, often with a very critical eye and the result is that a teacher, who falls short of their expectations, comes under fire.

The quality of teachers is a determining factor in this regard. Previously in Pakistan, and even now in other parts of the world, teachers are selected on the basis on a very strict criterion often after they have passed a specific examination and have the necessary degrees.

With the mushrooming of private schools and colleges in Pakistan, the demand for teachers has considerably increased. Consequently, anyone, who has some free time on his/her hands and wants to make quick money in the easiest way possible way, opts for teaching. Thus, people who do not have the required qualifications start teaching subjects like science and computing, with the result that students end up learning nothing at all.

So, students are reluctant to accept whoever is assigned to them as a teacher because they believe they have a right to receiving quality education which they feel they can only receive if they have a good teacher at their disposal. But what happens when students don’t like certain teachers? What makes one teacher more incompetent than the others?

“An incompetent teacher is someone who doesn’t deliver. For example, s/he is very particular that you should submit assignments on time but will take forever to check them and make mistakes in the process. An incompetent teacher is also someone who isn’t enthusiastic enough about his/her subject, doesn’t follow up on developments in the field, and is not in a position to answer your questions; someone who speaks more of his/her personal life and achievements rather than the subject matter at hand, who is lazy and doesn’t understand the psyche of students,” says Mariam Rehan, an MBA student.

Faria Hussain, on the other hand, feels that those who enter the teaching profession just to make some extra money rather than impart knowledge are probably the most incompetent as they fail to inspire students to excel. “Teachers should equip themselves with the necessary tools to teach students,” she stated. “For example, teachers need to be well-informed and updated and should not rely on delivering the same old stuff they learnt at college themselves.”

Knowledge of the subject was cited by many students as the major prerequisite for competence. “Someone who is inept at answering questions and does not have a thorough know-how of his/her subject is definitely incompetent,” says Maria Ejaz, another student. “Attitude problems also count,” she adds.

As can be seen from the above statements, students have very clear ideas about competency or its lack thereof. Unfortunately for them, they do end up with their share of teachers who fall short of their expectations. So what do they do in such cases?

“We once had a young teacher who was my benchmark of the worst a teacher can be,” says Sarah Hassan, an Honour’s student at a well-known university. “We have a teacher evaluation form at the end of the term. I gave a very honest account of my experiences with her but unfortunately, I don’t think it worked because now she has been made a permanent teacher.”

“We have had many teachers who didn’t know what they were teaching and didn’t give us space to express ourselves. Moreover, they imposed themselves and their authority,” says Saira Shafaat. “But since we were A-level students and had a time constraint, we couldn’t exactly complain. Some of my classmates opted for tuitions and others just decided to study on their own.”

“When I was in the primary section, we had a teacher who taught only the first two rows and those who were sitting at the back didn’t follow a single word. I got my mother to complain at the PTA meeting, but it didn’t help,” complains Hira Anwar, who is now in her O’Levels.

Of course, there are students who are extremely pessimistic about the whole situation. They feel it is better to let the teacher do whatever s/he wants for the simple reason that if a teacher discovers that a rebellion is stirring within her class, those at the forefront can suffer numerous consequences. The most serious consequence which deters most students is fear of failure. Hence, students often decide to learn a subject on their own.

Bina Arshad feels very strongly about this. “Teachers usually cannot accept the fact that they are wrong. They have an air of superiority about them. Every once in a while, a student could be right but no one accepts this. And if they do, it is probably because they hold a grudge against the teacher. The problem is no one really likes criticism. If you have the gall to point out a problem to someone, you’re likely to pay sooner or later.”

However, there are schools which do try and take action at the request of students. “We had a complaint against our senior teacher and we went to complain to the headmistress. She was very understanding. But at the same time she told us she would remove that teacher only if we managed to get another one,” elaborates Faria.

Kinza Salim, a student of BE, agrees. “One of our teachers just comes in class, writes stuff on the blackboard and then leaves. No explanations are given. But whenever we complain, we are told to find another teacher on our own.”

It all comes down to a lack of good teachers. Of course, all this is not say that all teachers are incompetent. There are teachers who have gone a long way in positively influencing the lives of those whom they have taught. One sees these teachers even today, dedicating their lives to making a difference.

However, there are those who bring a bad name to the profession and it’s about time action was taken against them. It would be best to hold training courses for teachers before they are assigned to a particular class along with some sort of an evaluation at the end of each term.

So it isn’t as easy as it looks. Still, schools can take the initiative to ensure that the teachers they hire are qualified enough and have undergone some form of training. Till that time, students will continue to suffer.

(Names of students have been changed to ensure their privacy)