As a child, I regularly got a hiding: From my parents and from my teachers. Like the day I broke the windscreen of Mr Ross’s car. My brother and I wanted to see who could throw a cricket ball furthest. My dad gave me a hiding to remember. In addition, I had to empty my piggy bank and pay for that windscreen repair myself.

There was the day I bunked school. The noise of the class irritated me and I wanted to study in peace in my own room. Unfortunately, my uncle, Thys Adams, was the disciplinary teacher at the school. The next thing I knew he was at the door. Those six of the best were visible on my buttocks for days. When he informed my dad that evening, I received another six. My mother rubbed in a little camphor oil. No one considered laying a charge. And I have clearly not retained any lasting scars (either physical or psychological).

In both cases, I had violated the rules and deserved my punishment. But that was then. Corporal punishment has been forbidden by law since 1996 and we must act accordingly.

Today, I think back to my school days with nostalgia. There was Miss Rosie September in Sub A who taught me to write. She gave me a hug every time I spelt a difficult word correctly. Miss Serena Samaai taught me sums in Sub B and regularly spoiled me with sweets. Uncle Piet, our geography teacher in matric, made the cutest hand gestures when teaching. It was great fun to imitate him as soon as he was out of the class, until he caught us out one day… Ouch!

And then there was our principal, Mr Arendse, who taught history. We were terrified of him and when his booming voice resounded in the corridors everyone immediately fell in line. The school was great.

Learners were somebody

And now the point I want to make: The Greek philosopher Aristotle said that each one who remembered his school career, remembered his teachers. Not methods, techniques and syllabuses. Think for a moment how irrelevant it is today whether a child is taught according to the OBE method or the Caps method. Violence has not decreased. Unhappy teachers and learners have increased.

When I had to decide on a career, it was quite simple. I had always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be there when my students needed a rugby or cricket coach (I had played both sports myself). I wanted to be a father to the boys who had to grow up without one. I wanted to connect with them so that they could know what it is like when you have someone who cares about you.

Today it is still the greatest reward when my wife and I sit in a restaurant and a former student approaches us to greet us. Then I see the amazement on their faces as we remember their names. My learners were someone: each one, a human being.

Great Exodus

Why do I share this? Because I steadfastly believed this is where we dropped the education ball: The day that teachers started to strike, and left the learners to their fate, was the day that teachers lost control of education. Learners had to entertain themselves, and this led to experimentation: First with cigarettes, later alcohol, fights, then drugs, even sex and cellphone recordings. Today we harvest the bitter fruit.

And for what: A higher salary? Teachers in this country today earn much more than their counterparts at universities or in the private sector. More than our country can afford. Did higher salaries make teachers happier? Is it still enjoyable for teachers to get up in the morning and go to school? I know and you know what the answer is.

Let me remind you of recent incidents which will permanently put off many prospective teachers from joining this profession:

A learner was slapped by a teacher after the learner aggressively pushed her school desk at the teacher. Another teacher had to flee her town when she was accused of racism after she innocently shared a photograph on social media. A teenage girl was raped by two co-students while her schoolmates watched and made a video of the incident on their cellphones.

Earlier in 2019, a teacher was murdered by a learner because he did not want to be disciplined. Recently a learner was hacked to death by five co-students. Last week a photo was shared on social media of a teacher with a bleeding head wound after she had been assaulted by a learner. Yesterday we heard of a 19-year-old Grade 11 learner who was stabbed to death by three learners from another school. The list continues…

As a result, many teachers older than 55 are applying for the early severance package being offered. I predict a huge exodus of years of experience. And yet, we need experienced teachers to guide younger teachers.

Teachers are vulnerable

From the above, it is clear that many teachers do not have the skills for the challenges of the modern classroom. Good subject knowledge is no guarantee for the success of teachers. They are exposed every day to the aggressive behaviour of learners and must be equipped to defuse stressful situations.

When I taught the module Classroom Management to honours students at CPUT, it usually led to heated discussion. Teachers feel vulnerable and say that too little is done to protect them. The bureaucracy is quick to encourage parents to report any form of corporal punishment (of which I disapprove), but fails to give teachers the necessary support.

Human error

It is here that education departments and universities can take the lead. Teachers are the heart of the education system. If they are unhappy, the whole system becomes unstable. That is why it is strange that so little is done for teachers’ wellness. Unions should also do more: Who is taking care of the caregivers? If no one wants to teach any more, the country will go to ruin.

The media ought to report on these matters in a more balanced (less sensational) manner. The way in which they referred to the Newlands teacher as the “slap teacher” was insensitive. By that, I am not saying that what she did was right. But teachers are just human and make human mistakes, especially if they are continually mocked, sworn at, reviled and threatened.

Quo Vadis?

What does the future hold? How do we change an education system which has changed into a negative, unpredictable and complex environment which smothers the soul of teachers and thus the core of education?

The answer lies in ridding the system of its bureaucratic red tape. There are too many advisers and too few teachers in the classroom. A case of too many chiefs and too few Indians. Recently I visited a school where there were more than 50 learners in one Grade 11 classroom.

Teachers are the system’s greatest asset. To make the best of them, it is necessary that they spend more instructional time with learners and less time in front of a computer screen. The administrative red tape with which teachers are saddled saps their energy and deprives learners of valuable contact time. It is work that can easily be done by administrative staff.

Finally: Can we stop comparing the “top schools” and “dysfunctional” schools? I know of many “top schools” which are pretty dysfunctional when it comes to applying ethical values.

It is time for teachers to take back ownership of the education system. Let us simplify the system so that no one is tangled in myriad regulations. Let us make our schools places of which the community can be proud; where teachers can live their passion and where learners’ true potential can be explored.

Let us return to the basics. DM