Bridging The Gap Between Teachers And The Schools
June 6, 2021
A school that has a high turnover of teachers faces enormous challenges. Getting students to adjust in school has its own challenges especially when it is a boarding school. Teachers are the glue that binds the students to a school. It is, therefore, very important that the students form a bond of trust and dependability with the teachers. Today’s homes have a lot of challenges, more negative than positive. There are students that beg to stay back at school even during the school holidays; they would rather be at school than home.
People tend to change their jobs for various reasons but that does not bode well in a school setup. There has been a lot of challenges with student behavior due to the changes presented to them in the recent past. Students that should have been out of school last year in December just finished their exams. They were kept in school for an extra four months due to the change in the school calendars across the country. Keeping these children grounded in school and boosting their morale is very important. At the Choice Club meetings, we are looking at ways of helping the school community have a cordial relationship between the teachers and the school management. Hiring and firing teachers causes a huge setback for the entire school. Teachers who do not feel appreciated will leave a school the minute they get a better job elsewhere but those that feel appreciated will stay on no matter what challenges or opportunities they may face.
It is also important that schools hire teachers that are suitable for their students. A school that hires a young male teacher in a ‘girl only’ school will eventually have problems. As much as the teacher may be qualified for the job, he may not be able to handle the pressure from the girls. It is, therefore, better that such a school hire a female head teacher, a mature woman who will enforce discipline at the school, not one who will fear the students. Students can be very disobedient and some schools have students that actually bully teachers, such teachers have a hard time teaching their lessons, and the students end up failing in that particular subject because their needs are not met.
As much as we mentor students, we have been forced to step in when such situations arise. As schools look forward to having new students in schools in August, there will be a lot of competition for students. Schools can only run effectively when there are enough students. If a school has a bad reputation or the students do not pass, they will suffer with low student intake. The just concluded national exams were very well performed by schools that have a high level of discipline and where teachers stay. Those that have high indiscipline issues and high teacher turn over did not perform well.
As we form the Choice Clubs and get to know each student, we also encourage them to read ahead and not allow themselves to be affected by the challenges at school. We believe that a student can pass well if they have the right tools and the right attitude. This year the students will have very short holidays because they have to catch up on the lost time when students were sent home. The pressure will have most of the students feeling tense especially those that are in schools where the teachers are not stable.