Spoke with a teacher from an “upgraded” high school & yesterday and learned some interesting things.

Our teachers are at war.

Most students don’t stand a chance.

As a teacher in an “upgraded” high school in a volatile community, the teacher I spoke with gets paid more.

That’s some incentive, she says, but not nearly enough.

It is everyday abuse from students.

Crude comments

No discipline

Poor attendance

Inadequate resources

Mentally she’s drained

Verbally abused daily

No support, counseling, motivation

No thanks

Recently she reprimanded a group of female students & as she walked away one shouted

“Miss guh sand out yuh tired hole”

No one was punished b/c the offender remains unidentified

As a female teacher she finds it a struggle to manage unruly boys, though the girls are almost as difficult.

There are mostly female teachers in the schools & the lack of diversity is detrimental.

Many boys are acting out. They have no father figure.

Their moms show no love.

On the issue of more male teachers in the classroom she said

“First of all, how would they survive.

I know my salary & I couldn’t date a man on my salary much less marry one.

How would he afford me? He can’t.

Much less a family.”

And that’s where the mike dropped.

The state can’t fix the family? It must.

Initiatives to promote & preserve strong family units as primary agents of socialization.

Also enduring programmes targeted at single female headed households which have the largest number of children. Also “barrel children”

There’s so much more to be said about the family & public order...but let’s talk for a bit about schools.

The standardized approach to curriculum development is NOT working.

Most children who didn’t get the school of their choice need targeted interventions.

A starting point