#BTColumn – Celebrating teachers

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Dennis DePeiza

In Barbados, Education Month is observed annually in October. Research suggests that in over one hundred other countries, November is the preferred month. One of the highlights of the month is that of World Teachers’ Day which is observed on October 5. The celebration of World Teachers Day, is used to commemorate the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation concerning the status of teachers, regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.

In addition to World Teachers’ Day, Teachers’ Professional Day is observed in Barbados. This year, it is being celebrated on Friday, October 21. In celebrating Teachers’ Professional Day, teachers are expected to take the opportunity to concentrate on professional and development issues, which are aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning environment. The general public should also seize the moment to celebrate with the teaching profession, and to recognize the contribution of educators to the development of the global society.

Added to the month of celebration, would be the Teachers’ Week activities that are organized and hosted by the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT); the largest teachers trade union organization on the island. The theme of this year’s Teachers’ Week is, “Teachers’ Realities: Facing the Challenges of a Changing Industrial Relations Climate.’ The appropriateness of the theme is embodied in the fact that teachers as workers, are finding themselves subject to various policy changes without engaging the collective bargaining process, changes to conditions of employment without consultation, as well as facing threats to their human, civic and constitutional rights.   

Much is expected of teachers for the socialization and development of the nation’s children. At a time when the social fabric of the world seems to be falling apart, there should be greater support shown for teachers in their efforts to teach and educate both children and adults. Every adult should be mindful of their responsibility in helping to enforce and instill the values, mores, morals and ethical practices which are key to building responsible members of the society.  It is felt that exposure to a strong value system would invariably shape the character of each individual, help them to know right from wrong, to entertain and share good thoughts, pursue a healthy life and help persons to choose the right way.

With the value system now under immense pressure from all sorts of anti-social behaviours which are being accepted as the norm, it is important that teachers and educators understand their role in shaping the perceptions of others in what is right and wrong. It is important to help students to stand for themselves and others when an injustice is done and inflicted upon them.

Members of the public, politicians and senior public officers who are entrusted with the management of the education system, civil society organizations and the mass media, ought to understand and appreciate the responsibility which falls to teachers in the teaching of morals and values to children within the school system. What is transmitted to them is expected to influence if not determine, how they behave on becoming adults. It therefore requires that there is support forthcoming from all stakeholders. Parents, guardians and wards should accept their responsibility to instill good morals and values in their children as early as possible. It is critical to teach the importance of ethics to students, as this can impact on shaping their thinking, actions and behaviour.

Some may wish to question where is society going wrong, when it comes to promoting and upholding morals, values and ethical standards. Some may attempt to throw the blame at the feet of teachers, by suggesting that they are concentrating too much on academic attainment, rather than teaching the fundamentals of socialization. Policy makers and civil society institutions led by the church, need to pay more attention to the role they are required to play. The shifting of the goal post under the guise of promoting constitutional rights with an emphasis on freedom of choice, along with the advocacy for human rights, is but a mere excuse for the anti-social behaviours which run contrary to the Christian principles that societies have generally come to accept.

The promoting of promiscuity, polygamy, homosexuality, gay and lesbianism, bi-sexual behaviour, and the rights of the gay LGBTQ+ community on the public airways, in the print and electronic media, in the production of movies and other forms of entertainment, is only serving the purpose of defeating the work of the teachers and educators.

Dennis DePeiza is a labour & employee relations consultant, Regional Management Services Inc. www.regionalmanagementservices.com