Those who cannot, teach

George Bernard Shaw, the English philosopher, writer and dramatist says that those who cannot, teach. He must indeed have a very low opinion of teachers. However, almost everybody is a teacher. You could either be teaching your kid to play tennis or your spouse to cook. The American swimming coach who coached an Olympic gold medallist could not swim!

It is indeed true that a person must possess all the criteria listed by Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan (Those who can, teach, Let’s hear it, 7/3/2004) in order to take up teaching as a life-long profession. He forgets patience and fortitude and a host of other superhuman qualities. There’s a tendency for the Malaysian society to subscribe to the view of George Bernard Shaw. They tend to think that it’s the losers who’ll take up teaching as it is considered the profession of last resort. So-called lecturers at colleges and universities aren’t considered teachers though they are basically teachers simply because they use esoteric terms and language, which in most cases, are beyond the comprehend of the lay man.

You can have all the right paper qualifications, the compatible human qualities and the best of intentions but as an ordinary school teacher or even a university teacher in Malaysia, you can still be short-changed. A teacher who feels cheated due to terms of service or unfair vindictiveness will be a loss to society. He will just waste away simply because he will hold back and not give of his best. In order for people to work at their optimum level and for them to contribute fully, their welfare must be taken care of. They must never be mismanaged by immature and revengeful administrators. By right, all administrators should help their people work at their optimum level and not make them feel like they are working “under siege”. Administrators must never forget that their strength comes from the people whom they manage. And incidentally, their glory comes from these very people.

Malaysian teachers are being constantly exhorted to be creative and innovative and pro-active in this challenging age. However, there are 4 creativity killers which a lot of our administrators at school don’t care about at all. They are:-

1. Surveillance – this is when senior managers “hover” and constantly scrutinize what is being done. This results in disgust on the part of staff because they’ll feel their managers do not trust them. They’ll feel restricted and not free to think for themselves. It’s like working “under siege”!
2. Evaluation – this is an overly strong tendency to assess, check and evaluate. Often this is critical and destructive. There is a preoccupation with judgement. This inhibits the willingness to think of something new and to try it out as it’d be safer to stick to old ways of doing things.
3. Over-control - when there is micro-management of every detail then there is a tendency to focus on operational issues. This type of manager inspires fear and despondency.
4. Relentless deadlines – people are stressed and can be broken if there is no let up. Who would have the time to think?

I hope I have provided fodder for thought as to George Bernard Shaw’s maxim or to Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan’s adage. Whichever one you choose doesn’t matter. What matters is teachers are never victimized in whatever way but are instead nurtured so as to bring out the best talent/talents each is endowed with. Such talents are invariably going to be passed on to the students.

Note : I do not know why this letter was not published in the "Let's Hear It" page of Star Education, The Sunday Star.