How Should a Teacher Behave?

Photo By Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Still related to education and the many issues surrounding it, this time I want to share about the challenges teenagers face. How should a teacher behave when it comes to morals, education, attitude, and school? It’s not as simple as it seems. When made simple, it’s simple; when made complicated, it just becomes more complicated.

Before diving into the issue, let me introduce myself. I am a teacher, having taught at this school for 2-3 years. I am also an alumnus of this school.

So, I understand a bit about the mischief of today’s teenagers. The incidents that happen in our school are likely similar to those faced by other schools. I’m not trying to bring up old wounds, but I want to use this as an example of the problems faced by teenagers today.

Do you remember the student brawls that resulted in death? Students from vocational schools might no longer be shocked by these incidents. You can read the full news here.

In the news, the student brawl that killed 4 people shows that today’s teenage mischief is bordering on criminal behavior. I’ve encountered several students who have dared to threaten others, injure them, and even threaten us as educators.

We’ve tried many approaches, from mandating extracurricular activities to packing lessons from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day. We’ve tried being lenient, and some teachers have resorted to harsher measures.

Students’ responses vary. Some accept it, others gradually improve, some report to their parents and even take it to court, and others openly threaten us.

A teacher, who should be respected, looked up to, and imitated, now feels threatened. My wife often reminds me to watch my words because, based on her experience, there have been cases where teachers were harmed by students due to careless words.

I often ignore all of this. Although I’ve never resorted to physical violence, I’m sure some of my students have been hurt by my words.

For us, teachers at the secondary level, we need extra patience, especially considering that it has become a tradition to associate vocational school students with being mischievous and fond of fighting.

I personally have not found the right method to deal with students like this. As a younger teacher, I often discuss with senior teachers about the steps we should take.

Students who enter vocational school already have their characters formed, starting from elementary school or middle school, they’ve already shown these tendencies. When watching the show Great Teacher Onizuka, I wish I could be like that: close to the students, without strict boundaries, and always positioning myself as one of them.

At the core, mischievous students are those who need attention, have family problems, and are going through a tough time. Unfortunately, some parents don’t realize this.

Some parents harshly scold their children in front of us, while others refuse to believe their child could behave this way, and so on.

Some parents cry, fearing their child will be expelled, while others proudly offer to have their child expelled. I’m not sure how to respond to this.

Our hope is for cooperation in supervising children, especially from childhood to their teenage years. The reality is, once a child has reached high school, it’s very difficult to change them.

In the end, your children are only with us at school for a maximum of 7-8 hours a day. So, we ask for your help, parents, in supporting the education of your children. Don’t let your only role be sending them to us.

Although teachers act as a substitute for parents at school, what they truly need is you.

You, the parents, who work late into the night, you who work during holidays, you who work tirelessly for your children’s education and future, we ask you to pay more attention to them.

We are here, striving and working hard to provide the best education for your children and for our nation.

We’re not saying we’re unwilling to take responsibility for the problems we face, but once again, we ask for your cooperation. Without your support, our efforts would be much less effective.

In short, what I’ve shared above is the reality and the issues we must face. Thank you to everyone who reads my writing; I hope it serves as a reflection for us all. Let’s all work together to improve for the better.

Good night.

That’s the story we’d like to share. Hopefully, this article can be useful and provide new insights for you. If you have any constructive criticism or suggestions, feel free to comment or reach out via Email and Mangcoding’s social media.