BOBIE-LEE DIXON
(bobie-lee.dixon@guardian.co.tt)
Social worker and school guidance counsellor Alsoona Boswell-Jackson says the alleged diatribe of the primary school teacher towards some pupils of her Standard Five class at Tranquillity Government Primary School early last week is not just “inappropriate behaviour”, but downright bullying.
“Normally when we talk about bullying we would look at when one child bully's another child, hardly ever the conversation will arise about teachers bullying children. And this is a prime example of bullying by a teacher.”
She said that at the secondary school level, children would react and rebel or walk out of the classroom, but in the case of a primary school, the pupils do not have that kind of redress. “Walking out or ignoring a teacher are hardly viable options for these children because it would most likely get them into more trouble.”
Referring to the teacher's behaviour as an“overkill” Boswell-Jackson said verbal abuse by anyone in a child's life can be devastating. However, she said the fall out is usually worse when the abuse is coming from someone who the child loves, respect and looks up to, and someone in authority.
“Miss and Sir are usually their heroes and their roles models. It is very unfortunate when the hero that you look up to and have love and respect for, is the person who is actually abusing you verbally,” Boswell-Jackson says.
Theoretically speaking, she said, children at primary school level are at the stage called middle childhood (six to 11) and by German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson's psycho-social theory, it's a stage where they are trying to successfully manoeuvre the psycho-social phase called industry versus inferiority where children become capable of performing increasingly complex tasks. As a result, they strive to master new skills. Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their abilities.
Boswell-Jackson said psycho-social was about how social relationships influence a child's psychological growth and has nothing to do with his/her physical growth or cognitive development.
She said it could then be resolved that there is a direct link between the teacher's abuse and how a child would behave emotionally and how they would adjust academically.
“If I am being abused in a classroom, I will go into that classroom with a block. Because this ranting of this teacher could not be just a one-off thing, this appears to be a normal and natural thing for her to get on like that,” Boswell-Jackson opines.
She said it could be that the children were accustomed to that behaviour by the teacher and one of them just decided to take matters into their own hands and do a recording, to substantiate what they were trying to say all the time.
“Sometimes when our children come home and they say 'Miss was getting on,' we tend to think they are exaggerating and sometimes we even blame them for the teacher's behaviour, without doing a proper investigation,” Boswell-Jackson explains.
The classroom is crucial
The classroom is supposed to develop confidence in children, Boswell-Jackson said. She said when children engage in social interactions and academic activities at school, they begin to develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their work and they start to feel competent that they can go on to the next stage of life preparing for SEA and the teacher is now an enabler to help them feel that competency. However, when the teacher is the person putting them down and giving them that feeling of failure by how she speaks and interacts with them, that develops a feeling of inferiority. “They feel like this because this is my teacher who I am supposed to look up to who is supposed to be very intelligent and in charge of my intelligence. And if she is saying I am a dunce or my parents are dunces and disgusting, how then would I view myself or where I come from,” Boswell-Jackson says.
According to Boswell-Jackson, this experience is an indelible one expanding into the child's later years and affecting them negatively. “Later on in life, they struggle with feelings of unworthiness and rejection, which would have all begin with what was said to them repeatedly by their teacher or parent or person in authority. This is very traumatic.”
Played into her hands
In the series of voice recordings, which broadcasted the teacher's bitter denunciation, she was also heard saying, she wants to go on suspension, “I want suspension. I want to go home for five years with pay and when I come back after five years, is time for me to retire and relax my life.”
Boswell-Jackson said this type of admittance underscores the disingenuous approach by some teachers who are not teaching for the love or the passion of it, but to simply 'draw pay.'
“This is playing right into her hands. And it speaks to the laws and the regulation of this country and the teaching service,” Boswell-Jackson argues.
She said a voice recording could not be submitted in court as stand-alone evidence. “It's her voice yes, but voice recordings are not currently accepted by the court in Trinidad and Tobago. And voice recognition professionals are not allowed to verify voices in Trinidad and Tobago. So all that is required of this teacher is for her to say, “That's not me.” And then it would be the children's word against hers and a child is not allowed in Trinidad and Tobago to testify in a court of law under the age of 18. So she played it well.” She got exactly what she wanted.
Since the release of the voice recording, Minister of Education Anthony Garcia who subsequently visited the school confirmed a letter of suspension was issued to the teacher.
She said while most wait with bated breath to see what will happen to this teacher, nothing drastic may come of it. And this was to be credited to the backwardness of our legal system. She said it was only now legislation are being put in place to allow CCTV and possible video evidence to be used in court.
BOX
It's nothing new...Students share their story
Hearing the voice recordings of the teacher who spoke slanderously to students in her class brought back unpleasant memories to three former students of an all-female Catholic school in Belmont—now adults. They reached out to the Sunday Guardian, saying this type of behaviour by a teacher was far from anything contemporary. They claimed that at the school they attended from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, it was not just verbal but also emotional abuse meted out to them by a particular teacher.
One alumna alleged the abuse was so bad that her sister had developed a psychosomatic disorder and would fall ill each morning before she went to school.
“We did not have much when we were going to school, so often, we would not have all of our textbooks and sometimes even not all of our copy books. The teacher used to constantly embarrass us in front of the class about it and tell the other children not to share their textbooks with us. Sometimes she would also send us to sit on one of the termite infested chairs that were not in use because it became unstable,” she claims.
A conversation with the sisters' uncle and the teacher which was supposed to help the teacher understand the financial situation of the children only served as further ammunition for the teacher, whom they claimed would often publicly announce how poor their mother was and “catching her *ss.”
This went on daily they claimed and often left them feeling ashamed, inferior and hated. Worse, the teacher's comments would cause their classmates to treat them with scorn, they said.
On the days when the sisters would “get a break,” they recall the constant picking on another classmate, by the same teacher.
The girl who was very dark in complexion, they said, also came from a financially challenging background and she too was often the recipient of the teacher's insults.
“We don't know if she did not like her because she was too dark or if it was the no money thing too, but she would just ride this girl, telling her all sorts of hurtful things,” one of the sisters claim.
What was even more ridiculous another former classmate claims, “She even used to bring her daughter in the school at times and her daughter would do the same thing to this girl.”
One of the sisters recalled having a fear to attend secondary school as she believed she would experience similar abuse but met with teachers who were quite the opposite and they helped her to regain her self-confidence and self-worth.
“I was lucky enough to have come across such teachers after going through all those days of shame and emotional pain in primary school, but what about the child or children who don't get that opportunity, what happens to them?” she asked.
They said while they understood in today's world the classroom has become more challenging for teachers with the behaviours of some children, at the same time teachers needed to understand the important role they play in the lives of children and stop painting them all with one brush.
Ministry of Education National School Code of Conduct
HEADS OF DEPARTMENT
Heads of Department are responsible for:
1. Engaging teachers in clinical supervision as a developmental tool to improve the teaching and learning process, inclusive of classroom management.
2. Developing strategies to improve academic standards of performance (targets) in alignment with the school's benchmarks.
3. Ensuring the effective administration of internal and external examinations under the supervision of the vice-principal.
4. Monitoring students' academic performance and developing a plan of action for improvement.
5. Ensuring that curriculum implementation is in keeping with national guidelines and requirements.
DEANS
Deans are responsible for:
1. Assisting in the development and implementation of the School Discipline Plan.
2. Monitoring academic and discipline performance of a group of students.
3. Preparing and delivering instruction and guidance to students whose progress falls below the required standard.
4. Monitoring students' use of school transport services.
5. Engaging Student Support Services after consultation with the principal.
TEACHERS
A teacher's conduct shall at all times be such as would not bring the Teaching Service into disrepute. The teacher is responsible for:
1. Being regular in attendance, punctual and prepared to perform his/her teaching duties.
2. Treating each student with dignity and respect.
3. Creating a healthy, nurturing and safe environment for students in his/her charge.
4. Consistently fostering and modelling school expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations.
5. Reviewing with students the school expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations. National School Code of Conduct Ministry of Education National School Code of Conduct 9
6. Establishing and maintaining a culture of appropriate behaviour conducive to effective learning in the classroom.
7. Recognising and rewarding appropriate behaviour and performance of students and providing feedback to all students and parents.
8. Reporting promptly to appropriate school authorities continuing student misbehaviour and reporting immediately any misbehaviour that will or may result in suspension or expulsion.
9. Reporting promptly any suspected child abuse or situation of neglect in accordance with the Children Act Chap 46:01 the Children's Authority Act Chap 46:10 and the Sexual Offences Act Chap 11:28. 10. Adhering to the dress code as outlined in this document.
STUDENTS
The student is responsible for:
1. Behaving in a manner that does not interfere with the rights of others.
2. Abiding by expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations established by the school in alignment with the National School Code of Conduct.
3. Attending school daily including during examinations. Students must be punctual and prepared for all classes.
4. Adhering to the principles of respect, responsibility, integrity, courtesy, productivity and performance.
5. Completing all school assignments and homework.
SCHOOL SUPERVISORS
The School Supervisor is responsible for:
1. Treating all school personnel with dignity, respect and professional courtesy.
2. Communicating to the School Based Management Team (SBMT), the National School Code of Conduct and all policies related to school discipline.
3. Monitoring and evaluating the effective implementation of expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations of the Ministry of Education as well as schools.
4. Ensuring prompt action and timely responses to issues brought to them.
5. Making recommendations on matters relating to the school.
6. Coordinating support for school-related initiatives as outlined in the School Development Plan. National School Code of Conduct Ministry of Education National School Code of Conduct 10 7. Ensuring the operation of all schools in keeping with established regulations and Circular Memoranda of the Ministry.
CURRICULUM OFFICERS
The Curriculum Officer is responsible for:
1. Treating all school personnel with dignity, respect and professional courtesy.
2. Providing support and training to teachers for effective delivery of the curriculum.
3. Liaising with principals, vice-principals and heads of department on various aspects of curriculum delivery.
4. Assisting with monitoring and evaluating curriculum implementation.
5. Providing advice and support to schools on subject syllabi, school-based assessment and other forms of assessment.
6. Assisting in managing issues related to curriculum implementation in collaboration with principals and school supervisors.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES STAFF
Student Support Services staff is responsible for:
1. Treating all children and school personnel with dignity, respect and professional courtesy.
2. Cooperating with school authorities in the enforcement of school expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations.
3. Assisting teachers and parents in resolving student behavioural problems.
4. Reporting any suspected child abuse or neglect situation in accordance with the Children Act 46:01, the Children's Authority Act Chap 46:10 and the Sexual Offences Act 11:28.
5. Providing support for students through prevention and intervention strategies inclusive of Classroom Guidance, Counselling, Consultation, Assessment and Referral. National School Code of Conduct Ministry of Education National School Code of Conduct 11
AUXILIARY STAFF
Auxiliary staff includes security, maintenance, health and safety school officers, clerical staff and other non-teaching staff/personnel. The auxiliary staff is responsible for:
1. Treating all children and school personnel with dignity, respect and professional courtesy.
2. Cooperating with school authorities in the enforcement of school expectations, guidelines, rules and regulations.
3. Informing school officials of concerns relative to student behaviour.
4. Being regular in attendance, punctual and prepared to perform his/her duties.