Teachers want control of chaotic classrooms

Durban — Teachers are calling for a national conversation on ways in which they can reclaim their authority in the classroom from unruly pupils who refuse to respect them or the rules of the school.

The Pardoning Teachers’ Movement (PTM) was born out of frustration, according to Glen Snyman, a teacher from Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, who has been at the forefront of establishing the movement.

PTM is made up of teachers, retired teachers and members of the community. Snyman has developed an electronic database in which the transgressions of each child can be captured so that there is a paper trail documenting the incident and the solution.

Snyman says the health and mental well-being of teachers are taking strain as they battle to gain control over pupils who deliberately break the rules and incite others to do the same.

He says their name, Pardoning Teachers’ Movement, was based on the circumstances that they encounter every day but he emphasised that they were not a union and were working with and not against the Department of Education.

“We put the emphasis on the many times teachers have to pardon, forgive and forget when learners trespass against them. But teachers are not easily forgiven and forgotten by the department when they step out of line.

“Education in South Africa is a national asset and debate. It is the key to poverty alleviation and a violent-free society. Also, against the backdrop of children's rights that have been developed regularly in our justice systems, our task as teachers becomes extremely challenging working with children.

“So we ask, ‘what about our rights as teachers?’ It should be balanced with the children's rights, because every person needs to be held accountable for his or her actions regardless of the circumstance they are from or find themselves in,” he said.

Snyman says the PTM aims to protect teachers who are under enormous stress and constantly ill because of their work situation.

“The kids are naughty, but you can't do anything about it.”

As an example, Snyman referred to a school principal in Johannesburg who was shot allegedly by a 13-year-old Grade 6 pupil.

“Learners’ rights are being developed every day but the teachers’ rights are not being developed. They develop the BELA (Basic Education Laws Amendment) Bill which gives children more and more rights,” said Snyman.

He says the electronic database captures various details like the name of the pupil, teacher, grade and there is a drop down list of offences and sanctions which teachers can tick. The database also records the time and date of the incident and whether it's the first or second offence or more.

“So every time the kid is naughty, it accumulates a list of all his trespasses and so after some time, you print these trespasses and you call in the parents. So teachers can now have recorded evidence about what the kid is about and they can hand it in, even to the social worker,” said Snyman.

Basil Manuel, the executive director of teachers union Naptosa says that while some incidents highlighted at schools do point to it becoming “more hazardous” the number is “miniscule” when compared to the number of schools where it happens.

“We mustn't adopt a view of helplessness and hopelessness; that is counter-intuitive and it is damaging to the profession in itself,” said Manuel. However, he emphasised that teachers didn't have reason to fear the BELA Bill.

“Now there are bad things, but tragically the hype around rubbish that is not even in the bill is masking these things that do need attention. I don't think people can see anything in the bill that is going to make a teacher's life more difficult. The bill cannot contradict what is already in the Constitution, so I am not sure what clause they see is going to make life so difficult,” Manuel said.

“The hopelessness is born out of the fact that people haven't adapted as they ought to have. If you come from a culture of, let's say, corporal punishment, now it's been done away with a long time ago and people have gotten away with still practising corporal punishment.

“That doesn't mean that the Bill reinforcing that it shouldn't happen is something new. It is in the BELA Bill but it's a constitutional court ruling and it's already in the law, Manuel said.

Sadtu national spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said that they were aware that teachers were frustrated and that pupils had more rights. Therefore they were urging the government to come up with alternative methods of discipline that were effective.

“We cannot say corporal punishment should come back, because it was abolished years ago, more than a decade ago. But, we feel we need to engage more in coming up with other methods of discipline that will be effective and I don't think one should necessarily form an organisation to have those things addressed.

“We have fought and we believe that teachers do have rights now,” said Cembi.

Teachers who want to be part of the conversation can find information at www.teachersrights.co.za

Sunday Tribune