Gen Z teachers not the best bet on disciplining kids

National examinations in Kenya are widely criticised for putting undue pressure on candidates’ performance. Not to mention the fanfare that follows the announcement of the results – those who do well are carried shoulder high, while we hear little of the average and poor performers.

The fixation on academic outcomes ignores other student abilities and talents such as acting, sports and so on. I understand that this is the pitfall the new curriculum of education has come to seal.

The goal is to ensure the students, who graduate from the system, will be all rounded, have critical skills and can better respond to the increasing unemployment crisis across the globe. Well, that is left to be seen.

I can confirm that my total marks at KCPE hovered around 340/500. One thing I remember though is how proud my parents were of my performance.

Looking back, I am sure they thought that I would have scored higher marks if I spent less time riding bikes or climbing trees after school. However, the fact that they were happy with my performance and did not compare me with neighbours or children on TV is the reason I continue to be bold whenever I am faced with new challenges.

Including the immediate one at the time – heading off to high school. And I know that like my parents, many parents of KCPE candidates are looking forward to their kids completing primary school successfully and heading off to the next phase of their education. Now, let’s have a little chat.

Three of my childhood friends are secondary school teachers. And while I have no doubt in their ability to effectively take teenagers through the four years of high school, I have to register my concerns in their ability to ‘mother’ or ‘father’ the children they teach.

I remember my high school teachers as mother figures and father figures. The fact that they were older was never in question, and they automatically inspired respect. This is a big contrast to the image my high school teacher friends cut these days.

Also read: What’s the best way to discipline my son?

Besides their qualifications and focus on career, they can easily pass for slightly older sisters to the students they teach. Just to put this in perspective, the average age at graduation for a bachelor’s degree is 22.

While on duty one day, one of my friends who teaches in a mixed secondary school was strolling around the school compound when she ran into cigarette packs and stashes of bhang condoms and other illegal substances.
“Did you go into the class to find out who had been smoking?” I asked my friend, May.

In our time, that is exactly what the teacher would have done: Frog-marched everyone to the parade square and used whatever powers teachers use to scare and fish out culprits.

But May was surprised that I even expected her to do such a thing in this day and age when we read about teachers being beaten by students, or parents coming to the defence of their children and insulting and threatening teachers for any measure of discipline they take towards students.

“Daisy, every student knows that smoking is prohibited. I went to that school to teach, not to risk my life or fight drug abuse. ‘Teach and go’, that is the unspoken rule among teachers now,” she said matter-of-factly.

To cut a long story short, my friend told me that a student or students who smoke would be a danger to her. The best she could do was alert the school deputy principal and hope that he would follow up.

My teacher friends also tell me they have seen parents show up at school to confront teachers over issues they raise with their children. From accusations of ‘picking’ on their children to victimising them, they say it is better to just focus on what they are trained to do – teach.

I do not know what high school your child will go to and what crop of teachers they will meet. But what is clear is that younger millennial and Gen Z teachers might not be your best bet when it comes to instilling discipline in your child. More than ever, charity begins at home.

The writer is the Research & Impact Editor, NMG ([email protected])