The Right to Know; Teachers Need to Stop Being a Stranger
Over the years working as in the field of Marketing, I have given numerous job interviews to potential employers. Once I progressed in my career, I also got the opportunity to take many interviews of potential candidates for my own team. The process was always intensive, details oriented and thought out. The corporation wants to make sure they are investing in the right person, who has the right qualifications to do the job and at the same time is the right fit to the corporate culture, their ideology and vision.
At the same time, the employee wants to know whether the said corporation is the right fit for their career goals and their own vision and mission in life. They conduct their own research, check out the company's website, ask around, interview some of the present as well as ex-employees, but most importantly they want to know about who will they be working for, the reputation and credentials of the team and the supervisors are the most important and top priority, since it will the one factor that will determine how long they will be staying on job; as the famous saying goes, people don't leave organizations, they leave bad managers.
The Authoritarian Hiring Process aka Admission Process
In the context of education, the process is repeated and replicated. This time around the role of the corporations is assumed by the schools and the potential candidates are the parents and the students. Parents and students are subjected to rigorous testing (non-standardized and non-scientific, developed locally by non-experts) followed up by interviews that have little to do with the background checks and more to do with assessing the social class they belong to. Again, the interviews don't seem to follow any productive pattern and most of the times the final decisions seem arbitrary and on a whim or in some cases based on referrals.
The other part of the equation, where the parents and students are supposed to research and ask about the schools, their staff and their teachers is not even part of the picture. In some cases, the schools actually frown upon the parents who ask 'Questions', giving way to intimidation that further leads to parents not asking the right questions from the schools. Knowing the teachers and who is the person the child will be studying is just as important as getting to know the supervisors. Just like bad supervisors can make an employee quit, a bad teacher can make a child hate a subject for life!
When it comes to schooling, we are trusting the management, their staff and particularly the teachers to take over as the primary care-giver during the day and teach our kids. We are investing in our child's future and handing over the most precious possession over for a good part of the day so that they can learn in a conducive environment and are provided enough social opportunities to be able to grow up as a responsible citizens one day. The families are the ones essentially hiring the services of the schools, and by that measure hiring the tutors to aide the holistic development of their child.
Do we know the 'Main Caregiver'?
Yet... How well do we know the teachers and the schools who will be responsible for the education of your child for the next one year, and maybe more after that? Most of the times... We don't know anything. Some of the questions that I would like an answer to are;
Solution?
Since it is not possible for every parents to know the teacher on a one to one basis, the responsibility of the same falls on the shoulders of the school. The relevant details of the teachers must be provided to the families as well the to the students. Apart from that, there is a higher need for autonomy to the teachers.
The teacher's themselves should be allowed to conduct parents' orientation sessions to introduce themselves and to instill trust that their children are in fact in good hands. Platforms like school website and software like EDMODO can be utilized for the same purpose; to create a liaison between the teachers and the parents. Parents should be allowed to volunteer to observe classes and see how the teachers are handling their kids.
Transparency is the key. Long gone are the days where the schooling was behind closed doors like a top-secret laboratory. The educated parents of today are equally involved and concerned about their child's wholistic education. It is their right to know the people who are delivering the very thing that will shape their child's personality and their future. Don't give up on that right. Know their teachers.
At the same time, the employee wants to know whether the said corporation is the right fit for their career goals and their own vision and mission in life. They conduct their own research, check out the company's website, ask around, interview some of the present as well as ex-employees, but most importantly they want to know about who will they be working for, the reputation and credentials of the team and the supervisors are the most important and top priority, since it will the one factor that will determine how long they will be staying on job; as the famous saying goes, people don't leave organizations, they leave bad managers.
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| Our children look up to their teachers. It is only right that we make sure they are looking up to the right person. |
The Authoritarian Hiring Process aka Admission Process
In the context of education, the process is repeated and replicated. This time around the role of the corporations is assumed by the schools and the potential candidates are the parents and the students. Parents and students are subjected to rigorous testing (non-standardized and non-scientific, developed locally by non-experts) followed up by interviews that have little to do with the background checks and more to do with assessing the social class they belong to. Again, the interviews don't seem to follow any productive pattern and most of the times the final decisions seem arbitrary and on a whim or in some cases based on referrals.
The other part of the equation, where the parents and students are supposed to research and ask about the schools, their staff and their teachers is not even part of the picture. In some cases, the schools actually frown upon the parents who ask 'Questions', giving way to intimidation that further leads to parents not asking the right questions from the schools. Knowing the teachers and who is the person the child will be studying is just as important as getting to know the supervisors. Just like bad supervisors can make an employee quit, a bad teacher can make a child hate a subject for life!
When it comes to schooling, we are trusting the management, their staff and particularly the teachers to take over as the primary care-giver during the day and teach our kids. We are investing in our child's future and handing over the most precious possession over for a good part of the day so that they can learn in a conducive environment and are provided enough social opportunities to be able to grow up as a responsible citizens one day. The families are the ones essentially hiring the services of the schools, and by that measure hiring the tutors to aide the holistic development of their child.
Do we know the 'Main Caregiver'?
Yet... How well do we know the teachers and the schools who will be responsible for the education of your child for the next one year, and maybe more after that? Most of the times... We don't know anything. Some of the questions that I would like an answer to are;
- What are the qualifications of the teacher?
- What is their experience?
- Are the trained in soft-skills and how to handle children? Are they patient? How well do they connect to the students and can find out the unique capabilities and interests of their pupil?
- What is their predominant personality type?
- What are their disciplinary techniques?
- Are the a good crafts person and experts on their subjects?
- Are the passionate about teaching, their subjects and the students they are in charge of?
- Are they willing to get the necessary training and are they moving ahead with the times?
- Do they themselves come from stable families?
- Are they assessed on their skills? Are they assessed on the happiness of their respective students?
- Do they bring learning to life?
- Are they memorable? (To read more on what makes a memorable teacher please click here).
Solution?
Since it is not possible for every parents to know the teacher on a one to one basis, the responsibility of the same falls on the shoulders of the school. The relevant details of the teachers must be provided to the families as well the to the students. Apart from that, there is a higher need for autonomy to the teachers.
The teacher's themselves should be allowed to conduct parents' orientation sessions to introduce themselves and to instill trust that their children are in fact in good hands. Platforms like school website and software like EDMODO can be utilized for the same purpose; to create a liaison between the teachers and the parents. Parents should be allowed to volunteer to observe classes and see how the teachers are handling their kids.
Transparency is the key. Long gone are the days where the schooling was behind closed doors like a top-secret laboratory. The educated parents of today are equally involved and concerned about their child's wholistic education. It is their right to know the people who are delivering the very thing that will shape their child's personality and their future. Don't give up on that right. Know their teachers.
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