Those who can, create history

Since becoming a teacher three years ago, I’ve heard more than enough stereotypes about the teaching profession in Malaysia. From “complacent and lazy” to “working a half-day job”, I think I’ve heard it all.

In fact, many people still question my decision to become a teacher and often ask me if I ever want to go back to a “normal profession”. The teaching force is seen so negatively that even my own students often ask me when I am going to “pursue my real dreams”. It is hard to fathom why anyone would consciously want to become a teacher.

Teachers get laughed at and ridiculed almost all the time on social media. Exam papers with grammar mistakes go viral and everyone talks about the quality of our teaching force in Malaysia. Stories of teachers using inappropriate ways to reprimand children are shared and the teacher is then mocked and ridiculed by the public.

The teaching profession is hardly seen as a professional career of choice. In fact, many parents would advise their children against becoming a teacher. It is seen as unglamorous and only reserved for those who cannot make it in other professions. I’ve heard a few parents tell their children that if they don’t study hard enough, they’ll end up becoming teachers.

In many of the discussions I’ve had about the education system in Malaysia, it often comes back to the quality of the teaching force. The common complaints range from, “we need better teachers” to “our teachers are lazy, complacent and they don’t do enough for our students”.

The teaching force is put in such a negative light that it is a Herculean task to attract good people to become teachers. Ironically, the same people who complain the most about our education system are also the ones who don’t want their own children to become teachers.

Being a teacher is anything but a half-day job. With paperwork, filing and trying to teach five classes of 35 students, it is not easy. I’ve seen teachers stay back way after school hours trying to get things done. I’ve seen them sacrifice holidays, weekends and important family functions to finish all their teaching duties. Many spend a lot of their own money to get things done for their school and students.

Like any other profession, there are teachers who are not competent, but for the larger part of it, many will go all out to see their students succeed.

We need to start telling better narratives about our teaching force. We need to begin by first understanding that this is not the easiest of jobs and give our teachers credit for doing what they do.

When we start portraying teaching as a career of choice, then we can attract the best and brightest in our country to be in the classroom. Just as we would only want the smartest graduates to work in big corporate offices and hospitals, in the same way, we need them in our schools.

We often compare ourselves to the likes of Finland and Singapore, yet the single most important factor in their education system is the recruitment of teachers. They only take in top graduates to be teachers. Teachers are regarded with much respect and teaching is seen as a career of choice. When you put the best people in the teaching force, naturally you get the best outcome.

In the current state of affairs in our country, the ones with the most power are really the urban middle-class people. We might not realise it, but we actually have the voice and power to change things that are deemed unfit.

Perhaps it’s time we remove the negative stigma on the teaching force in Malaysia and use our voices to tell better narratives. Use our voices to speak for teachers, to tell stories of teachers who strive and struggle for the betterment of their students. Use our voices to share anecdotes of our own teachers who have made a difference in our lives. And most importantly, use our voices to encourage our young to become teachers because those who can, create history. – July 2, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.