It's All About Education

It’s All About Education

So many unanswered questions come into my mind when I stop to think about the present situation that schools are going through. The most urgent one is DISCIPLINE. Where do we begin to make things better for everyone involved, especially our students? How do we approach the titanic task of teaching character education?

A couple of days ago I was sitting in the cafeteria of our school having breakfast with a couple of teachers. We sat there sharing our everyday experiences we face in the classroom. While we were there, a group of students came in, joined some tables, and sat down to enjoy some time off. I should add that I’m not even sure if these students were supposed to be there because it was not recess time for anyone. The students began getting quite noisy and disruptive which made me stand up with the intention of going over and asking them to lower the volume. I was stopped by my colleagues telling me that it was not my place to say anything to the students because it was there ‘free time’.

I felt quite embarrassed but I decided to let it go at that and think it over before reacting and saying things I should not. The students, in the meantime, kept on with their shouting and rowdiness. I left the cafeteria with a lot of questions which I immediately vowed to find answers to.

First I decided to pose the questions to my groups without involving my colleagues. I presented the scenario and asked them if it would have been inappropriate for me to go over and ask these students to lower the volume. To my surprise, the majority said it was what a teacher should do and that I should have gone over and talked to them. Only one student said he did not agree mentioning that these students were in recess and should be allowed to do as they pleased. I asked him that if being in recess gave them that right and he thought about it and realized that no.

Then I thought about the comment my colleagues said that if the people managing that cafeteria did not ask them to lower the volume, then I could not. As I see it, the cafeteria is on school grounds and owned by the school. I firmly believe the school should be responsible for dictating the code of conduct for the cafeteria. The managers are there to sell food and sure enough do not want to lose clientele, so they will not be calling anyone’s attention.

We then come to the teachers. What is our job? Are we there to ignore these situations excusing ourselves that it does not correspond to us? I strongly disagree. We are there to take advantage of every situation where we can make a difference. We are there to guide and help students be better persons. We are there to show them that it is not only the classroom that requires appropriate behavior. We are there not to fill them with information, but to EDUCATE. It is our duty as teachers to exemplify GOOD CHARACTER, which is the primary product of education.

I’m sure we all want to see our students making good judgments every day. We want to see students seeking wisdom, acting virtuously, valuing truth, wisdom, hard work, honesty, compassion, empathy, enlightenment, and love of knowledge. To accomplish this, we have to be there to help them, even though they might show resistance and reluctance and even despise us at the moment. In the end, they will appreciate that we took the time to help them improve.

In conclusion, I want to see the educational system working well and the best indicator is the character of our students. There is no doubt that the indelible mark of the school can be seen on the students, and that dear teachers, definitely involves all of us and administrative staff working together to accomplish this.

Keep the fork!

Blanca Julia Garza