Teachers must set the highest moral example

MALALANE – With the advent of social media and greater awareness of children’s rights, it is more imperative than ever that teachers set an example to pupils and stay professional.

Riverview Prep School’s headmaster, Mr Gareth Dry, shared what he learnt through his years of teaching and commented on the case where a teacher was fired at St John’s College on three serious charges, including racism.

“When I first started teaching I was fresh out of high school and a part-time drama and music teacher at a prestigious girls’ school in Johannesburg. I was the only male teacher on the staff and proved to be very popular among the girls.

“I learned very quickly through painful experience and under the guidance and support of the wonderful headmistress that I was not there to be the learners’ ‘mate’.

“I was trying so hard to be liked by the learners (and I admit I enjoyed the attention), that I forgot my primary function was to educate these girls and be a role model. Some people started taking shots at me, but luckily I came through it unscathed, stronger and wiser.

“The recent trouble at my former school, St John’s College has a lot to do with some exceptionally poor, unprofessional and misguided choices that the guilty teacher made.

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“I have no doubt (because I have been in the same boat myself) that he was trying to be funny in his remarks, trying to be ‘one of the guys’, and it backfired big time. It is a lesson to all teachers how not to behave.

“I have noticed how people of the same race speak to one another. I don’t always understand it, but I know that the same language coming from another race crosses a very real and dangerous boundary given our context in South Africa.

“A rule of thumb for teachers is ‘friendly but not overly familiar.’ You are there to set the highest moral example that you can. This is very hard as we are human and make mistakes, but it is vital to the professionalism, safety and sanity of each individual teacher that this is well remembered.

“The much wider issue here surrounds our inherent prejudices as South Africans and how that affects our language and communication. Last year at the South African Heads of Independent Schools Association conference in Cape Town, we were addressed by one of the Fees Must Fall leaders.

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“What came out strongly in her address is that she and her young protesters felt that no one was listening to them, and that the only way to get attention was to destroy things.

“Many of us come from a background of ‘children must be seen and not heard’. This does not fit in to how the 21st-century child works. This generation has an opinion and they demand to be heard. It is up to us to teach them how to express their opinion in a respectful and constructive way. But most importantly we must listen to them.

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“The headmaster of St John’s is a wonderful man and a friend, colleague and mentor of mine. I know that his intentions were pure, and that he was trying to resolve the situation so that everyone grew from the experience. However, it seems that his biggest mistake was that he didn’t truly listen to the community that was affected.

“Racism has no place in South Africa, especially in our schools. If our children are to survive in the 21st century, and if our country is to thrive, we need to change our language and ensure that, in spite of what we may feel inside, we mirror the very best behaviour and teach our children love, tolerance and understanding. We bear a heavy responsibility at schools in this country. But if we fail, South Africa fails. That is the reality.”