With pen in hand, we’ve been able to obtain a relevant degree to get a challenging job. With pen in hand, we obtained different methodologies of delivering a lesson during teaching and learning.
SEE THIS: Dear Teacher: Heartfelt Advice for Teachers from Students
With pen in hand, we manage to impart different skills to different learners, which was good and acceptable to the community.
With pen in hand, we were able to exercise discipline and incisiveness in the learners. But now we are facing difficulties because we are dealing with learners who have more rights than us.
We have only pen in hand trying to unlock these learners from a cocoon of ignorance but guess what, they carry knives to school to kill us, yet we have pen in hand. They have terrible anger, which they release on us, yet we are unable to deal with it because we have pen in hand.
They don’t want to study at all, they don’t want to be assessed and they are not prepared to do any task. They fail at the end and we are accused, instead of accusing them.
We don’t have power to discipline them anymore; the law is tight, yet we only have pen in hand to deliver everlasting information.
With pen in hand, we are hopeless and frustrated because the people who we are supposed to pour knowledge into are no longer interested.
With pen in hand, we are frustrated because the officials who are supposed to protect us have neglected us and we are exposed to all sorts of dangers from these learners. We are left alone with pen in hand, trying to solve all sorts of problems, which are beyond our control.
Surely, we will keep on being honest and use the pen in hand effectively because it is the one that we are taught to use to unlock this nation. Surely, we risk our lives for these violent learners and teach them like never before, yet we will die under the hands of these children.
With pen in hand, we will do the right thing for South African children until somebody sees that we deserve protection and proper treatment.
NV Vilakazi
READ MORE: Estcourt educator commemorates World Teachers Day in Pretoria
Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
