A few years ago I was phoned by a charming sounding maths teacher. When I asked why he was leaving one of the top schools in Johannesburg rather precipitously in the middle of a term he gave me the direct line of the Principal and told me to phone. The Principal confirmed that he had been dismissed for alcohol abuse. I am happy to tell you that this gent pulled himself together, went through rehab, and taught for the next fifteen years. He retired as the highly respected deputy head of a good school.
Mr D was no so lucky. Teaching mainly gr 7, he was approached by a girl in one of his classes whose parents were in the throes of divorce. He took her to his office and closed the door. A more experienced teacher would have known better. A few weeks later the tearful mother of the girl accused Mr B of impropriety. An internal school enquiry believed Mr B, but there was a total lack of evidence to clear him. Under pressure from the parents, the school asked Mr B to resign. The parents have made sure that the story follows him to every school that would employ him. He has now left teaching altogether. Every teacher who has ever set homework knows that learners are extremely creative liars. Unfortunately it’s not just the homework they lie about, and some of those lies are costing good teachers their careers.
Ms C taught at some stunning schools, but every now and then she would come in covered in bruises. She laughed it off, but one day the school bus drove past just as she was attacked by two ruffians in the street. Ms C confessed that she was in debt, and could not pay, she had a gambling addiction. The school suggested rehab, but the very next day she had gone. She has relocated within South Africa and the cycle is busy repeating itself, fortunately outside a school.
Mr F was in his first year of teaching. During University he had continued a relationship with his High School sweetheart, and when he graduated they became engaged. Once engaged the sweetheart was not so sweet. She phoned the school a dozen times a day to find out what he was doing; she found out the names of some of the girls in his gr 10 class and contacted them on Facebook telling them not to flirt with her fiancé. Mr F, finding that she refused to listen to reason, broke off the engagement. But the not-so-sweetheart redoubled her efforts to contact him through the school, the learners, and even forced her way into his classroom on several occasions. Ultimately the school had no option but to ask for Mr F’s resignation in order to protect the learners!
All of these teachers ran into a problem which brought their professional standing into question. Teachers are professionals, and must at all times behave in a professional manner. If they are human (for a moment) and trip up, they might be lucky enough to redeem themselves, but the chances are not that good. In many cases their failure will destroy any hope of a career in teaching. Every year the number of otherwise good teachers who leave the profession because of a failure of professional conduct rises. Some were guilty of gross impropriety, unfortunately most were simply a bit naïve.
My appeal to both schools and parents is this: even if the teacher has been idiotic, don’t believe the worst of them; even if the kids claims “stuff” don’t go off the deep end; most teachers would give their right arm for the kids they teach, not many are the perverts that the media enjoy portraying. Just about everyone needs a second chance at some point in their life. Don’t we owe that to teachers who admit their failure and embrace rules for everyone’s protection? Yes, there are some failures that cannot be condoned, and from which there is no return to teaching. But probably fewer than we imagine.
When I was in matric my maths teacher was Mr B. Maths was not my strongest subject, but he was determined that I was going to get a decent grade. I had to present my homework to him at 7.30am every morning, I could bother him in his office until 4pm if I needed to. He was the most brilliant maths teacher I had in my whole school career. But. He was a hopeless alcoholic. The school would pack him off to rehab twice a year at least! But every time he came back, and within a couple of weeks his cheeks turned red again. He taught me so well that I later taught maths in High School. I can forgive him his addiction, but I wonder if a school would be able to employ him today?
Author’s website: http://www.placementsineducation.co.za/
