Is toe mos gevra om by die plaaslike Hoër en Laerskool iets te sê vir die onderwysers oor Wêreld Onderwysersdag. Hou ek mos net mooi niks van by sulke spesiale geleenthede praat nie, want ek sukkel gewoonlik om iets sinvol uit die Bybel te kry om te sê – iets wat nie die Bybel verdraai nie.
Toe ek nou egter my gedagtes so laat gaan, besef ek toe dat daar eintlik baie in die Bybel is oor kinders en opvoeding, maar dit skep ook sy eie probleme. In die huidige onderwysbestel mag godsdiens nie in die klas gepropageer word nie. Matteus 18:1-6 het egter by my begin spook: “In daardie tyd het die dissipels by Jesus gekom met die vraag: “Wie is die belangrikste in die koninkryk van die hemel?” Hy het ‘n kindjie nader geroep en hom tussen hulle laat staan en gesê: “Dit verseker Ek julle: As julle nie verander en soos kindertjies word nie, sal julle beslis nie in die koninkryk van die hemel kom nie. Wie homself gering ag soos hierdie kindjie, hy is die belangrikste in die koninkryk van die hemel. En wie so ‘n kindjie in my Naam ontvang, ontvang My.” “Elkeen wat een van hierdie kleintjies wat in My glo, van My afvallig maak, vir hom is dit beter as hy met ‘n groot meulsteen aan sy nek in die diep see verdrink.” Veral vers 6: “Elkeen wat een van hierdie kleintjies wat in My glo, van My afvallig maak, vir hom is dit beter as hy met ‘n groot meulsteen aan sy nek in die diep see verdrink.”
Dit het my net weer onder die indruk gebring van wat se geweldige verantwoordelikheid ‘n onderwyser in werklikheid het. Hier is hierdie groep kinders wat gewoonlik meer tyd saam met ‘n onderwyser deurbring as met sy of haar eie ouers. Die onderwyser se wêreldbeeld en siening van sake word in ‘n groot mate oorgedra en ingeprent by die kinders, veral in die Laerskool, maar tog ook by die tieners, al wil hulle dit ontken. Ekself kan nou nog, 40 jaar later, my Std 4 onderwyser se rassistiese uitlatings onthou. Met al die klagtes rondom ons samelewing vandag – selfsugtigheid, geweld, oneerlikheid, korrupsie, rassisme, ens, ens – is die Verenigde Nasies se tema vir vanjaar se “World Teacher’s Day” eintlik veelseggend: “Recovery begins with teachers”.
As can be seen in movies like “As it is in heaven“, things like bullying is not just innocent fun, but can result in a violent lifestyle. Racism ingrained into young children is extremely difficuly to overcome in later life. Not for nothing is there a quote attributed to St. Francis Xavier “Give me the child until he is seven and I’ll give you the man” (quoted by arjendu).
All of us have a responsibility towards the children in our society, lest we cause them to stray, as Matthew 18:6 warns us. How much bigger is the responsibility of our teachers who have such a big influence on our children. It is a scary thought that what I talk about in class, my attitude towards the pupils, even my body language, can influence how that child grows up and what he or she becomes. Pink Floyd’s video, “The Wall” shows a teacher that makes fun of a young boy for writing poems, basically ridiculing him. That type of treatment can lead to problems with one’s self image and other social problems. No wonder Pink Floyd sings in their song, “Another brick in the wall“:
We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone
Instead of controlling, the teacher has the responsibility to set the child free, to let Superman fly, to let that child be the best person he or she can possibly be. Always remembering that freedom without responsibility is no freedom at all!
Looking at all of this, we as parents and society can only pray for the teachers of our country. You are shouldering a tremendous responsibility, often in the absence of parental guidance. And when we look at the ills of our society, we realise that they can in fact only be addressed here in the classroom. We don’t only have the child in the classroom, the parent is there as well. Often we are dealing with the pain the parents experienced in their own education.
Teachers have to make the difference. Recovery begins with teachers.
Diakonos 