What Do We Stand Up For?

Recently, I turned inwards and felt this void. A space in a container that was once so full and overflowing. I realized that it's been a very long time since I felt like I truly stand up for something.

Maybe it's because lately, all I did was really focus on my mistakes and the endless ways to improve, which made me lose sight of what I'm actually working for. I've always been an activist, ever since I was as child of twelve. I used to colour flyers that had quotes to protect our environment, then I was a protagonist campaigning for health and nutrition, then came student fulfillment and the holistic approach in education.. but now what?

Of course, at heart, I'm still an advocate for environmentalism, natural health, conscious living and education. Yet, the passion has subsided and it felt like I was working a little bit too far behind a truly clear ideal. This pang of a warning allowed me to think back and analyse everything I have been observing in the world lately, especially my work environment, in order to come up with something I can stand up for.

Here comes a shift and change in perspective. As a intern teacher, I was very focused on my students. Everybody is, actually. We all prioritise what students truly need in order to maximize their learning experience, make it more rich and influential. The end result is that teachers come up with a myriad set of ideas, modes of action and theories which all work so well. But there is this gap. There is this vacuum which still stops teachers from fulfilling their potentials and hence their students' capabilities too. 

That gap is that teachers don't always fully claim their own rights. Teachers, from my own observation, are quite undervalued; work too hard and are not expected to seek fair compensation for their work. A teacher whose role in society is transformational, is not very privileged in the modern society and the associated occupational prestige isn't attractive, which makes the educational industry saturated with low-value activity that is mostly replaceable. More accurately though, the exceptional stories of success are not heard of as they are in other industries like ICT, film, software and retail, for example.

I also observed that teachers undertake that moral obligation of doing what's best, since lavish societal and even human consequences do arise if teachers do not do their jobs well. Teachers mostly take on that job because of their high ethical standards and sincerity. When things go bad in the workplace, most teachers still smile to their students, pay from their own money to acquire resources that the workplace doesn't provide, go out of their way in terms of effort, funds and time to develop professionally all under the name that this is what great teachers should do.

Of course, I do not blame teachers. The responsibility is formidably enticing. Yet, wouldn't it be so much better for everyone that teachers have their rights fulfilled in return to the enormous duties they perform? Wouldn't a more pleasing work environment, flexible calendar and shared responsibility bring them to think more creatively to develop education even further than it is really is developing? Wouldn't teachers feel more motivated if they were given awards and compensated accordingly to their righteous efforts?

That's where my passion is swerving towards. It's the idea of developing a system which qualifies and guides teachers to perform their work dutifully and holistically; balancing between a methodical yet artistic approach. Scaffolding this, a system that would allow schools and educational institutions to correctly evaluate teachers, motivate them both intrinsically and extrinsically as well as develop an organisational structure which lessens the burden and gives more alternatives and choices that teachers can act upon.

Teaching is not one of the most difficult jobs, of course. It's not as risky, comparatively. Yet, teaching is perhaps a very essential foundation for so many emerging opportunities in a society; whatever a policy aims to enact, it eventually pinpoints to education. It has got so much power for a student spends around 60% of his/her waking hours doing school-related activities. Isn't it worthwhile that a student spends this time purposefully?

I think the coming years shall guide me towards discerning what is truly essential to build a framework which supports teachers, as well as students. A holistic approach must not only be implemented on students, in fact, it's correctly placed involving teachers and all agents of socialisation children experience throughout their development.

It's very complex, but I'm excited. It's detrimental that I find a way to support my hypothesis with rigid explanations and evidence in order to truly make a difference in my practice.

Now I ask you, what do you stand up for?