Flattery-prone teachers [Archives:2006/929/Opinion]
By: Saeed Al-Batati
“I'm the best teacher you've ever had. I challenge any other teacher in Yemen to perform the job like me.”
With the above claims, my teacher ended his lecture, his heart full of pride. The lecture was as dry as dust because of his unbearable garrulousness. We as his students were accustomed to hearing him praise himself in front of us but not as outrageously as this. We all were surprised how he had the audacity to patently lie.
However, the students did not have the courage to tell him the truth to his face. Although they have the right to do so, they knew full well that if they lodged a complaint to those in charge, they would be the underdogs. They had learned a lesson from other students who volunteered to initiate but became scapegoats, their complaints thrust aside and ignored. Additionally, there is no student union to bring them together through thick or thin. As a result, they have no alternative except to lick their teachers' boots.
When I was in college, I myself refrained from talking about this because I was not prepared go against the current. I knew if wrote, I would touch my teacher's raw nerve.
The first thing that may pop into the reader's mind is that my college is brimming with flattery-prone teachers. However, this is not true because “Every rose has a thorn.”
Many of my friends from different Yemeni universities told me the same. They described how their teachers spent most of their time praising and describing their heydays in Europe or the U.S. A friend of mine said his teacher uses half his lecture on efforts to shape the lecture from different sources. However, he discovered that he used only one source that contradicts what he said.
It's a serious problem deserving serious study. Under no circumstances should it be neglected. Yemen suffers greatly from this malady, not only in higher education but also in general education.
The question must be raised: Why do they cheapen themselves by such behavior? In my humble opinion, I think lack of knowledge and inferiority complexes are the main reasons behind this problem. First of all, flattery is used as a mask to conceal their gross failure to be like consummate teachers. Only shallow-minded teachers endeavor to create an imaginative character in students' minds that contradicts reality. If these types of teachers get angry, they can be soothed easily by flattery. When they later abandon hope of improving themselves to be the best, they resort to flattery to show off their non-existent personalities. Of course, students pay the price, inheriting from such teachers meager information and an unsound mind. I am now a teacher and I feel there is no point in saying things about which I'm not sure. I would never lie or make false claims.
On the other hand, hardworking teachers deserve a pat on the back for all their sincere work. People can be measured by what they do, not what they say. Wise men say, “Actions speak louder than words.” In other words, one's actions prove whether one is good or bad. Let others judge a teacher's worth, as no one should judge himself.
It is shameful to see a teacher in his 60s, proud as a peacock, constantly concerned about how to appear before his students to impress them. So do not be surprised if you hear one such teacher say, “I am an encyclopedia,” as he or she seems to realize slowly the magnitude of his misdeeds.
It is unjust to put those teachers who waste their lives in laziness on par with others who burn the midnight oil. If we do so, I am afraid genuine teachers' dignity is at stake. Selecting the right type of teachers is a time-consuming effort, but no stone should be left unturned in achieving this goal.
The next generation's teachers really should be modeled on this generation's gifted, committed and scholarly teachers. Good teachers also will be models for their students. Surely, there are talented teachers who engage in various other activities like creative writing, publishing in reputable journals, newspapers, etc. But such teachers will never blow their own trumpets. Instead, others will sing their glory for generations. Remember, great teachers are a beacon of light.
Regarding the role of university presidents, they should play a key role in ending this farce, as they are the only ones with the power to stop it. If I was in their shoes, I never would have chosen teachers just based on their certificates, but on their competence as well. Every new teacher should take an exam. My opinion may appear irrational at first glance, but to all purposes, it is rational.
Saeed Al-Batati is a Yemeni journalist, he is Yemen Times correspondent in Hadramout. ([email protected])
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[archive-e:929-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-03-16-p:opinion]
