Problems and Challenges Teachers Face
In this modern era, the teaching profession has undergone numerous changes and revamps since decades ago, to try and address the ever changing educational needs of the students nowadays. Teachers these days have so many additional responsibilities besides teaching; for instance, attending staff meetings, preparing tests and examination papers, as well as becoming teacher advisors for clubs and societies. As such, it is not surprising that teachers face a variety of problems and challenges in their working lives. A handful of these problems and challenges will be highlighted below.(a) StressLately, teachers find teaching very tiring physically and mentally. This condition is termed as stress. Teacher stress is negative and accompanied by bodily changes which ultimately can be damaging to health. The earliest attempts at quantifying stress in the teaching profession were conducted in 1962 byRudd and Wiseman. They found that among the problems faced by teachers which lead to stress include lack of apparent ability, student attitudes such as lack of respect for teachers, feelings of inadequacy, teaching load, lack of time, school organisation, large classes and the status of the teaching profession in the society. Besides, the lack of provision of adequate facilities for relaxation for teachers are also a possible cause of stress among teachers. In this case, relaxation may mean a break from working, or neuromuscular and mental relaxation.(b) Low salaryIt is said that low salaries keep good teachers away. This statement may be true because teachers' salary could be deemed as low compared to the amount of effort teachers put into their profession.The Chicago Teacher's Foundation, founded in 1897, for example, comprised of a group of female primary school teachers who were faced by salaries that were low. They brought a successful suit which forced the board of education to use the added tax income to increase teachers' salaries. However, raising salaries itself would not radically change who enters the field or solve the problem of shortages of teachers.(c) Physical challenge from studentsAs a teacher, trying to discipline a student these days may not be the right choice. Teachers who punish or try to discipline students could in turn be "tortured" by the students. In this context, teachers can either be beaten up, slapped or have their vehicles scratched. As an example, an incident which occurred inPenang, Malaysiaon Wednesday, April 21, 2004 involves a schoolgirl slapping a teacher in the face when the teacher asked her to push her motorcycle to the field after she arrived late. This incident goes to show that students these days act violently based on emotions. Therefore, teachers may find teaching no longer a safe profession.(d) Complaints from parentsTeachers are facing a lot of complaints from the society, especially parents. Teachers who do not teach well will lead to students' lack of understanding, resulting in failure in examinations. Parents, majority of whom are overprotective of their children, could file complaints against teachers for not teaching their children well enough. There are even cases of complaints about teachers physically and sexually abusing students.(e) Lack of cooperation from colleaguesIn collaborative cultures, teachers reveal much of their private selves and become friends/colleagues, and if bad days or personal problems are encountered, teachers make allowances and offer practical help to their troubled colleagues. Unfortunately however, many teachers do not work in such collaborative cultures of confidence and support. During current conditions, teachers can become trapped in abusive and unsupportive domestic relationships. Conflicts and misunderstandings or disagreements that occur can make the school an unsafe place to teach. Without cooperation, teaching would also be very complicated.Therefore, we can observe that there are numerous problems and challenges that teachers nowadays face in the line of their profession. It can be concluded that it is definitely a tough job being a teacher, and teachers do deserve the respect, honor and praise from everyone. It is hoped that the teaching profession will continue to be viewed as a noble one in the time to come.
