Richard Neville, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', La

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Richard Neville, Reader's Comment, The reality of teaching 'in the trenches', Lachie Gaylard, The Drum, ABC, 25 January 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3790748.html Historical link preserved from the original page.

Teachers are valued and respected in China.

I taught English for four years in China, and have since returned to Australia.

I would love to continue teaching here but for one thing - discipline.

In China, students were used to doing what the teacher said.

If a student swore at me or consistently misbehaved, I could have the teacher's assistant call the parents.

The parents would listen, back me up, and I would receive a letter of apology.

I did get some troubled kids who required more attention than others, but in general I was in a profession that parents and students valued and respected.

I still keep in email contact with some of my parents and students.

I also remember being at high school in Australia.

Teachers had no tools with which to enforce rules, and little respect.

Excellent teachers managed to keep classes under control anyway, but they were in a minority.

Society needs to start treating education as a privilege again.

If a minority of kids constantly disrupt the class and refuse to learn, they should shape up or go get a job packing shelves - at least that way they would be doing something useful.

Parents also need to realise that teaching well is difficult, and teachers deserve their support.