All of us are familiar with the proverb: “I will be the servant of whomever teaches me the alphabet.” A famous poem by the late Egyptian poet, Ahmad Shawqi, honoring teachers and telling us to respect them has turned into a slogan chanted by all.
Such noble ideas developed in us a sense of veneration, reverence and love for our teachers. It is thus very unusual when we hear of a parent or relative assaulting a teacher in front of his students because his child complained that the teacher had hit him on the hand with a ruler. We hear of parents walking into schools and after discovering where a particular teacher is assault the teacher in front of the students. It is very shocking to hear that a prestigious school has lodged a complaint with the police against a father who bit off a teacher’s ear. Just a few days ago in an Arabic daily, statistics were published about attacks on teachers that had taken over a very short time. The attacks are on the increase and given their frequency seem to be turning into anything but an isolated incident - which is what an official at the Ministry of Education said. These attacks do not occur suddenly for no reason but there is an accumulation of acts and events that build up into an unusual and remarkable happening. If we allow any interpretation besides this, it will be very difficult for the authorities to prescribe the remedy and put an end to this chaos in our schools.
This phenomenon of school violence can mostly be traced to the conduct of parents at home where respect and control over children has been lost and the home refuses to allow teachers to take over the role of the father. In these days if a family fails to set its children on the right path, it expects the schools and teachers to do so - to do what is the job of parents. If we did not take these matters matter seriously, the problems will multiply and our schools will turn into zones of violence and physical injuries. The bad examples given by the young will affect our entire society and the unacceptable behavior will be seen in the street, the work place and everywhere else. Everybody will take matters into his own hands to avenge what is considered wrongdoing
The public appreciated and applauded the decision by Madinah Governor, Prince Muqrin, who ordered stiff punishments in the case involving a school where students assaulted their teachers. The public will appreciate similar actions in future against those implicated in similar incidents, No other action is possible if we wish to ensure that both teacher and school receive the respect due them.
