Only a few days ago we ran a report saying that most students in Saudi Arabia do not see their teachers as role models. The survey included 2,000 students from all over Saudi Arabia and it indicated that 66 percent of them feel that teachers are not role models.
Khaled Khamees, a professor of psychology at King Saud University in Riyadh, agrees with the students — that most teachers are not good role models. He blames the Ministry of Education, saying that it is common for teachers not to be supplied with everything they need in order to do their jobs.
He also pointed out that many teachers also lack the skills required for dealing with students in the best and most constructive way. The absence of skills may indeed be a fault of the education teachers have received; in most countries, education courses include some emphasis on interpersonal skills and different ways of dealing with a variety of classroom problems.
“Teachers are in the job only to earn a living,” Khamees explained. “They have no special calling or vocation; all they want is the salary at the end of the month.” In addition, he said that if a teacher is a stickler for discipline, gets angry easily or if he is shy and introverted, he will lose face and his students will not respect him. The same is also true of teachers who order their students and threaten them.
The professor says that teachers should open channels of discussion with their students. “If the teacher allows his students to give their opinion, he will be a good role model for them.” Simply listening to their opinions is a good thing; the teacher should also be prepared to evaluate the student’s idea or opinion. And it wouldn’t hurt to have other students do the same with all this being done openly and frankly in class.
“The question we must ask is whether teachers are conscious of the importance of their role. Or do they care only about salaries and having the least number of hours in class?” said Khamees.
I could not agree more with the study. I believe that the figure may well be higher than 66 percent. And there are many reasons for the high number as well as for the sorry state of affairs. When so large a number of students in any country fail to see their teachers as worthy of emulation, that country has a very serious problem. It demands serious consideration and immediate action. Who, I wonder, do these young people look to as their role models?
I don’t honestly feel the responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education but with society as a whole. The ministry, after all, is a reflection of society. Let us be frank. Before looking at teachers as role models, let’s look at parents. How many parents are role models for their children? How do children view their parents? Are the parents really involved in bringing up their children and forming their characters? As children grow older, parents should increase the amount of time spent with them. Children should be encouraged to express themselves and there should be discussions with parents on a variety of topics.
The bottom line, however, is that I agree with the report. Teachers themselves are of course a product of society. Stand aside and look at our society with some objectivity. We mouth all the right things but do we actually do them? Children are quick to note a disparity between talk and action. There is a shocking lack of discipline among all of us — not only the young. Where are our work ethics? How many of us are actually in the office or at the workplace when we should be?
As for manners, forget them. We break virtually every norm of every civilized society — driving, standing in queues, no common courtesy, a lack of consideration for others and the inexcusably bad treatment of women, the elderly and those dependent upon us. We don’t seem to care about any of this and go obliviously along. Children notice and model their behavior on ours.
And please, let us not trot out the old excuse that we are a special society with special rules. I have heard and read enough of this. What is special about us is that we like to think we are — not that we actually are. We are human, just like everybody else on the planet and if we want to be able to hold our heads up, we must first admit to the existence of social problems, human failures and shortcomings and then make honest efforts to solve them. What makes it so difficult are those in society — officials or members of the public — who suffer from false pride and believe that we are incapable of doing anything wrong.
In the light of all this, it becomes very important that we look into the mirror and see the real and actual reflection. Let sociologists, psychologists, members of academia and the public sit together to diagnose our ills and come up with the proper treatment.
Let there be more such surveys that reveal the truth and let us not be afraid to publish them. The truth should not hurt. It should rather be the first step toward a solution.
