Hello everyone, I welcome you to my blog!!!
There was a time when I had taught in a school for about a year. Back then, because of my love for teaching, I decided to try it out and see where it leads me. But circumstances arose, and I figured that the teaching field wasn't suitable for me.
We all know how kids can get when they are outside the school, especially those with parents that'd go any length in protecting them.
Back then, there were twin boys in my class. The two of them were notorious for bullying their junior students, and they went as far as disrespecting teachers. The only person they feared was the principal, but she didn't do much to curb their behavior. When I first came into the school, the other teachers warned me about them, but I shrugged my shoulders wondering what two little boys could possibly do to me. Since I went to a tough boarding school, I had mastered the art of bullying, and I couldn't stand them bullying others while I'm expected to turn a blind eye because their parents are rich. One day, I saw them beating a boy because he had refused to give them his snacks. I stepped in, and gave them a knock on their heads. One knock each, but this kids went home and said I hit them and they had fallen sick. There were cane marks on their bodies like they had inflicted the injuries just to get me in trouble. Though the little child that was bullied stood for me, his confession was dismissed, and the parents of the twins insisted that I resign from the school.
To cut the story short, I resigned and swore never to teach again. When I think back to that time, if I had not gotten involved, nothing would've happened, and I wouldn't be accused of hating the kids to the extent of beating them outside. If it had happened inside the school, it would've been easier to say they had broken the laws of the school. But I couldn't defend myself because I disciplined them outside my legal jurisdiction, and the law didn't apply to that.
To answer the question, a teacher's role shouldn't end in the classroom, but given the circumstances and the world we live in, sometimes taking actions outside your jurisdiction may be seen as harmful and devious.
In most of the movies I've seen, even cops say they can't help situations that are outside their jurisdiction, because that'd be seen as crossing boundaries, and it can sometimes be seen as a crime too.
In conclusion, a teacher should discipline her students within the school premises where the law guiding the environs would protect her. Outside the school, it's best to either turn a blind eye, or take it up to the school authorities to probably speak with the guardian of the students. These way, the teacher wouldn't be accused and ousted like I was. Because if things goes wrong in the process of trying to discipline the students, the question on everybody's lips would be;
"What gave her the right to hit a child?"
"Were they in school?"
And the popular rumor would be that the teacher is wicked, and probably hates the child.
Teaching is hard, but disciplining a student as a teacher is more harder because it requires a lot of wisdom. You can't do anything outside your jurisdiction without the possibility of getting in trouble.
