Academic pressure deals teacher-student ties a deadly blow : hyderabad

HYDERABAD: With parents and schools giving priority to academic performance of students, the student-teacher relationship has taken a backseat. While most students today feel a certain sense of alienation in classrooms, teachers blame it on the pressure of the education system. The murder of a teacher by a Class IX student in Chennai has brought the strained teacher-student relationship in schools into focus. 

While earlier the year-long relationship of the teacher and students was nurtured with the latter developing various social skills, now the all pervading presence of exams has dealt this a deadly blow. Also, with each classroom filled with nearly 40 to 70 students, teachers feel that giving attention to every student is impossible. 

When asked, many schoolchildren said that they have often felt ignored or demoralized in their classrooms. "I was once reprimanded for not wearing a clean uniform in front of the entire class and it took ages to recover from that humiliation. Teachers sometimes do not have any regard for our feelings and speak rashly," said Ronit Agarwal, a Class X student from a private school. 

"School is fun till Class VII. After that, we are only attending classes, tuitions and special classes. Teachers just pressure us for good results," said Arnav Pradhan, a Class VIII student. Pressure on teachers too is high in most private schools. From their pay scales to promotions, everything depends on the performance of their lot of students in board examinations, teachers said. 

School managements note the changing behavioral patterns of students. Children are more irritable and aggressive, they point out. "It is not right to generalise but there is a growing element of disrespect among today's students. They are exposed to too much in a tender age. For instance, divorce between parents or even violence on television makes them feel that it is alright to express their emotions in an aggressive manner. From slamming doors to destroying household items when angry, students do it all nowadays," said Usha Reddy, principal, Meridian School. 

Peer pressure is another reason for violent outbursts among children, point out some teachers. 

"It is considered cool to get angry at teachers or parents. If you are a "yes man," none of your friends would think you are "cool". Children are misguided and misinformed in a lot of ways," said S Lakshmi, teacher, Army School, R K Puram. 

Sometimes parents too indirectly encourage violent behaviour, school authorities said. "When teachers reprimand children in schools, parents come to the school the next day and complain about the same. There are instances where parents have used abusive language against teachers in public. Children learn from their parents and they think that it is okay to disrespect them," said S Srinivas Reddy, correspondent, Bharti Vidhya Bhavan High School, Amberpet.