Teacher Judgement

DAY OF THE TEACHER OR JUDGMENT?

THE 5th of OCTOBER

By Stephen Wilson

 

MOSCOW -- "Congratulations on 'The Day of the Teacher Day'. It is our day today " announced a cheerful and lively teacher to me when I entered a Greek and Latin Gymnasium which is situated within the vicinity of Prospect Mir when I entered the staff room . Judging by the frantic activity of teachers rushing in and out of the staff room with textbooks and carrying heaps of homework, I wondered if any teacher had time to celebrate this day. It seemed an irritating distraction which hindered rather than helped our work. In fact, if you leaf through the articles in the Russian media you might be forgiven for believing it is 'a Day of Judgment ' as people freely evaluate or assess the performance of teachers.

An indication that some pupils had noticed was when a teacher brought in a huge banquet of flowers. 

On this day, articles in the Russian media mushroom. Many of them amount to inappropriate comments to tactless judgments. For instance, why do government officials announce, in a

newspaper,that they intend to close down 100 institutions of Further Education' which the government deem 'ineffective'? One of the best universities in Saint Petersburg has been practically closed down on the spurious grounds that it does not provide physical education facilities ! Yet this university specializes in the humanities and not sport! So you have a government that literary threatens to make some teachers redundant on: 'The Day of the Teacher '!

One thing is certain. It is not all bad news. Despite the occasional teacher bashing, the profile and prestige of teachers has radically changed over the past decade. Gone are the days of the 1990's where schools in Moscow were short of teachers and the pay was absolutely abysmal.

The usual stereotype of a Russian teacher is of a late middle-aged or old teacher who is angry, authoritarian and constantly shouts rudely at pupils : " Keep your Eyes on the blackboard " as in the Russian satirical film 'Hitler Caput'. Recent research indicates this crude stereotype of Russian teachers is an oversimplification and misleading generalization. For instance, one out of four teachers is estimated to be under 35 and International surveys have found that Russian teachers are among the most qualified in Europe and continually seek to upgrade their qualifications. The shortage of teachers in rural schools is less than one percent and all the vacancies in Moscow schools are practically filled. This is a far cry from the 1990's when the job of a teacher was largely an unwanted position and schools had a high turnover of staff. Nevertheless, one wonders whether the recent statement of the Minister of Education where she claims that : "It is namely due to the high qualities of patient and strong teachers that millions of our children joyfully go to school." I can already hear grunts from some school kids.

How does the public perceive the financial status and prestige of teachers in Russia? A recent survey by the All Russian Center of Social Opinions asked respondents to assess perceived the status of teachers on a scale from one to five. The scale found they received a mark of 2.86.

By the way, this is how school students are marked at school! It is as if teachers are being equated with pupils.

Journalists stated the teachers score a very average mark. The survey does not measure the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom but irrelevant factors such as how people rank teachers according to pay and prestige. It is as if people are being asked to rank teachers on the basis of how much money they make rather than more important considerations. Only people highly materialistic could have thought about carrying out such a survey. A much more interesting finding of the survey is when the public were asked what qualities they like to see in teachers. As many as 30% stated they most of all value 'kindness and well-wishing' , 28% 'competence' and thirdly, 'love towards children and their work' and in fourth place, 'the level of education.' What is more important is whether the teacher loves and cares for their children rather than perceived power or prestige.