I read a newspaper report recently that claimed most students do not consider teachers as role models.

The survey of 2,000 students across Saudi Arabia found that 66 percent of them feel that way.

Khaled Khamees, a professor of psychology at King Saud University, agrees with the students, and blames the Ministry of Education. He told the newspaper that teachers are not served with what they need as employees and that they lack the skills to deal constructively with students.

“Teachers go for teaching to earn their living,” he said. “They actually do not love the job; they only wait for the salary at the end of the month.”

Khamees also added that if a teacher is tough, hard, and gets angry easily or if he is shy and an introvert, his students will not respect him. The same can be applied to teachers who order and threaten their students. 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.”

“The question we must ask is, do teachers feel the importance of their role, or do they care only about their salaries and the heavy load of classes they must tackle?” said Khamees.

I could not agree more with the study. I believe that the number of students who do not consider their teachers to be role models could be higher. And there are many reasons for this sad opinion and the sorry state of affairs.

The responsibility does not lie with the Ministry of Education but with society as a whole.

Let us be frank for once. Before we look at teachers as role models, let us check and see if parents are role models. How is the father or the mother reviewed – how are siblings being reviewed? Does the father or mother have a role in the upbringing and formation of character of the young boy or girl as they grow from childhood into their teenage years?

Yes, I agree with the report. But teachers are a product of society. And look at our society today and let’s be frank and review it. There is lack of discipline among us all, not only the young. Where are the work ethics? Do you find anyone in office at the allotted time?

As for manners, forget them. We break every civil norm. From driving, to standing in queues, to common courtesy, to treatment of women and the old, we seem to be oblivious.

And please let us not fool ourselves by stating that we are a society with our own specialty. I have heard and read enough of that. If we want to raise our heads, we can only do so by first admitting to the social problems in our society and then making an honest effort to solve them.

What makes it more difficult to do this are the false claims that we are perfect. And also those in our society, be they officials or members of the public who suffer from a feeling of false pride and believe that we are incapable of doing anything wrong.

In light of all this, it therefore becomes very important that we look into the mirror and see for ourselves our true picture. 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 does not hurt.



— The writer can be reached at kalmaeena@saudigazette.com.sa and followed at Twitter: @KhaledAlmaeena