Parents urged to stop bashing teachers online

President of the BVI Teachers’ Union, Tammy Henry has cautioned parents to refrain from bashing educators online as this negatively affects children’s behaviour in the classroom.

She said the morale of some teachers tend to decrease when they see negative social media comments written by parents or when students repeat negative comments spoken by their parents.

“Oftentimes we go on Facebook or on social media and the parents are bashing us. Then they bring the children to school the next morning with a big smile on their face and they expect their children to respect us. I remember growing up as a child, whether I was wrong or right I could not disrespect the teachers. I find our community is not like that anymore,” Henry explained at a Teachers’ Union Forum where the subject of improving the education system was being discussed.

Henry stressed that for the most part, parents across the territory are supportive of teachers. But she confessed that the few who bash teachers have a great and negative impact on educators.

“It changes something on the inside for us. Sometimes we come to school so excited to teach a lesson and then we hear a child say, ‘my mommy said this or that’. Sometimes someone will say, ‘did you see what this parent posted online?’. Whether it’s you or another teacher, it kinda downs your spirit. As teachers, we need to feel as though every person in the community has our back,” Henry explained.

She said once such respect is shown to teachers, it will improve the morale of many educators who will then be motivated to “go above and beyond” when teaching children.