"...when workers are pushed to their limits through no fault of their own."
In times of crises, no matter how hard we try, there will always be that possibility of unintentionally neglecting one group of stakeholders in our organization. In this time of pandemic, in the education sector, that group of stakeholders is the teaching staff. The natural focus of attention are the students, as they and their needs are perceived to be the most 'vulnerable' to neglect and to poor quality of service. The members of support staff, especially those whose employment are not protected by permanence, are usually the next focus as they are perceived to provide the assistance that are crucial in maintaining the continuous provision of services to satisfy the needs of everyone in the Institution.
The teaching staff are perceived to be the provider of the very reason why a learning institution exists - the generation and transmission of knowledge... education. The quality of the service depends on how committed they are, and how brilliant they are in their fields to sufficiently provide the education that the students enrolled for in the learning institution, in the first place. Therefore, much is expected of the faculty members; they have to show expertise, efficiency and effectiveness in teaching at all times - regardless of circumstances, (COVID-19) pandemic notwithstanding. Even when the world was turned to a 'deer in headlights', everyone still expects the faculty members to be in control, efficient and unperturbed by the pandemic, even when they themselves are vulnerable to the deadly effects of the pandemic. Unfair? Aren't educators so used to being subject to injustice in this world? Aren't we the most maligned people - accused of incompetence when a student cannot or refuses to learn because of factors that are not even within the educator's sphere of influence, and therefore, the reason of that student's failure? We are the most convenient excuse for failed parenthood and failed national and societal leadership; and we are rarely remembered in the success stories of students, and in their moments of triumph. Sad? Of course, it is! But we are used to it.
So, yesterday, I received daggers of complaints from a parent on two of our faculty members - not so much on the quality of their teaching but on the technicalities of delivering instruction online. Apparently, we are supposed to turn to experts on full online teaching and learning overnight, and that we are solely responsible if students are unable to adjust and fail to do so satisfactorily. My knee-jerk reaction was to send an email to my colleagues, and let them know about it... with some gentle jabs. But I turned the page of my daily spiritual readings yesterday, and I found a lovely message that was so apt to the situation. I thought I'd share the message in today's featured photo because I felt like I was 'scolded' by the Lord yesterday... and it was quite sobering.
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