At the protest, from left, are Sentinel Primary vice principal Debbie Schröder, Sentinel Primary deputy principal Andre Sampie, Hout Bay High teacher Georgina Ockhuys, Hout Bay High teacher Shaney Philander, Hout Bay High principal Juan Julius and Hout Bay High volunteer teacher Clarence Daniels.
Hout Bay teachers are so fed up with unruly behaviour in their classrooms that they staged a public protest.
With placards calling for pupils to show them more respect, the teachers from Hout Bay High School and Sentinel Primary School held a peaceful picket in front of Sentinel Primary School on Thursday morning last week.
“As teachers, we got to a point with the unruly behaviour and decided we had to go to the streets. We came up with this placard demonstration to remind parents about their duties and responsibilities when it comes to assisting their children,” said Hout Bay High School principal Juan Julius.
“We are serious about nurturing the education of our learners, and over the years, we started getting tired of some learners who were misbehaving and weren’t toeing the line.”
He said teachers had been sworn at by their pupils, and drug abuse, late-coming and truancy were also problems.
“We are taking this issue very seriously at Hout Bay High, and we need the assistance of the parents. Parents need to instil discipline and know where their children are and what activities they’re occupied with. If they don’t, it will start developing a low work ethic in the learners.
“With education, we can create positive change. We want to ensure that our learners in Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu reach their full potential.“
Hout Bay High School volunteer teacher Clarence Daniels, 24, said problem behaviour at Hout Bay schools needed urgent attention.
“I was born and bred in the community of Hangberg and later became a youth leader when I matriculated. I believe the teacher picket demonstration is a very positive way of raising awareness of the many challenges our teachers face on a daily basis. Hangberg is a community with many challenges, especially in education, but there is a huge amount of potential as well.
“The demonstration is purely done out of love and to make community parents aware of the need for support.
“This is a gateway to unlock the potential of our learners as I believe a learner that is supported by parents and their teachers is a step in a positive direction.”
Hout Bay High School teacher Shaney-Lee Philander said: “We as educators face many challenges at school with disrespectful and rude learners, but, at the same time, we are trying to make Hout Bay High successful because we do have many learners who want to be at school and learn. The message was to get parents on board so we we can provide quality education for all learners at Hout Bay High School.“
Sentinel Primary School vice principal Debbie Schröder said more demonstrations were planned at the school in the coming months.
“We’ve been making extra posters and will have these silent protests more frequently at Sentinel Primary. We want to show parents, especially some absent ones, that we need the support of the parents, and they should come to the party.
“We are one community, Sentinel Primary and Hout Bay High are one school and are the feeding schools for the community. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for everyone.”