THE RECENT controversy over Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro’s remarks about teachers, following the school shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, raises an uncomfortable question: When something goes terribly wrong in a school, who do we blame first?
Castro said some teachers are poor examples to students and may even teach disrespect. She later explained in a press briefing that she was not blaming teachers. According to Castro, she was reminding them of their responsibility as “second parents.”
Well, she has a valid point.
Teachers are role models. Their words matter. Their actions matter. A teacher who humiliates students, promotes hatred, or teaches disrespect must be held accountable. Being a teacher does not make anyone above criticism.
But there is another point we must not miss.
Teachers cannot be the convenient answer to every problem that enters a school.
The Zamboanga tragedy demands a closer look at the many factors behind school violence which include campus safety, access to firearms, family life, student behavior, mental health, social media, and the systems meant to detect and prevent danger.
It is easy to say that children misbehave because teachers failed to teach them manners.
But what about the home?
What happens when parents are rarely present in their children’s lives? What happens when children grow up seeing adults settle disagreements with insults, threats, and violence? And what happens when social media rewards outrage and turns every conflict into public spectacle?
And what about the government?
Our overworked and underpaid teachers cannot be expected to detect every emotional crisis, prevent every violent act, discipline every child, counsel every troubled student, and still teach a full class. They need support, training, counselors, safe schools, clear policies, and not another burden placed on their shoulders.
Yes, teachers must do better when they fail.
But government must also do better when schools are unsafe. Parents must do better when children need guidance. School administrators must act when warning signs are ignored. And society must stop expecting teachers to repair problems that began long before a child entered the classroom.
The Philippines needs teachers who are good role models.
But it also needs present parents, prepared schools, caring communities, and a government that protects children.
Let us hold teachers accountable.
But let us not hold them alone accountable.
Just as there are bad teachers among good ones, there are also erring lawyers, doctors, engineers, police officers, journalist, priests, government workers, and elected officials among a basket of honest, dedicated and hardworking professionals.
One person’s failure should never become a judgment against an entire profession.
Because when a child fails, society has failed somewhere, too.
