Second parents
Our schools are in dire need of mental health care providers.
This came to my mind as I watched that viral video of a public school teacher who recorded it herself on TikTok Live, with her angry face in close-up for clear identification.
In venting publicly, she seemed to be at her wit’s end and must be seriously considering a career change.
It’s noteworthy that while a common reaction to the outburst was condemnation of the woman, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) urged the public to withhold judgment until the full circumstances are established.
A significant number of the comments on the viral video were also sympathetic to the angry woman, with some blaming even parents for bad upbringing of their children.
Also noteworthy is that among the proposals in the TDC statement was amending the Child Protection Act. I’m guessing the amendments being sought aim to give teachers more leeway in disciplining troublemakers in class.
“Teachers are always at a disadvantage,” TDC national chairman Benjo Basas lamented in the statement. “While we will never tolerate any wrongdoing by our colleagues in the profession, we will defend their right to due process, enshrined not only in the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers but also in the Philippine Constitution.”
In a related development, the University of Cebu dismissed yesterday an instructor at its Banilad campus who was heard in an audio recording telling students to harm themselves, and that he would “love it should you commit suicide.” The instructor’s mother, a fellow teacher at the UC, also resigned.
UC students have been given a weeklong break to de-stress following the incident. The university has also reportedly enlisted 30 guidance counselors and mental health professionals to provide counseling to the UC academic community. We have an acute shortage of psychiatrists, psychologists and trained mental health counselors, so it’s impressive that UC found 30 of them.
“The faculty is in full agreement that his actions are absolutely unacceptable,” UC chancellor Candice Gotianuy said. “By suspending classes, we are giving students time and space to heal. By letting him go and asking the students to see a
