Cape Town- Today is World Teachers Day, but instead of celebrating, the country’s teachers are lamenting the stress they work under and the challenges they face.
Jaftha Jonkers has been a teacher for 30 years. He said he has seen a lot of changes in the profession.
“I still enjoy teaching, but it’s not what it used to be. The main challenge is that the kids we are dealing with are a different type of child. We thought technology would make it easier, but it hasn't really.”
Jonkers said respect is not there for teachers anymore and that they have had to adapt.
“We have a type of child that is finding it difficult to listen for too long. We used to have a child that said tell us more Now they prefer listening to themselves.”
He said he has been teaching in the Mitchells Plain community for three decades and while he never felt threatened, there were situations that required him to be cautious.
“If you fight fire with fire you will get a bigger fire It just depends on how you deal with it. You have to assess your situation. Sometimes it is difficult and you can lose your cool. But in most instances you should not react too quickly.”