Tragedy of errors

By Rhona Canoy

SO… When the story broke about some Tulfo dude pressuring a teacher to either resign her job or face legal action, I tried to stay on the sideline and keep my trap shut about the issue. But it seems to be reaching tidal proportions and the matter is too close to my core for me not to say anything about it. I’ve refrained from watching the now-infamous video because, as we all know, it’s easier to evoke an emotional response when watching events unfold than it is to read about it. Yet, the incident must be examined, mulled over, judged. Let’s objectively talk about the series of events that have brought us to where it is today.

First, there was the issue of a report card that was not returned. This, I believe was what ignited the whole catastrophe. Considering all the factors, this is more complicated than anyone knows. The child is a grade two student, which means that we’re talking about age 8 or so. Therefore, the assumption is that this card was sent home with the young student for the parent/guardian to see and affix their signature. This is done after each quarterly grade has been made final. It would be a bit of a stretch to expect that an eight-year-old student to be held accountable for the official report card if the parent/guardian does not remember to return the card to their student to be brought back to school.

Second, this report card is an official document commonly referred to in the trade as DepEd Form 138. The teacher, for the duration of the active school year, is responsible for (a) filling out, (b) securing the appropriate signatures from the principal and the parents, and (c) making sure that the form is kept safe. It is also to be assumed that this form is necessary for the said teacher to complete one of the many reports she is required to submit to the office, for which I also assume she has a deadline as well.

Third, we have no idea what transpired inside that classroom. We don’t know how the student was treated, or whether he was the only one who had not returned his report card. We don’t know what kind of a mood the teacher was already in when she got to school that morning (but that doesn’t excuse anything). We don’t know what kind of procedures or rules there may be in the school’s policies regarding situations of this kind. All we know is that the teacher snapped, and sent the student outside the classroom. Note that, no matter how it was done, the student was sent outside but given a seat to occupy. CCTV footage can only show events. We cannot hear what was said, therefore much of the context is unavailable.

Fourth, we don’t know how the student relayed the events to his parent/guardian which evoked such a violent response. We have no idea what kind of a picture the child painted, or how accurate the relaying of words that were said may have been. All we know is that the parent/guardian violently and negatively reacted to what was told. We don’t know what kind of mindset the adults have. We don’t know what kind of upbringing these adults had. All we know is that their instinct to protect the child (excessive though it may have been) triggered the next series of events.

Fifth, we don’t know why the parent/guardian went and complained to the Tulfo dude, instead of bringing up the matter to the school principal or the school guidance counselor, or even if the parent/guardian was ever able to talk to the teacher about what happened and gather more information. All we know is that the issue came to our attention because of that shameful TV broadcast. Yes, it was shameful. Shameful for the child, shameful for the parent/guardian, shameful for the teacher, shameful for the Tulfo dude. It was shameful all around, no matter how one chooses to look at it.

Sixth, we don’t know why the teacher even agreed to appear on the show. Let’s say that she was hoping for a resolution to the brewing situation. Still, it was not the proper venue. We don’t know why she didn’t bring any of her school administrators to support her in this difficult situation. We don’t know why she didn’t bring a lawyer (I know I would have if it were me). All we know was that she voluntarily allowed herself to be chastised and humiliated by a bunch of bullies who had no right to treat her badly in such a public forum.

Seventh, we don’t know why this Tulfo dude felt that he was the right person to hand out justice for the complainant. We don’t know why he was arrogant enough to think he could force the teacher to choose between two unreasonable options. We don’t know why dude never bothered to bring the school administration into the fracas. All we know is that he was rude and bullying, as well as self-righteous.

Let’s stop here for the moment because I have too much to say already about these seven points (although, believe me, there are more). This is not an isolated event. Let’s make that very clear at the onset. This happens more often than any of us know, not counting the Tulfo broadcast. Teachers who are hard-pressed to maintain order in the classroom sometimes make mistakes. They are human beings as well, and some days are worse than others. The teacher says she was just trying to discipline the child. No matter what, this was a situation that could have been handled differently, in my opinion.

If the adults in the home did not hand the boy back his report card, there would have been nothing that the child could have done. There is no way that the adults could have been forced by a small child to be responsible and return the card to him so he could bring it to school. If a deadline was set by the teacher which applied to the whole class, then the same expectation held true for every child in that classroom. We don’t know if the teacher had tried to communicate with the parent/guardian to remind them that the card was to be returned at a specific date (and I’m assuming the deadline had passed). Neither do we know whether the parent/guardian didn’t feel that it was a big deal. Although it probably was, to the beleaguered teacher.

Somewhere along the way, there was a reference to how this was not the first time that the child had been reprimanded by the teacher. It kind of makes me wonder as to what kind of situations would have resulted in reprimands. Were there any consistent behavioral problems? Had the parent/guardian been made aware that this was the case, if so? And there would have to be some expectation that the parent/guardian is doing a proper job of raising the child. I don’t even want to get into this discussion at this time. Parents these days are (IMO) extremely misguided as to what their duties and responsibilities are as parents. Child-rearing is taking a definite turn for the worse if you ask me.

The biggest question that runs around in my head is this: What was the end goal for bringing this matter to such a public, albeit misplaced, forum? What did these complainers want? Retribution? Dominance? Certainly not justice, if you ask me. All this is so revelatory of our inherently flawed and negative Filipino psyche. There seems to be some mass delusion convincing us that we are entitled to what we consider to be right. Let me rephrase that. Entitled to whatever we feel is ours because we want it.

A short column isn’t going to be enough for me to let you know what I think about all this. Suffice it to say that, as far as I’m concerned, everyone in this situation—the child, the teacher, the parent/guardian, Tulfo dude, the school principal—is both right and wrong. But in the observable order of things, more wrong than right. There is a lot of good which can be taken from all of this. But it will need a lot of awareness, a lot of objectivity, a lot of humility, a lot of re-evaluation, a lot of positive steps to repair the damage.

That’s a lot of “a lots” which I’m not sure the Filipino psyche is capable of handling. Which leaves us constantly asking… what now?