1. Sunday Nation Newspaper (Kenya):
In Summary
I am extremely disappointed by Wameyo Otundo's article (Why no one will take teachers’ pay demands seriously, Sunday Nation, January 11, 2015).
First, Otundo insinuates that teachers are scatterbrains. He should know that teachers are not only intelligent people but also polished life coaches. In fact, a majority of curriculum developers are former teachers because they can pinpoint weaknesses of a blueprint before it is implemented as a curriculum.
Second, he suggests teaching does not require thinking but mere factory-like routine processes. What will mathematics teachers who work out complex sums on a daily basis say? Has he ever come across application questions in sciences and social sciences that often require knitting up of correlated facts and figures from across the board? Who guides students to tackle such? Is it not teachers? Does Otundo understand the difficulty of teaching languages? What about information and communication technology as a subject? Can one limit its dynamism?
Third, Otundo says that teachers should pander to the whims of the government if they want a salary raise. This is even more infuriating. He ought to know that teachers went on strike after a collective bargaining agreement was ignored by the same government he wants us to cuddle.
The baba na mama era is long gone!
Teacher Njoroge Kiratu, Nairobi.
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