By Joe Ombuor

As a high school student, I had the temerity to question a class teacher’s version of the meaning of an English word. I lived to regret it.

Though I was right and the teacher was wrong, he ordered me to leave the class for being arrogant and disrespectful and reported me to the head teacher recommending that he take stern action against me.

The punishment meted out by the head teacher for my ‘offence’ was hard work in the school garden for the rest of the day "to serve as a lesson to others". I never dared question the teacher again.

Know-all bullies

That is but a peep into teacher-student relationship in our schools where most teachers are know all bullies who see nothing worth their respect and recognition from students.

In a flash, the teacher had killed my self-esteem and made me to feel that he did not like me. From then on, I never enjoyed his lessons.

Cases abound where students with outspoken parents have been subjected to torture and humiliation by their teachers to "cut them to size".

Such students suffer arbitrary punishment for mistakes that teachers ignore in other students, rendering their school life miserable and unattractive.

Research blames poor performance in national examinations partly on inadequate teaching.

Secretary General of the Kenya Association of Parents Musau Ndunda says frustration of students by their teachers’ fuel drug abuse and has driven some students to commit suicide.

"We have had cases where bright urban students admitted to schools in rural areas are unable to cope with their studies because of negative attitude by teachers who perceive them as arrogant," says Ndunda.

He says 70 per cent of the poor performance by students is attributable to class teachers exhibiting a haughty and don’t care attitude. "Some teachers go out of their way to deliberately fail students through biased marking just because they do not like the guts of such students or have differed with their parents," he says.

Vernonn F Jones in his book: Responsible Classroom Discipline says teachers and students who have good communication, mutual respect and show interest in teaching from the point of view of the teacher and learning from that of the student produce better results in the classroom.

He says understanding the student’s problem, fear or confusion gives the teacher a better understanding of the student’s learning difficulties.

A connection

"The communication between the student and the teacher serves as a connection between the two, which provides a better atmosphere for a classroom environment," says Jones.

"Academic achievement and student behaviour are influenced by the quality of the teacher- student relationship. The more the teacher connects or communicates with his or her students, the more likely they will be able to help students learn at a high level and accomplish quickly," says Jones. He says a teacher needs to understand that in schools in big cities, students come from different cultures and backgrounds and should be understood as such instead of being subjected to straightjacket treatment.

Mr Kamau Mutwiri, a retired secondary school teacher, says teachers who assume that students have nothing to offer are bound to fail in the profession.

He says schools with healthy teacher-student relationships experience less upheaval including strikes.