Staffrooms are a reflection of society; teachers do have their moments to discuss politics. There are as many “parliaments” In Kenya as the number of schools that we do have.
For instance, what is normally discussed in Parliament reverberates the loudest in most staff rooms and schools. Learners in school are not left behind as they discuss how the governments around the world run and are branded with the names of very key politicians.
All school community members would like to be identified by the names of the top-performing politicians. Go to any school and ask for the politicians in our Legislative assembly. They are all in schools according to the real character they exhibit.
Most teachers do a postmortem on what the Members of Parliament do: the Senators, Members of the County Assembly, Cabinet Secretaries, the Deputy President, and even the President himself.
I am challenging all politicians that even as they listen to the ground, they should also listen to schools and other learning institutions.
Teachers play a key role in selecting legislators, either consciously or unconsciously, and they are not to be taken lightly, as some people would imagine.
A good number of politicians who thrived in our Kenyan political space held teachers in very high esteem. A good example is the Founding Fathers, the late Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi. They all knew the influence that teachers held in society, and that’s why they were involved in making very pertinent decisions about running our country.
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At all levels of learning, learners act as conduits of information from teachers to parents and the community. All that teachers pass on to them is Gospel truth and must be protected jealously.
Little do politicians understand that school fraternities, which act as sensitisation platforms, profoundly affect voting patterns. Politicians can overlook schools to their detriment.
Learners tend to confide in their own teachers about their home challenges because they have a lot of faith in what they see their teachers do and can turn to them the moment they feel betrayed by their parents and guardians.
Teachers are abreast of virtually everything that happens in society because they read so widely to be seasoned educators. They are indeed the mirror of society.
When parents visit learning institutions, they believe all the knowledge about the best possible leadership from ward to National level can be found in school.
Conclusively, teachers observe intently a number of societal ills from a distance, have the scorecard for all leadership, and have analysed the current ones for over two years.
By Hillary Muhalya
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