Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1337056
I refer to the article entitled 'It is not about teachers, but about the children' by Sav- iour Balzan (31 January 2021), which is based on many suppo- sitions and wrong conclusions about the educational sector, educators and the MUT. First of all, Mr Balzan asks why things never change in relation to teachers. If he had any idea about the education- al sector, he would know that the exact opposite is true and that the MUT has pointed out many times over the years that educators have actually been left breathless by the scale of reforms undertaken by the government. Any educator would attest to the fact that the system seems to be in transition all the time and as educators we are risk- ing a collective fatigue, which would result in more educators leaving the system. This crisis is real, and the pandemic has accelerated it in many ways. With regards to the claim made by Mr Balzan, who stat- ed that he set up a house union specifically to split from MUT, one would have expected that he provides the true picture by stating that the said house union that he tried to set up in an independent school was short-lived and it did not even manage to gain recognition, so much that MUT continued to represent educators col- lectively and has since signed three collective agreements with the said school. The most recent agreement, which is still in force, was concluded in 2019. He also asks how many of the MUT's council members have children, which is an insult to both council members and to the profession. Apart from the fact that such personal information is no one's business, one must really ask whether this kind of atti- tude has ever been taken with respect to other professions. The rest of the article is a hotchpotch of stereotypes that only serve to increase the ani- mosity and prejudice against educators and the MUT. Many members reacted to the points raised about the carnival mid- terms, rightly pointing out that the way the school calendar is set up has mid-term breaks built in as a breather for both educators and students alike. One must remember that edu- cators do not have a standard vacation leave system where one can book and take a week off for personal errands and reasons. Furthermore, mid-terms are typically used for planning, corrections and other neces- sary work in preparation for the next half of the term. Re- garding this erroneous idea of missed lessons, many members have pointed out that this year contact hours have actually in- creased drastically since there were no outings, extracurricu- lar activities and in many years no half-yearly exams which added a further two weeks of lessons. In conclusion, many have at- tributed this article to hidden agendas, chips on shoulders and axes to grind, but the MUT will not go into these kinds of arguments and will leave the reader to decide on the merits of the arguments. However, the MUT assures Mr Balzan that it understands the magnitude of the crisis and together with its members it has been working tirelessly on many fronts. The idea that the MUT is negative and that it refutes flexibility is baseless and we're sure that some members would actually state the opposite as well – that the union needs to adopt a more hard-line atti- tude towards situations many educators are being faced with. The reality is, however, that the MUT has always tried to strike a very delicate balance that makes sure that members, as educators, are heard and represented in all fora of all respective educational sectors including state, church and in- dependent. 13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 FEBRUARY 2021 Marco Bonnici is President, Malta Union of Teachers Karl Gouder is deputy Whip and PN spokesperson for local councils, national heritage and youths OPINION Marco Bonnici Representing educators "OUR young are careless, worry free, and pass- ing through the best time of their life." This is the idea that most of us have of youth in general, and probably some of this is true at least for a good part of youth in normal times. We all look back at our younger ages and with some nostalgia say to ourselves that those times were the best times of our life. The situation today is very different. The world is passing through turbulent times, over the past year our lives have been turned upside down, and all of us have struggled in some way or another. Probably we would think that the cohort of our society that has suffered least are our youth. The truth cannot be further than this. When one speaks to young people and asks them what their challenges are right now the first word practically all of them tell you is anxiety. Unfortu- nately during these times the level of anxiety with- in youth has hit the sky. Young people are uneasy, worried, afraid of the unknown and the level of anxiety has reached a very worrying level. I am speaking about all young people in general. The ones who are stud- ying, in any educational institution, be it post-sec- ondary or tertiary are very worried about what is happening in these institutions. First of all the fact that they cannot meet, cannot socialise at school or on campus, cannot meet their friends in the evenings or when- ever has rendered them alone, bored and find themselves looking at the wall. This at a time when we know that the basic of being young is meeting people and forging new relationships. There is also anxiety with regards to their stud- ies, without knowing clearly when and how their exams will take place, how they are going to fin- ish their studies and what will become of them in the long run. The university campus, known to be full of students, teeming with energy and activi- ties has gone silent, MCAST and Junior college to are totally empty and most of our young people are alone at home, yearning for a time when they can meet up again, be creative, meet their friends and organise the hundreds of activities that used to take please pre-COVID. However it is not only students who are pass- ing through this stress. Many young people today work, some on a full-time level and some part- time. These young workers are extremely wor- ried about their future, about how safe their job is, about how possible it will be for them to buy a home and start a family. They too miss meeting their friends and their social life, which let's face it is probably the most important part of their devel- opment at that age. Society has a duty towards these people, and by society I don't mean just government but each and every one of us at large. First of all we should treat our young people equally. All of us are pass- ing through difficult times, some of us more than others, however it would be very unfair to to think that the people who are suffering least in these moments are our youngsters. This is totally false. Over the past year we have probably become a more caring society: we rightly understand the difficulties elder people are passing through, the dif- ficulties company owners are passing through, work- ers, front-liners and so on, however we tend to some- times forget that life for our youngsters is just as tough. So first of all let's change our way of thinking vis-a- vis young people, let's un- derstand how tough these times are for them to and let's do all we can to make their lives as bearable as possible. I have heard countless stories of stu- dents being told that they have a mock exam from one evening to the next morn- ing, I have heard countless stories of young people be- ing told to thank their stars that they are young as this pandemic is not affecting them as much. This must change. We must help our stu- dents plan where possible, and we must give them the courage that this pandemic is a temporary blip in their lives. My thinking is that this pandemic will create one of the best and resilient genera- tions ever. Considering that these young people are passing through such challenges in a phase of their lives in which they should be spending more time enjoy- ing themselves and socialising will certainly make them stronger, and be able to face life probably even better than we were able to. However we have to say this loud and clear and make sure they understand it. Our duty as a society however at this point in time remains one and the same: give them cour- age, show compassion and do all we can to make their lives as less difficult as possible. Karl Gouder Being young in 2021 All of us are passing through difficult times, some of us more than others, however it would be very unfair to to think that the people who are suffering least in these moments are our youngsters