However, gone are the days when parents, students and society showed utmost respect to teachers. The present scenario has a person joining this divine profession for the sake of passing on his skills to future generations in the face of tremendous difficulties while working under insurmountable pressure.

There are a number of factors involved in the growing frustration seen among teachers these days. Threatening and authoritative behaviour from the parents and guardians tops the list. This sort of pressure enforces the teachers to work in accordance with parents' will. It is also the parents' responsibility to pay close and continuous attention to their children's performance. Instead, they pressurise the teachers to favour their child in the classroom, during examinations and at the time of preparing results.

“Not all parents have an authoritative attitude,” says Saima, a young mother. “Still some parents do offer gifts to the teacher as bribe in exchange of favours to complete assignments and homework. Such parents should be condemned because they are doing a misdeed to their child by spoiling his personality. Children of such parents carry no regard for their teachers.” She adds “A teacher has to cope with the pressure by two folds — one from the school administration to prepare work sheets, lesson plans while putting up with the extra work load. And the other from the parents, who place all the responsibility of their child's wellbeing on the teacher's shoulders.”

The parents' unrealistic expectation is another problem. Not all the students in a classroom have the same level of intelligence. Instead of collaborating with the teachers to overcome the learning difficulties faced by their child, they blame them for the student's poor performance in tests and exams. The most common complain coming from the parents' side is that the teachers do not give enough attention to their child.

Rapid degradation of moral values deeply effects the teaching profession. Society's apathetic behavior towards the principles of right and wrong is one pig-headed obstruction in the way of those dedicated teachers. If 10 in a class of 40 students, are taught by parents to respect their teachers, the rest are confident about parents' approach of blaming the teachers for everything and often carry very little respect for their teachers.

Education analysts hold poor parenting responsible for the moral degradation in students. Instability of nuclear families, economic burden, and an unsafe home environment can be some key factors leading to students' misconduct. Interestingly, in our country, parents often argue with teachers for not having taught their child the difference between right and wrong. They think that since they pay a high amount of fees, teaching good habits to the child becomes the sole responsibility of the teachers.

A primary school teacher explains that we are here to transfer our knowledge and skills to young learners still some parents raise fingers at our way of teaching when their children quarrel with their siblings at home. But the home environment has a lot to do with this. Parents should realize that a child can develop angry feelings by just observing their own parents' behaviour and not that of the teachers.

Why do the parents forget that the teacher is only an unofficial guardian of the students while they are at school. Their behavior of the parents towards the teachers teaches the child how to behave in the classroom. Many parents have been known to have used abusive words for teachers in front of their child. Such practices encourage the chid to look down on his teacher too.

Saleem, a student of class five, declares “My mother says the teacher gets her pay from our fees.” Such statements may make a teacher look like a servant in the child's immature mind.

It is evident that verbal abuse and inappropriate behaviour from students has sabotaged many teachers' careers. Basra, one such teacher, walked out of the teaching profession due to the annoying attitude of her students, their parents and the school management.

In order to pass on skills and knowledge to the students, a teacher too needs a friendly and unthreatening school environment. But all her teaching skills come under siege when she becomes a victim of classroom violence. Parents encourage confidence and boldness in their offspring but often forget to teach them the difference between aggressiveness and self-confidence.

They argue with the teachers in a confrontational stance, which anything but portrays respect for the teachers. Respecting one's teacher, helps a student develop the desire of learning to easily achieve his goals.

A survey report published in the Guardian states that teachers are facing increasingly abusive behaviour from parents and pupils. More than a third (39 per cent) of teachers have been confronted by an aggressive parent or guardian, and nearly a quarter have endured physical violence from students.

A new way of hurting teachers is “cyber bullying”. Students use emails, Facebook and other web resources to pass on insulting remarks, maligning comments and fake stories about teachers to each other and even to the teachers' families. Mobile phones turn into “potentially offensive weapons” since students send malicious and nasty SMS or text messages to break teachers' self-esteem and add more misery to their grief.

A senior secondary school teacher was horrified to find her maliciously damaged car inside the school parking lot. The students had punctured its tyres and broken the side mirrors and all because she did not let them cheat in the examination hall. When the parents were called, they supported and protected their children not the teacher.

Some disruptive students are even involved in the physical assault of their teachers. According to a survey, a number of physical attacks on teachers by pupils are growing rapidly. Students in the West involved in such physical violence are promptly expelled from schools. Unfortunately, if such a thing happened here in our country, the parents jump in to protect their child while doing their best in pressurizing the teachers and school not to file a report against the student. If the teacher is still courageous enough to complain to the school authorities, she faces threatening consequences.

Other ways of teacher harassment include circulation of written irritating comments or jokes, funny graphic descriptions, hate propaganda, show of aggression in the classroom and comments about the teacher's physical appearance. All have a negative impact on the teacher's abilities making him or her feel small and powerless.

Sometimes a child may disrespect his teacher because his elders maltreat him at home. He tries to act just like his elders at school. Some children are also rude to their teacher to influence their friends. Physical and emotional changes during adolescence can also contribute irrational attitude towards teachers. Parents had better collaborate with the teachers if they want to find a solution for their child's misbehavior.

Students and teachers in many countries celebrate “Teacher's Day”. In Argentina, Nepal, Albania, Malaysia, Singapore, etc., it is customary for students to send bouquets, text messages, and small gifts to their teachers. School administrations arrange programmes and seminars to appreciate teachers' efforts and honour their hard work.

It is unfortunate that many schools in our country run like machines. Their administration treats teachers as industrial workers. Low income, extra workload and strict regulations are also an unbearable burden on the teacher's pocket. This low financial status in a very materialistic society inclines people to show less respect to teachers. This in turn deeply affects the student-teacher relationship. The school management too is always dissatisfied with the teachers' performances and insists on them to do more.

Some schools demand longer hours from the teachers to check exam copies or prepare results, some arrange refresher courses for their teachers after school hours or during the holidays while forgetting the fact that the teacher too has a family in need of her care and attention.

An educator suggests that schools should arrange teachers' conferences each year where the senior teachers could guide and share their teaching experience with the new teachers.

Raising their offspring properly is a moral obligation of the parents. They should tell their children that a teacher must be treated with utmost respect. They do not need to lose control and become rude over their child's poor grades. The best way is to join hands and try to figure out the factors playing a role in their child's poor performance. It is fine to cooperate with teachers to improve students' learning skills but it is very unfair to interfere and mold a teacher's classroom strategy.

“Every profession has its bad pennies.” This is also true for the teaching profession joined by many for a short time period in order to pass their leisure time. Such teachers obviously have no interest in imparting knowledge and skill to the students. It is the school management's responsibility to find teachers who truly want to teach. A devoted and responsible teacher is an asset and should be given his or her proper status and honour in society.

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