Teachers reprimanding their students isn’t new. However, one schoolteacher had Pinoys up in arms and scratching their heads after publicly lashing out at her students during a live stream.

What happened?

A TikTok livestream has gone viral, showing a school teacher berating her class. She didn’t give a clear context about what her students did, but judging by her TikTok livestream, it seems her anger stemmed from something awful.

“Una sa lahat, hindi niyo kami binabayaran dito para mag-tau-tauhan at gawin niyong robot at gawin niyong katatawanan sa harapan!” The teacher lamented.

“Pangalawa, hindi ako nag-board exam para hindi i-respeto ng mga katulad niyong wala pa namang nararating sa buhay! Ang kakapal ng mga mukha niyo! ‘Di niyo nga kayang buhayin ‘yung mga sarili niyo!”

As if that wasn’t enough to get her point across, she scolded her students more, calling them disrespectful and unintelligent.

“‘Di na nga kayo matalino eh, sama pa ng ugali niyo. Wala kayong mararating. Ako na nagsasabi sa inyo, wala kayong lugar sa mundo.”

Pinoys slam the teacher’s actions

Many didn’t like the teacher’s behavior, particularly considering her professional stature. They felt sorry for the students, saying her words were rather harsh and uncalled for. 

“Hindi deserve ng mga bata na murahin at maliitin. ‘Di natin hawak ang buhay nila. Dapat ang teacher, magturo ng kabutihan, ‘wag pagsabihan ng masasamang salita ang mga bata,” one TikTok user commented. 

Some also criticized her for doing a TikTok livestream while at work. 

“So, vinideo niya pa talaga ito at pinost?” another one wrote.

“To tell your students na wala silang mararating sa buhay? Tapos sabihing ugaling squatter pa? Mas ugali s’yang squatter, dapat d’yan tanggalan ng license.”

However, others call for compassion towards the teacher

Conversely, some people come to the teacher’s defense. They argue that most students nowadays have no respect for teachers and they deserve to get reprimanded. 

“Baka may problema lang si ma’am. Nadala sa school. Sobra stress siguro, kaya unawa po tayo. Tao lang iyan, nagkakamali.”

Others pointed out that our current education system is partly to blame for why many teachers suffer severe stress, intense school workload, and parents who barely take accountability for their children’s poor behavior at school.

“Hindi madali maging teacher dito sa Pilipinas. Overworked ka na, underpaid ka pa. Tapos iaasa pa sa iyo ang pag-di-disiplina ng mga kabataan dahil di na magawa sa bahay.”

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a non-profit organization advocating for teachers’ rights, also discouraged netizens from judging the school teacher based on the viral video.

“We need to understand the full context, and the appropriate authorities, especially the Department of Education (DepEd), should investigate. We want to remind everyone that there is a bigger problem at hand with this viral video. And that is the matter of discipline in schools and its place in the overall state of our education, especially in public schools,” said Benjo Basas, TDC’s National Chairperson, in a Facebook post.

Neither the teacher nor the school she’s affiliated with has issued a statement. Meanwhile, DepEd announced they’re now investigating the incident.

What are your thoughts on this issue?