By 
Indiscipline behaviour by students is a major issue in public schools at the moment. While I cannot speak about what happens in other schools; I can speak about what I have experienced where I am presently stationed, Annandale Secondary School. While I have experienced bad behaviour by students at my former workplaces, I’ll leave that for another post. However, when it comes to bad behaviour in general, particularly bullying, what happens in other public schools is frequently broadcasted for all to see on social media.
I decided to write about this matter because I am reminded of the total lack of respect by (some) students and bullying from them every time I open the textbooks for my subject. I believe that the breakdown in discipline and the crisis that we’re facing is partly due to the lack of consequences for bad behaviour. Students become emboldened not only to disrespect their peers but their teachers also because they know that they’ll not face consequences for their actions or if they do that it’s going to be so light as to not serve as a deterrent.
This post is about the defacing of the textbooks for my subject. I planned to write a more in-depth post about indiscipline, bullying, unprofessionalism etc., but realised that it was going to be too long. I’ll have to break it up into parts. This is about the textbooks, the students’ behaviour and what I think led to it.
The textbooks
For years, the students didn’t have access to textbooks for the subject, Spanish. Teachers who taught it had to spend lots of time writing on the blackboard and because the subject is not a core one, only 2 periods (70 minutes) is allocated per class per week. Also, dictating is not feasible due to the students having no prior knowledge of the subject.
When I was sent to Annandale Secondary in January 2020, that was the situation and after speaking to the relevant persons about the matter and not getting textbooks which I knew the Book Distribution Unit had, I decided to write about the matter publicly in April 2024 (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/04/24/opinion/letters/annandale-secondary-school-needs-spanish-textbooks/).The next day or same week (can’t remember the exact day) we got the textbooks. Exactly what I requested was sent to the school. The books are beautifully illustrated and easy to use for both the students and teachers of the subject.
The following year, due to some sort of issue about textbooks in the public domain, I decided to check the books in my care. This was not something I’d normally do since the books are only taken to the students when they have the subject and collected at the end of the period. A class set of 30 textbooks for each level was given. Upon inspecting the pages of the books, I noted defacement with nasty comments and drawings mostly targeted at me. However, many were homophobic, racist and targeted at classmates of the defacers.
Some of the writings from different books.
Soon after, I informed colleagues in our WhatsApp group of the situation and requested that the relevant teachers speak to the students about defacing textbooks in a general manner and the severe consequences they will face. I believed that by singling out my subject, the defacers could be further motivated to continue with their bad behaviour because they were getting the desired attention.
Although, I requested that the matter be discussed in a general way this was not done and possibly motivated the defacers to increase their attacks on the books. The relevant teacher specifically mentioned my subject and the second picture shows the typical response of the HM to anything posted in the group! 
After, I put white out the markings in the books.
However, the students were not deterred although spoken to. Now most if not all of the 30 Dime 1 textbooks and some of the workbooks have been vandalised although, the books are only taken to the class when they have the subject and collected at the end of the period. These books are never left in their care or loaned to students. Therefore, instead of focusing on doing the assigned work, many spend their time vandalising the textbooks.The books are used primarily in Grades 7 & 8 and the students are from 11 – 13 years old.
What I believe contributed to the issue
Unethical and unprofessional behaviour by the school's administration and/or education officer(s)
Towards the end of 2024, I wrote several times about workplace matters in the public domain. Then an education officer, Loren Park visited my workplace and told me that whenever I write about school issues, he is required to do reports, and this is interfering with his schedule. A series of problems soon followed which I also wrote about. These are just two of my letters on the matter: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/11/15/opinion/letters/my-letters-to-the-media-have-contributed-to-improvements-in-annandale-secondary-school-for-which-i-am-now-a-target/ and https://www.stabroeknews.com/2026/01/24/opinion/letters/i-implore-the-chief-education-officer-to-meet-and-resolve-known-outstanding-issues-that-are-taking-a-toll-on-my-mental-well-being/.
When I was finally allowed to see the contents of my personal file in February 2025, which is stored in the headteacher’s office I noted the presence of many documents which I was never given copies of nor shown. These included notebook pages from ‘anonymous students’ detailing their opinions and ‘observations’ such as seeing me speaking to a man and finding me boring! What I gathered is that students from a particular class were asked by the administrative staff and/or education officer to write these notes after their classmate was rude to me and I complained. The most I expected from the child was an apology, but it seems like that was asking for too much. And what the ‘non-involved’ students were asked to do was highly unethical and unprofessional. I wrote about the matter with the child after not getting any satisfaction and feeling like I was being forced to accept disrespect (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/09/18/this-moe-employee-encouraged-disrespectful-behaviour-from-a-student-and-his-parent-at-annandale-secondary-school/).
Students socialise with each other and I’m sure that those who were asked to write about me told others from different classes. I believe that the actions sanctioned by the school administration encouraged some disrespectful students to deface the Spanish textbooks. I even mentioned the matter in the staff group, and nobody denied it or sought to address the allegations. The indifference shown and unwillingness to address my concerns greatly affected me.
Apparently, on several occasions students were asked to write about me.
Other issues surrounding the defacing of the textbooks
Selfishness and lack of empathy – The guilty students only think about themselves and do not care that others need to use the books. They destroy them by tearing out pages and scribbling in them.
Indiscipline, lack of respect and bullying – While I do not believe in the use of corporal punishment, I do believe that there should be consequences for bad behaviour. The child must be deterred by way of punishment so as to not repeat what is undesired.
Many educators in administrative positions are unable to come up with innovative ways of disciplining students. Since they only know about corporal punishment and can no longer use this the students are basically left to do as they please. Many students have no respect for others and their property. The disrespect is not only for their classmates. They also feel empowered to disrespect teachers who simply report to the class to teach them.
In my case, I am just allocated two periods (70 minutes) per week with each class that I teach. This short amount of time is spent teaching and because it’s foundation Spanish there is a heavy emphasis on grammar, vocabulary and basic conversational dialogues. Yet some students use this time to disrespect me by defacing the textbooks apart from their unruly behaviour in the class and often there is no support from the parents regarding the bad behaviour of their children. I simply go to the class to teach and this is what I get from 11-, 12- and 13-year-old children. And I am older than the mothers of many of them. They are disrespectful to both young and mature teachers.
Bullying is a national topic at the moment, and the Ministry of Education is confronting this. However, the general feeling is that students are bullying classmates only, but this is not the case. Students are bullying their teachers, and the defacing of the textbooks is an example of this. Lack of respect for others and their property.
Homophobia and influence from popular culture – Generally speaking, Guyanese society is homophobic. People are intolerant of homosexuality. Many times, I have seen persons from the LGBTQ community and those who are perceived to be from that community or deemed to be acting too effeminate being bullied on the streets. I even witnessed teachers trying to ‘convert’ males who they perceived as acting too effeminate into behaving more ‘manly’. Children model the behaviour of adults and end up being homophobic themselves. On the other hand, the obsession with being an ‘alpha’ male society can promote chauvinism, misogyny and harmful patriarchal beliefs. Many of the drawings and writings in the textbooks are homophobic.
Xenophobia – I literally ended up teaching Spanish due to racism. The headteacher at my former workplace did not allow me to teach in my area of specialisation (https://lifeingy.com/the-ministry-of-education-guyana-condoned-discrimination-by-failing-to-act-fairly-and-decisively/). And now I am facing xenophobia due to what I teach and the fact that many students believe that I am from Venezuela. Many of the writings in the book are xenophobic. Everyone is aware of the border issue between Guyana and Venezuela; some students are unable to see beyond this and have negative attitudes toward the subject. Although 9 out of 13 South American countries speak Spanish and learning a foreign language is good for both personal and professional development, they see Spanish through narrow lenses.
Misogyny, stereotyping and the objectification of women – Guyanese society is patriarchal and misogyny is ever-present through the treatment of women and girls; the lyrics people including children listen to and the expectations placed on the female sex.
Many Venezuelan women came to Guyana to escape hardship and poverty in Venezuela because of the political and social issues which everyone knows about. Many of these women are educated, have families and are good people but have faced so many difficulties due to not being able to speak English and xenophobia. Most end up in entry level jobs such as cooking, cleaning, as store attendants and clerks. However, some have ended up working in strip clubs and selling their bodies to provide for themselves. Due to this, many Guyanese have stereotyped them as just being sex workers and bodies to satisfy their needs. These women, who they refer to as ‘Spanish’ are objectified and fetishised because of how they look (which is absolutely not their fault) and their vulnerability. Most have no material possessions, cannot speak the language and lack a support system.
Some students believe that I am from Venezuela and are emboldened to be disrespectful towards me through their writings in the textbooks. I also believe that they associate the subject with the general beliefs regarding ‘Spanish’ women and the border issue.
I have experienced students singing songs that demean these women and they would do it when I pass their classroom or they see me on the corridor or at the vendor. Sometimes, even when I enter the class. They have said things such as ‘Take a Spanish and vanish’ or ‘As soon as yuh slip, as soon as yuh slide is a Spanish yuh coming inside’. It would take too much time to list all the disrespectful things I have been subjected to, simply because I teach Spanish and some mistakenly believe that I am a ‘Spanish’ woman. Experiencing xenophobia due to mistaken nationality! The belief that I sell ‘patacake’ as a side hustle or as my second job after clocking out from being a teacher! Just another chapter of my life….
The perverse obsession with and hatred of the vagina – Guyanese came out of vaginas yet many spend their entire lives obsessing over and hating the vagina! And there is no logic to it. I have to write a separate article on this topic so I’ll just briefly touch on it because I saw a few drawings in the books that show the level of perversion with the vagina.
So, if you listen to Guyanese cursing each other especially if they persons are females or at least one is a female then the vagina is usually ‘attacked’ during the cursing and of course there is no logic to anything. Females (girls and women) will curse each other, or the man will curse the woman about having a big, stink, long etc pokey/patacake. If you’re not Guyanese you may not be aware of the fact that the locals call the vagina, pokey/patacake/cuny etc, (spelling differs) in ‘informal’ settings. Now, how would someone know if a woman’s vagina is big (btw, the vagina is a muscle that contracts and expands so this doesn’t even make sense) or smells unless that person gets between the woman’s legs and measures the vaginal opening or sniffs it by placing his/her nose directly next to it! I mean, can you smell someone’s vagina from afar?
Furthermore, the vagina is supposed to smell like a vagina! It would only smell ‘off’ if there are particular infections and you would only notice this if the person were naked and right next to you. But this is the level of disrespect that people (both males and females) have towards women and girls; it’s a deeply misogynistic society. To degrade, humiliate, or disrespect a female they will curse her about the vagina between her legs!
Some ‘Artwork’ from the disrespectful students
When they have to do simple drawings such as drawing clocks for the topic ‘time’, faces or themselves for ‘describe yourself and others’ I would hear lots of complaints from them about not being able to draw and groans and moans would follow. Yet some are skilled at drawing penises! Note: the majority of students are respectful and mannerly but since this problem is ongoing, the disrespect is always in my face everytime I open the books and new ones keep popping up. And since the relevant persons are unwilling to address the issue, I have to bring it to light.
Present situation
These books – a class set of 30 Dime 1 textbooks – are presently being used by lower school students in Grades 7 and 8. Due to the fact that almost 100% have no prior knowledge of the subject, many basic topics must be taught in order for them to have a functional understanding of the language. Also, many display a negative attitude towards it and question why they are required to do Spanish. Plus, the pace at which topics are covered is slow due to limited time.
The books are beautifully illustrated with almost all of pages having pictures to aid the students in understanding the topics and lessons are presented in a simple way. Each level in the series builds upon and expands what was covered in the previous level for example, present tense in Book 1 and past tense in Book 2.
As mentioned, most students are well-behaved and would not deface textbooks. However, they are now forced to use these same textbooks and many would spend instruction time browsing the pages for the ‘artwork’ of their classmates. They become distracted and would often bring the pictures and writings to my attention.
The school administration and education officers were informed
I believe that the unethical and unprofessional behaviour of some administrative staff and education officer(s) contributed to this issue. By having the students write notes about me, they empowered some of them to deface the textbooks.
Since I noticed the problem in early 2025, I informed senior teachers including the HM in our WhatsApp group. Before, I had verbally informed the HM. After ‘cleaning’ the books and being spoken to, students still continued to deface them.
I have informed different education officers of the problem and requested a new set of textbooks which will be used with the (new) Grade 7 students who will commence their secondary education on August 31, 2026. To date, I have not received what I’ve requested. How can they expect me to give these Grade 7 students the defaced textbooks to use? It is disrespectful to me and would encourage these little children to not only deface the textbooks further but to disrespect me as well. Overall, it would encourage indiscipline behaviour from the students.
Furthermore, their own colleagues (education officers) contributed to the problem. The least they can do is replace the textbooks.
