Opinion
By Kyproulla Kyprianou*
Someone will shout. Someone else will mock, bully, or record a video “for laughs.” These incidents are no longer isolated. They’ve become part of a disturbing new reality in our schools. But behind every such moment, there’s a silent cry, for attention, for help.
As an educator, I can no longer see these children simply as “troublemakers.” I see them first as young people who are hurting, who carry burdens, and who are growing up in a society filled with pressure and contradictions. They’re not always looking to provoke, often, they just don’t know any other way to express themselves.
And the truth is, we educators aren’t always ready either. We weren’t trained to be psychologists, or to handle crisis after crisis, every single day. But we do it. Not because it’s easy, but because we know how badly these children need someone to truly see them, to listen to them, and to set boundaries with compassion.
In my view, punishment and indifference are not the answer. What we need is real support, from the state, from families, from society. We need more specialists in schools, less bureaucracy, and more time to actually talk to our students, not just about the curriculum.
Because school is more than a place of learning. It’s a mirror of our society. And if that mirror is cracking every day under the weight of violence and silence, then we all need to take a hard look and take responsibility.
I don’t say this out of pessimism, I say it out of love. Because despite how hard it gets, I still believe that every child carries something good inside. And if each of us takes even one small step closer, with understanding and courage, we can change something.
Even just a little. Even just for one child at a time.
*Mrs. Kyproulla Kyprianou is a teacher
*This opinion was translated from its Greek original
