Coming out of the Easter season — a time of mourning, reflection, and deep gratitude — I find myself plunged into a different kind of sorrow.

Not one anchored solely in the retelling of the crucifixion story, but one that echoes a modern-day passion: the systematic devaluing of educators. I ask with a heavy heart: Did teachers crucify Jesus? Because if you’ve been listening to the tone of national discourse, especially in light of the most recent headlines concerning education reforms, you would believe teachers were the villains of the story.

Let me be clear — education needs to move forward. We welcome advancements. We accept reforms. We understand the need for standards, accountability, and a system that aligns with international best practices. But what must never happen in the process is the throwing of teachers under the bus as if they were the authors of educational failure. That kind of narrative is not only damaging, it is unjust.

It often feels as though we are re-enacting ‘The Passion of the Christ’, but this time, it’s the ‘Passion of the Educators’. Scapegoated. Misunderstood. Beaten by public commentary. Pierced by policymaking without consultation. Crucified by social media critiques. And all this while we still show up every day to mould minds, bandage wounded dreams, and offer hope in overcrowded, under-resourced classrooms.

If we plan to have a functional education system in the next decade, we cannot continue to treat our educators with such disdain. The young people are watching. They are absorbing the vitriol. They are internalising disrespect. And if we’re not careful, the teaching profession will continue to lose its brightest minds to more “prestigious” or better-paying fields. The current narrative is not only short-sighted — it’s self-destructive.

Is it that the majority of citizens never had even one good teacher? I don’t believe that for a second. I remember every teacher I had in primary school and every lecturer at university — whether I favoured them or not. That memory does not come from me being an educator, it stems from a principle I learned as a child: to winnow. I learnt to recognise that in every encounter there is something to learn and someone worth learning from.

We have to rethink education, not just reform it, not just restructure it, not just digitise or strategise it, but truly rethink it. Because if we believe that education is simply about policy and process, then we’ve missed the point entirely. Education is a human experience. It is built on relationships, passion, vision, mentorship, and sacrifice. None of which can be measured solely by exam scores or Ministry of Education bulletins.

Frankly, it is beginning to feel like we all taught ourselves. The level of gratitude is that low. And soon, when Education Week rolls around, we will see the whitewashed posts, the pretty tributes, and the social media applause. The same mouths that tore us down will suddenly rise in praise. That hypocrisy is hard to digest. And teachers feel it. We see it. And many are quietly leaving — either mentally checking out or physically migrating to places where their worth is recognised in deed, not just in token words.

I will continue to review the developments in education as they unfold. I will offer my commentary. But I must also sound the alarm: Jamaica, wake up! Every progressive nation on Earth values its educators. Just look at the top-ranking education systems — Finland, Singapore, South Korea — they revere teachers. They honour them. They invest in them, because they understand what we seem to forget: Without great teachers, there are no great nations.

Like many of my peers, I had options: sciences, business, arts, languages, technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Yet I chose teaching — not because it was the easiest or most lucrative, but because it was the most noble. The highest form of service to humanity. Yes, a few teachers in the past may have failed the profession, but their missteps cannot outweigh the overwhelming legacy of impact that the majority of educators leave behind.

Every accomplished person in this country is the product of an educator. Whether it was a music teacher who nurtured your voice, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) teacher who sparked your curiosity, a language teacher who helped you articulate your vision, or a principal who saw potential when no one else did.

I am the result of educators like Daphne Lewison and Dr Knola Oliphant — giants in the classroom who saw me before I saw myself. They did not crucify anyone. They resurrected dreams. They built futures.

So, no, teachers did not crucify Jesus. And we should stop crucifying them. Let us remember that before the world applauds your brilliance, it was a teacher who first told you that you could shine.

Leroy Fearon Jr is an educator, author, researcher, and justice of the peace. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or leroyfearon85@gmail.com.

Every accomplished person in Jamaica is the product of an educator.

Leroy Fearon