Ban on corporal punishment in schools- is it really happening..??

A study conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has revealed that more than 99 per cent of children face corporal punishment, this was in march of this year 2012.


What comes under the umbrella of corporal punishment ..physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination of children causing physical and mental harassment.

What is more staggering is the numbers. According to their survey around 6500 students only 9 or 10 of them have not received any corporal punishment. That goes to say about what is happening in the schools in india.




In a recent incident, a girl who studies well committed suicide, because the teacher threatened her that she will not be allowed to write the exams till xth, because another classmate copied from her paper. The girl scared that she will not be able to do her x board, hanged herself at home.

I have already mentioned that a boy committed suicide because he was ridiculed by the teacher for his language skills a few years back.

But what really shook me to write this today, (I have been contemplating writing this for some time now), is that a a teacher cut the hair of a special needs child because the child would not let her hair alone..(though they have stuck to saying it is because there was food)in north Carolina, usa.

A warden makes a 10 year old drink her urine, because she bedwets?? And then they compensate by giving a lumpsum?? Will that erase the shame of the incident from the child.

A school in the uae, parades a child around the school stating he is useless.

A child gets a kidney rupture because the teachers hits him on the stomach.

A child loses vision in one eye because she was hit by a duster.

A child was gagged because she would not stop talking..

A vice-principal hits three kids with a fire-extinguisher, because they were playing with it while decorating their class for teacher’s day (irony??)

There was this girl whose locks were cut off because she went in a different style (it later came out the teacher was jealous of the girl’s hair)

Well there is more to corporal punishment than physical..
Being singled out in a class of 50/60 and made fun of hurts the children in ways not comprehensible, it is more sensitive as the child goes into the teens.

Being made fun of their physical appearance, their physical abilities by the teachers is another thing that could definitely hurt the self confidence of the child.

I still can’t digest the abusive language which a teacher used against the
children of class 12, in a government school (because they were looking out) when I had taken my daughter for a vocational exam.

Latest study indicates that corporal punishment makes children very aggressive in many cases and destructive too in some.
These are the children who would show a higher level of aggression towards peers, siblings, parents and spouses and also the society as such. The verbal abusive remarks takes a toll on the confidence of the child and results in the usage of the same.

Today, education is important. And many a time the child spends more time with the teachers than at home, a little more considerate and compassionate towards children.

Unicef is voicing against corporal punishment. And one of the ambassadors for the same Mr.Anil kapoor once confessed that his son was affected by corporal punishment. I am sure that he would not have been part of the local schools but one of the elite schools. This only shows that it is not about elite, hi-fi or the government schools the corporal punishment has been the same all over.

What is more funny, is that when I was a kid I did not have this law against corporal punishment, and today the child knows about the existence and still gets more punishment than what we got as kids?? . yes I remember getting hit by the cane by the teacher, as a part of punishment for the whole class..


AT the same time I had a discussion with a retired teacher who is respected by many students even today..and these were her thoughts..

That the teachers are at higher stress these days to perform and bring out 100% results in their class, that they are forced to spend more time with school based activities, and are not able to do anything else..end result is a frustrated and stressed out..and they don’t get enough breaks these days .

The salaries are so low, and the fear of losing their jobs is also high. You do not act in tandem with the management you are out of the school before you blink the eye.

A staggering number of 40/50/60/and sometimes 70 students in a class and continuous classes all the 8 periods makes them equally irritated and tired..and it is too difficult for them to manage.

Some parents do not take studies seriously till the 6th or 7th and then come and put pressure on the teachers for not taking care of their child. These are the parents who do not turn up at any parents teachers meetings. At the 12th standard, they tell us do whatever you want, but we want our son do get above 80.. the pressure adds up as the child moves from 10th.. it is not only the child, but the teachers also suffer. Many of us suffer with respiratory infections and throat related issues because of continuous shouting..

Students today are more naughty, and are restless more than what we have seen 10 years back, inspite of being prepared, learning new ways it is becoming more and more difficult to manage them, more so because they are pampered at home and they expect the same from us.
Students are more sensitive these days.

Students think using abusive language, doing things that are not allowed in class, like bringing a cellphone, tempting other children with pocket money, dating, eve-teasing is all so common now at school level. As long as nothing happens the parents are not bothered, once something happens, they blame the school first.

After listening to her views, I felt there were some facts in what she was stating and I should learn to take it with a pinch of salt, though I would not agree to the teachers taking their frustrations out on the children, maybe they need a committee for their upliftment and also anger management classes.

As parents, we need to raise our voice against this, but many do not do it for fear of the internal marks, now it is more so because the teachers have a stronger hold with the new grading patterns from cbse. I know of teachers who threaten children with the FA marks that they have control over..

Communicating with your child, learning what is happening in school. Being aware of any change in behavior, like not talking to the regular friends, being moody.

I believe discipline can be done without the need for a cane or a whiplash tongue. We don’t need any extremes. I was aghast when I read about a teacher caning herself in front of 500 students, to make the child who stole money from somebody to confess and also successfully getting the children to pledge never to steal..i felt that was another extreme.

What is your experience, as a parent, as a student, and your take on corporal punishment and what initiatives needed.?


(P.S. i find a group of people out there who feel that you need to take the stick to the child, because if it was not for the stick that changed their paths, they would not be able to give these comforts to their children. that they were disciplined better because of the cane, the boxing of the ears..)

image courtesy:google.

 

Re: Ban on corporal punishment- is it really happening..??

these numbers are just in a random survey across seven states in india alone.

when i read about a arabic teacher bringing in a steel scale to cane kids who did not do well in arabic in a indian school in gulf, i was shocked, here i was so ignorant that teachers don't do the caning outside india, and inspite of stringent rules it is happening,and the more shocking news was most of the old students coming back to say that they were hit by teachers, boxed by them.. it is staggering as a parent to see kids suffer all in the name of better behaviour and marks.

Aww, sushma, this is what i fear with many.. there was this incident of a boy shredding the tires of the girl cycle, because of whom the boy got a ear ful..

it becomes cyclic..and there is no end.

 

Re: Ban on corporal punishment- is it really happening..??

pragati good to have you here. great to have somebody who has worked on the other side and is against corporal punishment. I do realise that teachers are human, and sometimes, the frustations and nager hits the wrong end

.... yes love, infact that is what i summed up from the discussion with the retired teacher. they have vocal issues and respiratory issues.. i know two teachers whom i lost to lungs not functioning well due to prolonged inhaling chalk powder, (and not good quality chalks in the name of cost cutting happens.) but with the inflow of people and population into the cities, the number of students in a class and the number sections increase.. i still remember when we were in bahrain there were classes with n/o sections, and i heard recently from a friend that they even have evening shifts to accomodate students..Should there be a restriction on the number of students brought in by the board..even if the board brings one will the affliated schools follow it strictly, as we see them touting most of the basic requirements these days..

. the school managements are greedy. today i got a call from a friend, and we ended talking about schools and management and she told me that a school that said 80k when she called up in august says 1.5Lacs/lkg today.. so that is almost more than 40% hike, with the same amenities, same teacher, but the teachers don't benefit from this. and the stress, the controls and the threats, i am sure many teachers just teach because they find it convenient. and i don't blame them/

pragathi, if you go back somewhere in 2008/09 i have appreciated teachers. it is not that we do not. but the stress in the society as such has increased beyond acceptable limits and why should we blame the teachers ..they are after all part of the society.

exactly that is what i mean. bringing in stringent measures. making counselling, stress management mandatory. well pragathi, there is another side to this..there are teachers who do not teach at school whatever happens, and the same teacher prepares notes, teaches to the students who come to her tutions, and i know this happening personally, any more on this will be too leading..let us agree to disagree.. that though i accept that the teachers welfare has to be taken into notice, there are some teachers who make life miserable for both the parents and the children in the name of being teachers..agreed they may be a 1% in number, but as a parent of senior class children, i find it to difficult to digest.

a government teacher gets salaries that is 4/5 times more than the private school teacher. the teacher calls the child home to dust, clean her house in lieu of marks in the class. the children go to ration.. it is not just movies, i have personally witnessed this. staying in a area full of schools i witness a lot. how a child who gets good marks gets moved to a particular section and the whole school and the teachers of the subject concentrate only on those children..

The pathetic part of education today is that every school is in a race to get a rating, a name that even if a parent (like me) does not bother about marks, the school calls you up and asks you to note down the time your kid sits to study, initial the assignment with the time and date..the school was not part of the rat race, but has turned itself into one, because the board and the parents together are pushing..both the parents and the teachers are equally in this. with the performance of the children linked incentives to the teachers things have heated up more..

Love for every argument, i have one counter argument. i can show you a reputed school and the teacher who said that the child is special and has to be removed from the school because the child could not spell or talk well at 4 years while she could write,draw and play well..the child was subjected to a mri and i have seen the difficulty and the trauma the child underwent as i was present at the diagnostic the child was being examined..

My conclusions is the education system has to change, not alah sibal style, there should be something more practical, acceptable and not rote nor just marks oriented..making teachers more interested and the student involved, curious, inventive and happy.. education should manifest in bringing out all the good that is already existing in the child and a prod towards a direction...

Great to have you and let us talk..

 

Re: Ban on corporal punishment- is it really happening..??

Rama, sorry for the late response..but i knew i will have you with me disecting this issue, as i wrote about it. thanks dear.

A education based indian site (it is not yet a forum) had a discussion two years back on are we spoiling the child by sparing the rod,and surprisingly there were many who said yes.. that it was ok to hit. seriously, i hear it all the time. we had 10 babies, did we not hit, did they not turn out well, did you not turn out well, what is so special about your child.. it is like :bonk:bonkyourself trying to explain that their thought process is wrong.

Right. absolutely..most of those who were hit, never forget it, and carry that scar for life...

how many have the patience..Be it a teacher/parent alittle more patience is necessary. i know a lady who was my neighbour few years ago. her daughter was such a smartie and was 3 at the time of the incident i am discussing. the child broke a pencil or did not keep the shoes in the rack and was starting a tantrum, the neighbour shouted, the child did not stop, the lady heated a fork and put it on the child's thigh..I can still hear the child's scream.. and the girl carries that mark even today..i saw her 4 months back, a very subdued, silent girl..

We are from the nation of guru brahma guru vishnu. i do not negate it, but haven't teacher gone down the from the bar that this sloka put.. there are many reasons for this but what is glaringly seen is this and children have equally gone awry in certain cases, where they don't respect the teacher.

Definite irony and i absolutely agree with it..we are showing the child something while we believe in something..contradicting signals, the first strike, while hitting to teach self-control is the second strike, and losing their control is the third strike..it is absolute mayhem...

no wonder we have kids taking the knife for just questioning why he got less marks..recently..scary picture..definitely misguided ....

Was it last year, a physics teacher who got angry with a kid for talking in the lab, made the child hold the wires and switched the plug on, giving him shocks..

being late, and being asked to stand outside, missing the id card and being singled out and asked to kneel is also happening. there are other petty things for which kids get singled, and too much will be too leading to my identity, as i recently heard that few schools are spying on forums, facebook because they find that the children are talking about the teachers and the schools and they do not want negative reviews..it is not the fear, it is my helplessness right now..

You know Rama, i have gone and talked, talked, fought, but it is a single voice in a class of 40, the voice gets overrided. nobody opens their mouth today.. it is the fear of the new pattern of marking where the teacher wields a power of 40% in the grading in india in most cbse schools. i remember my son coming home once and telling me teacher threatened that she has 40% in her hands and that we had to behave.. seriously this is emotionally straining and is also abuse..

Exactly. it would have taught me to stand up for myself without fear, and realise it was a mistake and that being punctual was necessary.

does it run smoothly i wonder. we put a lid over the reasoning abilities of the child as small as 3 and then wonder why we don't have einteins and newtons, we have learnt the art of making moulds, and push every child into one of those, and do not allow them to develop as individuals...

well said.. and so true..where are we headed rama??????

it is not just teenagers, kids who are in the 20's too crumble at the slightest presure ... i wonder what are we doing as parents and teachers and where are we leading them to ...

maybe the teachers definitely need some course out their in their teacher training to really understand and to respond instead of react..

recently a nephew was grumbling that one of his lecturer point blank told them in the class (he is a msc. student) that he was doing this stupid job, just because he wanted some experience and did not want to waste his time, he was waiting for the call from another university, and the moment he got it he would move.. when there is no passion, it is not going to work out. but i recently know a friend who moved from it core to teaching in kinder garden and she is so passionate about it...

here students are not co-worker..come to think of it can they hit another co-teacher in the same school.

.Agreed and stressing the same.

My son missed a scholarship opportunity because of the ignorance of the teacher..inspite of sending many letters for a copy of his progress report the teacher failed to understand the signficane of the scholarship and gave me the copy late.. this is just a example. and yes teachers definitely need to learn and keep themselves abreast of what is happening and there are some who are so much into it that they know everything that is happening..while there are some who are so ignorant that it is a pain to see them as teachers. .(i hope i am not hurting any teacher here..)

India has a long way before a teachers asks for help or is given help by the school... definitely stringent measures are the need of the hour..though we start with the corporal punishment, it is so interlinked with many other things..making me believe that the education system needs a change...

DO they. sometimes i find that we find ways to work around those laws..

so true..the reasons to follow rules should not be because the teacher or the parent said so..it is because of following it the reactions to the action is better than if it was not done in that way.. maybe involving them in addressing these issues could help???

Rama, thanks for being here, and i know you are so passionate about what you do, and i hope i have not hurt any of your feelings by discussing these points.

let us discuss...

 

VJB, it is more of a parents and teachers work together. both need to be on the same page. sometimes, it is more about the parents not able to reach.. the praise is actually an embarassment hidden..they are the first people who have doubts if they are doing the right thing by their child...

I always say that you can't expect the child to behave in the expectations or the yardstick placed by a adult, but the adult can go down and help the child reach him/her.. asking your child reach a ball on the loft on its own can result in either injury to self or to things around..but you lifting your child to reach the ball makes the child feel proud of something she/he has achieved, the satisfaction, and the bonding.... many a times, reaching out to the child is more important..and that is what Rama means when she says respond rather than react...

good to have you back..
good views..