The Teacher
As a teacher, what would you do if you seriously injured a student in the process of applying corporal punishment?
It wasn’t intentional. No one believed me, but it wasn’t. As soon as my student announced he failed to do his homework, everyone turned towards me in anticipation. Someone was about to be punished. It was fun for the other students. But it was the farthest thing from fun for the student, and me, the Punisher.
I had to do it because it was expected.
Halfheartedly, I picked my cane and motioned him closer. Keeping a wary eye on the long stick that served as our cane, he edged backward. I shifted impatiently, eager to get this over with. Punishing students always left a sour taste in my mouth.
He took a deep breath and a tentative step forward. I raised my cane. Someone pushed him forward. He stumbled. I watched in horror as the cane landed with a sickening smack over his right eye.
As a teacher, what would you do?
As a parent, what would be your reaction if your child returns home from school with his eyelids split open?
This isn’t a debate, so I’m not promising objectivity.
Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment is a reaction from the teacher in response to misbehavior from a student.
Now that sounds tame.
Corporal punishment is a deliberate attempt at disciplinary action against a misbehaving student. Some of these actions include spanking or flogging either on the hands or buttocks. School corporal punishment follows like the illustration in the opening paragraph without the tragic ending. Usually.
Let’s make something clear. One, school corporal punishment is deliberate and even in some cases expected and admired.
Two, school corporal punishment is a reaction from the teacher in response to the student's behavior. Usually. The unusual cases are not the subject of this article.
Corporal punishment began in schools as obedience to the old law, in loco parentis, where teachers were seen as ‘stand-ins’ for parents. Today, this is especially prevalent in many African countries where the teachers are considered to be of even higher authority over the child than the parents sometimes. Many parents defer to the teachers in all things concerning their children.
Corporal punishment takes many forms but can be majorly divided into two.
- Physical corporal punishment
- Psychological corporal punishment.
UNICEF identifies the physical corporal punishment as ‘smacking, spanking, kicking, throwing, pinching, pulling hair, twisting arms or ears, forcing the child to stay in uncomfortable or undignified position, forcing the child to take excessive exercise, burning, giving electric shock and hitting them with different objects such as cane, belt, whip, shoe, broom and electric wire.’
The psychological corporal punishment includes ‘verbal abuse, ridicule, isolation and scaring.’
Many are more familiar with the physical corporal punishment. I don’t need to ask my African brothers if they are because they will be. As a teacher, I’ve had students admit they prefer physical corporal punishment a hundred times over the degrading and rarely easily forgotten psychological corporal punishment. Why?
Physical punishment marks the student, psychological punishment scars the students. Permanently most of the time.
‘Logical’ reasons for corporal punishment.
Only an unreasonably impulsive person reacts without being prompted. Teachers and school administrators have their reasons for taking drastic measures like we just described against students.
It works. It is quick. It is traditional. These are some of the reasons proponents of school corporal punishment gives.
It works.
Yes, it does. It works by instilling fear in the students. It is a disciplinary action, so the students avoid undergoing the punishment by obeying.
The students obey and become submissive, not out of love for the teacher or an understanding of the need for discipline, but out of fear.
Which would you prefer? A gift given out of love or out of fear? One brings much joy while the other tastes like bile. You can guess which.
It is quick. Of course, it is. When the cane or the hand is nearby, it will be.
It is traditional. It’s the most popular method of reining in a student. The technique most teachers passed through. (?) The one passed down from our forefathers. Of all the arguments in favor of corporal punishment, this rings the loudest.
It gives the teachers security and increases the respect students have for the teachers. From my personal experience, this is false.
Effect on students
- It breeds aggressive behavior in the students.
- There is no evidence it fosters discipline more than the alternatives that will be listed shortly.
- It is abusive and leaves the students physically and psychologically scarred.
- The students may experience nightmares.
- It causes low self-esteem and inferiority complex for the student, leading to poor school achievement, and reduced attention span.
- They begin to hate school and feel feverish anxiety and fear at the mention of school.
- Increased risk of depression and suicide.
- Studies have linked it to the high rate of school drop out
Some of the suggested alternatives to school corporal punishment include, ‘praise, discussions regarding values, and positive role models.’
Children are humans. Some even show greater maturity than some adults. They have feelings, fears and dreams. They can listen, reason and need help making the right decisions. It's the duty of the teachers and even the parents to 'steer' them, not 'bend' them.
Studies have proven these alternatives to be more effective than corporal punishment.
”Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
English Standard Version
Proverbs 13:24
Is there a thing like reasonable physical discipline? Maybe, I don’t know. But we have the facts. There are more dangers in physical and psychological punishment than in the alternatives. Studies and practice in recent times have also shown the 'other option' shows positive results compared to the ‘traditional’ way.
Corporal punishment has lost its popularity in recent times. This has seen 128 countries outlaw the practice. But in some parts of Africa, south-east Asia, and Middle east corporal punishment is a way of life.
What is the purpose of education? To make or mar the child?
Let me know what you think.
References
Arguments For and Against the Use of Corporal Punishment in Schools
School corporal punishment
Unicef finds 43 kinds of punishment in schools