Ruler rules!

Resorting to unreasonable punitive measures, on the pretext of inculcating immaculate behavior in children, is at best ineffective and at worst, detrimental to a child’s growth.

I do not see how writing , “I will not talk in class” a thousand times can curb the habit and instill what is called discipline in a child. I do not see how being driven out of the class for not completing home-work can make the child a better student. Will humiliating punishments such as, parading a kid around the school for failing in a subject improve his grades? I think not. Hitting a second grader with a hard wooden scale on the knuckles will only make him detest school and studies further. ‘Stand up on the bench’ and ‘pinch the ear till it turns red’, might be the oldest forms of punishment, but they also are the most embarrassing.

When I was a kid studying in a primary school in Bangalore, this was the norm. I loathed school because of these cruel punishments and the insensitive teachers who meted out the punishment. Also, although I didn’t know it then, the very system of education that called for such behavior on their part.

Between the ages of three and ten, a child’s mind is very impressionable. Insulting children at this age, in front of their peers can have harmful and far reaching consequences. Sadly, most teachers fail to understand this. Why so? Aren’t students preparing to be elementary school teachers taught this in their training program? Don’t schools test them on this before they are recruited? Or are school managements, in their bid to make more money, struggle to secure more ranks in board exams, indifferent to crucial aspects like the quality of their primary school staff?

Assuming that the best candidates are selected, is their conduct with students monitored on a regular basis? Is suitable action taken against them if found guilty? Is there some means to determine if every child gets his/her due attention? Do they play favorites?
It is not enough to address concerns raised by parents and straighten things up only then. For rarely is such abuse reported to the parent by the ward, for the fear of being condemned and sidelined further in the future. It is the responsibility of the school to ensure that a working system is in place to take up these issues.

Going one step further, I would suggest that the education department should formulate and implement stringent rules, perhaps laws, to safeguard children from such seemingly harmless, but actually brutal ways of teachers. School managements, on their part, should adhere to these rules. Perhaps then, we can expect better behavior from the ones who enforce them on children – teachers!