SCHOOL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Advocates of school corporal punishment argue that it provides an immediate response to indiscipline and that the student is quickly back in the classroom learning, rather than being suspended from school.

WHY DROPPED OUT ? DELHI: Zafar, 16, dropped out of his school

in Rohini last year, and now works at Humayun’s Tomb as a gardener. ‘Maar kha kha khe chod dhiya,’I was a slow learner, which angered my teacher. At one point I could not tolerate her verbal abuses and dropped out.

KARNATAKA: Tulasi, a Class IV student of a government school in Hassan, was beaten by her teacher for ‘asking for an extra helping in the afternoon meal.’

JAMMU: Despite the law proscribing it, a class VI girl was allegedly beaten mercilessly by her teacher for not getting a high score in a school test. She fractured the fingers of her right hand, was in a state of shock and too scared to go back to school. And many more stories

IS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT EFFECTIVE?

Principal says that as soon as the student has been punished he can go back to his class and continue learning, in contrast to out-of-school suspension, which removes him from the educational process and gives him a free "holiday“

Frequently hit children are seldom more docile than children who are not hit. The seeming and very short-term effectiveness that hitting may have will very soon wear thin if it becomes habitual, and plenty of parents can be seen slapping their child around at every turn, without the least bit of conviction and knowing fully well the child will keep acting up.

CAN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT LEAD TO DEPRESSION? 

Psychiatrist said corporal punishment could have grave consequences for the child. "Even a mild form of punishment can jeopardize a child's self-respect, especially in cases of public humiliation; the child may develop a long-surviving trauma which can result in a case of suicide in some cases if the punishment is repeated." He added that if a child was physically punished for the purpose of discipline, he might in the future use it on his juniors for the very same purpose.  "Not all victims become torturers, but all torturers were victims."  

WHY WE MUST STOP USING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

One argument made against corporal punishments is that some research has shown it to be not as effective as positive means for managing student behaviour. These studies have linked corporal punishment to adverse physical, psychological and educational outcomes including, "increased aggressive and destructive behaviour, increased disruptive classroom behaviour, vandalism, poor school achievement, poor attention span, increased drop-out rate, school avoidance and school phobia, low self-esteem, anxiety, somatic complaints, depression, suicide and retaliation against teacher.“

HOW DO WE KNOW TODAY THAT CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE ABANDONED GIVEN ITS DANGERS?

We now know that at birth, a child's brain and nervous system are incomplete and will be constructed all through childhood. The brain of a newborn has one-fifth the weight of an adult's. The other four-fifths develops in the years of childhood and youth. This consists of neural circuits, the brain cells of which, by extending and becoming more intricate, increase the volume of the brain. It will not attain 70% of its weight until just past the age of two. This is why the joints of the bones in our skulls do not close definitively until adulthood. If the child is frequently placed under stress during this time, or for part of it, the brain's development may be disrupted. This happens to be the exact same time when physical punishments are imposed upon him.

The most ancient parts of the brain are those that we have in common with reptiles and other animals. They regulate the functions that ensure the body's survival — blood circulation, digestion, respiration, bio-assimilation — but also emotions like fear when faced with danger. The most recent parts of the brain, those which are particularly developed in the human species, are the frontal lobes that enable reflection, knowledge, imagination, and control of emotions. For a well-balanced personality, emotions must be able to develop normally, and the brain must learn to recognize and control them.

DOES CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IMPROVE ACADEMIC LEARNING?

Would we accept policemen having the right to strike us, even lightly, when we commit a traffic violation? The driving mistakes we make are certainly a lot more serious than children's follies! It is perfectly immoral and illogical to inflict on our children that which we rightly refuse to suffer ourselves.

This is exactly the situation which adults are now placing children in. Besides, the majority of people who were hit as children have for the most part forgotten what the blows were intended to teach

them.

WHAT MESSAGES DO CHILDREN RECEIVE FROM BEING HIT?

I have the right to hit you. By hurting you, I am doing you good. You think I'm hurting you, but I'm doing you good.

You are wrong to think I'm hurting you. You are not capable of understanding what I'm doing to you.

Don't listen to the voice deep down inside of you. Listen only to the voice of your teacher/mother/father.

What a child learns is not so much what we are trying to teach him as the manner in which we teach him. You can hit somebody for their own good.

When you love somebody, you have the right to make them suffer. To hurt them is to show how much you care.

CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

It also appears to us that corporal punishment is not keeping with child's dignity. Besides, it is cruel to subject the child to physical violence in school in the name of discipline or education.

Even animals are protected against cruelty. Cruelty to animals is punishable under section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Beating, kicking over-riding, over-driving, overloading, torturing or other-wise treating any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering is a criminal offence. Our children surely cannot be worse off than animals.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reminded all its affiliated schools to keep out corporal punishment at every cost. Though corporal punishment has been banned in schools across the country, incidents keep happening, due to which all boards work on sensitizing their staff.

ENDING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN

“Violence against children, including corporal punishment, is a violation of the rights of the child. It conflicts with the child’s human dignity and the right of the child to physical integrity. It also prevents children from reaching their full potential, by putting at risk their right to health, survival and development. The best interests of the child can never be used to justify such practice,” said UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang. “The need to promote non-violent values and awareness-raising among all those working with children is essential if we want this situation to come to an end.”

IS IT DIFFICULT NOT TO HIT?

 Make the decision not to hit. Practice the golden rule: treat the child as you would want to be treated under the same circumstances.  

Be receptive to all of the child's feelings, even if they come across as negative (jealousy, for example). While he is not entitled to hit his little brother, his feelings are his own, and he is entitled not to love him.

Make a habit of identifying the reason for conflicts in an effort to prevent them, rather than having to mend them.

WHAT PRINCIPLES ARE FOLLOWED TO TEACH A CHILD WITHOUT HITTING?

The principle of non-violent upbringing comes down to three words: respect the child. The practical application of this respect is also easily defined: treat the child as we would want to be treated. The bulk of what a child learns, he learns by imitation as if he were a mirror, determined less by what we want him to learn than by how we act toward him. Do we want him to know how to love? Let's love him. That he respect others? Let's respect him. That he be patient and tolerant? Let's be patient and tolerant with him. That he never inflict violence once he has grown up? Let's never inflict violence on him. That he have an independent personality. Let's respect his independence to the maximum. Understanding this is within anyone's grasp.