Dear Editor,
As the print media continues to be inundated with letters for and against corporal punishment in schools, I have some concerns and some views on the issue. How we define corporal punishment should be clear in our minds first, then a decision can be arrived at whether or not it is the appropriate disciplinary measure to be followed.
However we must recognise that most, if not all of us that have attained the age of 40 and over passed through a school system that had strong disciplinary measures in place and long enforced. It is that disciplined mind that we accumulated in the classroom that has made us successful as we pursue our goals in life.
We also must recognise that when we see how the children of today behave in, around and out of school, we shudder to think what kind of adult they will grow up to be and we also say to ourselves and to others “this could have never happened in our days”.
A number of reasons can be advanced as to what may have caused this decline in the school system. But to continue to haggle about that will in no may help to avert the decline.
An entirely new approach is needed to produce a new culture and a new breed of citizens emerging from the school system.
It must be noted that the lack of discipline inculcated at school can be attributed to the high incidence of crime in which a significant number of families is involved. Too often we look at the USA and other developed countries and attempt to transplant what was/is applicable and relevant to this society into our own. Whilst it may be good to look at those societies we must also look at the “flip-side” of those societies and examine the after effects of removing corporal punishment in schools.
Indiscipline in our school commences with the indisciplined conduct of teachers and parents in school.
The removal of “corporal punishment” entirely from the schools will expedite the decadence prevalent in our society. Some form of disciplinary measure must be in place to keep/control the behaviour of children.
We need to create and set boundaries within which our children can operate if the authorities are serious in their preparation for them to be the men and women of tomorrow.
Yours faithfully,
D. Dyal
