There is no ‘I am wrong but…’. And this is what I want to say to that mother of a student of St Angela’s Primary School who attacked a teacher recently and ended up standing in the school yard topless.
This column is about the chronicles of women in everyday life and I just felt the need to comment on the issue that has been ‘lighting up’ the local social media space.
Now before you get me wrong let me just make it clear I don’t agree with corporal punishment as a matter of fact I abhor it. I have two children and I have always made it clear that under no circumstance I want anyone to administer lashes to my children. My stance has seen some being upset with me and in instances where this may have done ‘livid’ and ‘seeing red’ do not cut how I felt.
So I understand the parent’s anger when according to her not only was her child beaten by the teacher, but the ruler broke and a splinter ended up in the child’s hand. Now mind you, she found out about this two days later and according to her it was then she removed the splinter. I am not doubting the woman’s story and as I indicated already, her being ‘blue mad’ and hurt for her child is a normal reaction.
But does it justify her attack on the teacher? Absolutely not! I see some parents (mostly mothers) justifying the parent’s action and indicating that they would have done worse. I cannot agree with them. There are ways and means in which one can deal with the issue to ensure that one’s child receives justice so to speak. The Ministry of Education has a channel through which the matter can be addressed and it does not have to remain at the school level. If one is not satisfied with the ministry’s action, then there is the legal justice system that can be approached.
But let’s address the actions that were taken by the mother as explained in her own words. Prior to the day of the incident, she publicly said on Facebook that she was going to make the teacher an example. A named official of the ministry reached out to her and asked that the matter be dealt with at that level as he did not want a situation where she confronted the teacher at school. Remember, just a day prior, a male teacher of Graham’s Hall was attacked by a pupil’s father.
As was requested, the woman provided her telephone number to the ministry official. By morning she had not received a call, so she went into the school and had discourse with teachers including the head teacher. According to her, they were all sympathetic but begged her not to report the matter to the Ministry or the police and they would ensure that the teacher apologised not only to her but to her son.
The parent was about to leave the school compound when the teacher walked through the gate more than two hours later. According to her, the teacher heard when she was identified and instead of being remorseful she ‘suck her teeth and cut her eye’ on the parent.
The enraged parent admitted that she then attacked the teacher, pulling her wig off of her head. She did not say what the teacher’s reaction was, but there was no scuffle at that point. Other teachers intervened; the parent was asked to leave the compound and she complied.
She said she was outside the school’s premises and the teacher was in the top flat of the school when she overheard the teacher saying that she would “deal with me on the street and how she guh buss in me head”.
The parent decided that the teacher did not have to wait to deal with her on the street. She rushed back into the school (at no point did she say that teacher met her halfway) and attacked the teacher. A short video revealed that there was a scuffle; the teacher defended herself, even attempting (not sure if it landed) to kick the parent in the process. Other teachers intervened and the fight ended.
At the end of it all, the parent said, the police were called and she was left standing in the schoolyard with no top. This was of course in clear view of everyone, including her son and his classmates.
The parent needs to think about which incident – the corporal punishment administered by the teacher or the sight of her standing in her undergarment in the schoolyard – traumatised her son more.
I don’t know, I can’t say but I think it is a question worth asking.
What I do know is that the parent’s attack on the teacher was wrong and there are no buts about it. Brute force and ignorance can never be the answer. Our children see and experience enough violence and we as parents have a responsibility to protect them.
That attack sent a message to her son that he should physically lash out whenever he is provoked, hurt or otherwise affected by something or someone’s action. She now has to ensure that her son is counselled for both incidents. Unfortunately, at age 9, when he is close to writing the Grade Six examination he may very well be removed from that school to another; more adjustment, more trauma.
Now as I said from the inception I do not agree with corporal punishment and I would have supported the parent in taking any other action necessary to ensure that the erring teacher was held responsible for her actions. It might have taken days or even weeks but in the process not only would she have taught her child that she would stand up for him, but also the alternative to violence.
Those who are cheering the parent on and saying she is right are also wrong. On the other hand, teachers need to stop beating people’s children. I know sometimes they are frustrated; children can be really unruly, but they must find other ways to deal with it. Breaking a ruler in the palm of a nine-year-old’s hands could never be right.
Even the Ministry of Education’s policy that a head teacher or a designated teacher can administer corporal punishment to a child in a prescribed environment, needs to be outlawed. The argument by adults that they got their licks in school and they turned out alright, is only used to justify adults angrily administering physical pain on a helpless child. All this proves is that they didn’t turn out right at all.
Parents, please stop telling teachers that it is okay to give your child a few lashes whenever they misbehave. Don’t give anyone permission to hurt your child.
As a reminder, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has outlined a number of effects corporal punishment can have on children. According to WHO, corporal punishment “triggers harmful psychological and physiological responses.
“Children not only experience pain, sadness, fear, anger, shame and guilt, but feeling threatened also leads to physiological stress and the activation of neural pathways that support dealing with danger. Children who have been physically punished tend to exhibit high hormonal reactivity to stress, overloaded biological systems, including the nervous, cardiovascular and nutritional systems, and changes in brain structure and function.”
It pointed out as well that a large body of research shows links between corporal punishment and a wide range of negative outcomes, both immediate and long-term:
· direct physical harm, sometimes resulting in severe damage, long-term disability or death;
· mental ill-health, including behavioural and anxiety disorders, depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, self-harm and suicide attempts, alcohol and drug dependency, hostility and emotional instability, which continue into adulthood;
· impaired cognitive and socio-emotional development, specifically emotion regulation and conflict solving skills;
· damage to education, including school dropout and lower academic and occupational success;
· poor moral internalisation and increased antisocial behaviour;
· increased aggression in children;
· adult perpetration of violent, antisocial and criminal behaviour;
· indirect physical harm due to overloaded biological systems, including developing cancer, alcohol-related problems, migraine, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and obesity that continue into adulthood;
· increased acceptance and use of other forms of violence; and
· damaged family relationships.
Stop beating the nation’s children; please and thanks.
