(Corporal Punishment in Schools Should Be Banned

8/4/2019 (Corporal Punishment in Schools Should Be Banned

1/23

Skip to content

Issues Views Reviews

Home

Archives

About this Blog

USEFUL LINKS

Why I blog

Comment Policy

Favourite Reads

My Awards

Net Etiquette

Corporal punishment in schools should

be bannedAugust 3, 2007

by Nita

A student severely caned by his teacher has now died from complications from internal injuries. This happened in

Udaipur. But why think of just Udaipur? Just type in key words like corporal punishment india or indian schools

and you will be flooded with articles on the rampant use of corporal punishment all over India. Some articles

look at the problem in detail, someprovide examples of horrific cases and some talk about it in a lighter vein.

There is so much to read that it would take a long time to go through it all

I doubt whether there is anyone who has gone through the education system in India and not suffered humiliation

at the hands of a teacher pinching and slapping being some of the milder punishments. Caning is more common

in boys schools. Other harsh punishments like standing in the hot sun the whole day is also common, yes in girls

schools as well. (A comprehensive list of punishments is given here.)

Verbal abuse is routine. I had a science teacher who routinely mouthed obscenities of a nature I cannot pen

down here.


2/23

Punishments are given for minor misdemeanorslike talking, not obeying an instruction quickly enough, fiddling

with some object, not paying attention, wearing an uniform which is say an inch shorter that school regulations

During our time it was not common to complain to the parents. Todays children are bolder, but this is not

always the case. This boy from Udaipur for instance did not tell his parents initially and this delayed treatment.

The boy apparently comes from a middle class family there is no doubt that corporal punishment is widespread

and more severe in lesser known private schools and almost all government schools. The students are also more

hesitant to complain about their teachers.

Some of my poor students from the slums have told me things that have made my hair stand on end. Beating,

hitting, slapping, dragging is a regularfeature they told me calmly. It happened every single day to someone or

the other in their class. Narrating any such incident to parents was humiliating. The parents would blame them,

not the teachers. So these kids had accepted it as a part and parcel of lifeand I felt had internalised it. They

justified the teachers behavior and demands. The teachers wanted them to be robots and this the students felt

was desirable behavior, even though difficult. It was more difficult for boys they explained, the girls could remain

still for hours

It looks like that neither the schools nor parents are going to try to put a stop to this. At least not make anyconcerted effort. Its time the government stepped in and banned corporal punishment, at least in schools.

This is in keeping with world trends: Western Europe, most of Eastern Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Japan

and South Africa have banned corporal punishment in schools. Australia has partially banned it. In the US, 23

states allow it. But I am sure the situation is not this bad in the USthey care about child rights.

There are countries which have gone a step ahead andbanned corporal punishment at home. The countries are:

Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel,

Italy, Latvia, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ukraineand New Zealand.

Personally I dont believe that corporal punishment either at school or at home works in changing behavior. It

instills fear, not disciplineand it can do untold psychological harm and at times cause even death or permanent

disability. I cant begin to imagine the number of children who are growing up with emotional and physical scars

in this country.

Update: There is news that corporal punishment will be banned in Indian schools soon. It was not just this

incident in Jaipur that has made the government sit up, but also other incidents of death by caning that are

surfacing. Suddenly the media is working overtime reporting severe caning incidents. In fact, now the National

Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has expanded the definition of corporal punishment to

include even small acts like name-calling. Well, thats a good start!

Related Reading: Child abuse far more rampant in India as compared to elder abuse

Read all posts on:

Crime

Child Abuse

Share this post: |Email it|bookmark it|reddit|liveIt


3/23

Share this:

Like this: Be the first to like this pos t.

from Child Abuse, Children, Crime, India, Law,News

Social drinking is catching on, athough slowly!

Pay cheques of Bollywood stars have doubled

42 Comments leave one

1.

mahendrappermalink

August 3, 2007 10:50 am

As always, you hit a nerve. Yes, the situation is very bad, and I fully support such a ban. I guess the

teachers are themselves venting out some sort of personal and professional frustrations.

In fact, now it makes me wonder, why have we havent instituted this ban all these decades, since

Independence as we preached the Father of the Nations non-violence theory to the world?

Reply

2.

Nitapermalink*

August 3, 2007 11:14 am

When we were in school we used to imagine the sort of personal lives the abusers led. We had a

geography teacher who threw dusters (she was a frustrated, awfully unhappy spinster we assumed), the

science teacher who used bad language must be abusing her family we were sureand a few years ago I

heard that one of her daughters had committed suicide

about why we havent instituted this ban I hate to think it but a certain proportion of our population is

fairly uncivilized..and I feel politiicians are mostly like this.

I have seen with my own eyes street children being thrashed until they begged for mercy on the road but

the screams just got them more beatings. I have seen a man beating and kicking a woman (maharastrian

btw) for more than one hour on a lawn in our colony in Delhi, an educated man who worked in an ad

agency. No one intervened, not even me but I was holding a small baby. I have seen a man from my

bedroom windown in Kolkata banging a womans head on the wall until it bled and that time I called the

police. Do you know what they said? That they got regular complaints like this and they had no time

Well, violence is a big part and parcel of our society and those who dont want to see it are hypocrites.

Thats probably why we needed the Mahatma. But I dont see a Mahatma in the making today

Reply


4/23

3.

B Choprapermalink

August 3, 2007 11:37 am

Horrible! Nita: Firstly Every parent should read the story & this article.

Mostly School Teachers try to show their heroism on kids.. or school management has got intense

pressure of performance both in Academics and Extra curricular activities as well and at Home

sometimes parents are too much worried on their Kids career or they compared their kids with other

families and finally they end up pressurising by beating them up badly

Corporal punishment should end everywhere.. Govt. must n should act on this fastly.

I remember my friend who was qualified for sub-Inspector post and underwent military training and there

he broke his leg & came back.. sadly Its been 8 years hes still suffering. He shared his experience there..

the kind of language they use & kind of unlawful punishments. I can imagine its effect in their rest career.After hearing his experience I would never suggest that training to anyone.

Sadly Schools & sometimes parents too are behaving like those Military academy. Its really sad.

Reply

4.

BrianDouglaspermalink

August 3, 2007 12:50 pm

This is just another example of the lack of Rights for the child in India and shows again that the ciountry is

badly lacking in childcare. It is clear that the illegal sale of children disguised as inter country adoptions

takes place in India and the Country in my opinion needs to fully reform its child casre system in line with

European countries, so that the rights of the child are respected in all instances, including the right of the

child to live without fear.

Reply

5.

Paul Sunstonepermalink

August 3, 2007 1:27 pm

A very thought provoking post!

I dont think its as bad here in the States as in India, Nita, but at one time it was pretty bad here. Then,

sometime during the 1960s, medical journals began publishing articles on the long term effects of what

was then called Battered Boy Syndrome. That woke a lot of people up to the fact that abusing children


5/23

has long term consequences which can extend into adulthood. Its my understanding the movement here to

outlaw corporeal punishment began with those journal articles.

Of course, we havent totally outlawed it yet, but I think thats the trend. Even in some states where it is

still permitted, a teacher must contact the kids parents and get permission from them before hitting the

child. That probably serves to defuse spontaneous violence.

Here in Colorado Springs, I see posters that say, Never ever hit a child, whenever I ride the bus. I also

see other posters that encourage people to call the police if they witness family violence. So, while we are

still a violent culture compared to some countries, there is an effort afoot to do something about it.

What I would like to know is how anyone can make a peaceful society if you begin by teaching kids its

normal and proper to beat people? Wont many of those kids grow up to think that violence is a good

way to solve problems? And I do not want to take a cheap shot at American culture, but havent we

recently proved to the whole world by our folly in Iraq that violence is not the best solution to every

problem that comes along?

Reply

6.

Nitapermalink*

August 3, 2007 1:42 pm

I agree Paul.teaching kids violence is perpetuating it.

I think human beings themselves are basically violent (look at our history!) and it is only civilization and

modernity that is teaching us to curb our violent instincts. Traditional societies generally turn a blind eye to

family violence which I feel is due to two reasons:1) community comes first, not individuals

2) people are afraid of going against traditional beliefs like spare the rod and spoil the child

Maybe there are other reasons as well but overall I find that violence, whether against children or other

weaker members of the society is more prevalent in traditional societies. Strangely, these societies may be

very peaceful otherwise!

It makes me wonder if there is a connection between family violence and state sponsored violence (when

you mentioned Iraq and wars it set me thinking). I wonder if anyone has ever tried to relate the two..

Reply

7.

anilpermalink

August 3, 2007 2:27 pm

This is an interesting topic. And i personally have been through corporal punishment. I was made to

remove my shirt, sit beside girls, caned, made to stand in sun etc

I would like to put this in two perspectives, one is private schools and colleges and the other is


6/23

government schools and colleges.

Basically I am from AP and would like to give an account of it.

My education from childhood has entirely been in private schools and colleges.

Caning was a common thing Parents approved it, They always wanted their children to top the class,

Become Doctors and Engineers, what the child was going through didnt really matter Here children

starting from 7th class are crammed with something called as IIT or EAMCET (State entrance into

medical and Engg) orientation which I dont think they have the maturity to understand.. And special

people were appointed for this purpose namely coordinators or whatever. Their speciality is to makechildren study and they are skilled at all forms of Punishment. I had a few of my friends who ran away

from their homes and school because of this. Even during our Intermediate when we were about an age

of 17 or 18, we were canedAnd were also threatened to be dropped into the weaker sections of the

class This really created intense stress. This does Certainly effect the children a great deal..

In Government schools, the policy of government is that in whichever schools the result is less, the staff are

put to sanction (Cuts in their increments) So they are forced to make children study by force

Unless the result oriented nature of education changes, children will be subject to such

acts

Reply

8.

Nitapermalink*

August 3, 2007 2:58 pm

Anil, that was an insight into the problem. Performance required from parents, teachers and society

and physical and verbal abuse is used as a way to enforce it.

Reply

9.

aikaterinepermalink

August 3, 2007 5:22 pm

Nita

Thank you for writing about this very difficult topic.

It instills fear, not disciplineand it can do untold psychological harm and at times cause even death or

permanent disability.

I could not agree with you more, when we humiliate or raise a hand to a child we are teaching them that

when someone does something which they consider wrong, then the appropriate response is to belittle,

humiliate or harm them. This is the lesson that we have, historically, taught our children. I am amazed that

we are surprised by the violence in this world, we create it every time we harm a child.

Re l


7/23

10.

kellysdaypermalink

August 3, 2007 8:04 pm

You go, girl!

Reply

11.

suburbanlifepermalink

August 3, 2007 8:24 pm

A child dying as a consequence of being disciplined by a teacher at school is too horrific to contemplate!

Obtaining desiredresults in behaviour and performance through coercion and battering establishes and

perpetuates life-long attitudes toward ends justifying the means and institutionalizes top-down power

relationships much beloved by people of conservative bent everywhere.

Thank you for writing about this situation Nita. It is by making public such situations that people then

become aware of needed change and add their voices together to promilgate the necessary means by

which to force change in attitude, behaviour and social policy.

Reply

12.Nitapermalink*

August 3, 2007 9:22 pm

aikaterine yes you are so right when you say: I am amazed that we are surprised by the violence in this

world, we create it every time we harm a child The only way to end violence it is to start with the

children. Teach them peace.

Suburban, yes i feel these things should be highlighted, not hidden or denied. Luckily we are a democracy

and have a free press and therefore what is wrong comes out. That is why we will heal faster than those

nations which hide and deny

Reply

13.

Apermalink

August 4, 2007 12:13 am

I think its okay to smack children for being naughty or to punish them in other ways that are not in any


8/23

way a direct threat to their health or their life. Beating up children and causing them injury is different from

smacking them and letting them know that their wrongs will not be encouraged. Unsmacked children can

lose out on a lot of important moral lessons and opportunities to grow than children who are disciplined in

the right way.

I absolutely agree that teachers or anyone else for that matter have no right to injure children who are

entrusted to them by parents. I dont know how far bans are effective though. Even if there is a legal ban

against child abuse would the students, parents or even the teachers at schools for the economicallyweaker classes know about it or act upon it? How much effect does legal action even have on crime? Yes

it makes crime illegal but to remove a social evil you need to change the society not just its laws.

-AA

Reply

14.

PhantompermalinkAugust 4, 2007 5:26 am

I have never understood why it is many teachers adopt such sadistic, selfish and downright abusive

practises. Many of tem of course vent their pwn personal frustrations on the innocent kids, and while I do

sympathise woth those teachers who may indeed have had unfortunate personal circumstances, that is still

no excuse for bullying an innocent kid. Yes, it is indeed bullying, in fact, it is chauvanistic bullying of the

highest degree as it emenates from someone in an inherent position of power, it is a massive abuse of that

power, that privilege lf teaching. The ancients used to worship the learned and those who chose to impart

their knowledge and wisedomI for one, dont really respect most of my school teachers at allyes,

a few of my teachers do stand out in my memory, having left a permanent positive mark on me, but the

majority were pure selfish creatures from narcissitic hell

That a kid had to die on account of abusive practises by a teacher, is a severe indictment on our societys

willingness to compromise the safety, psychological welfare of a child, all in the name of academics????

Well, what use is that academics now??? Such teachers should be treated as no more than common

bulliesthey deserve a healthy dose of their punishments.

Reply

15.

Nitapermalink*

August 4, 2007 7:27 am

Power corrupts! In our society teachers get a lot of power over kids and principals are demi-gods (which

I have written about here ) and I feel this goes a long way in giving the teachers a free hand.

Phantom your remark

:// I for one, dont really respect most of my school teachers at allyes, a few of my teachers do stand


9/23

out in my memory, having left a permanent positive mark on me, but the majority were pure selfish

creatures from narcissitic hell//

rings true, at least for me.

The problem, which our esteemed teachers do not realise that once you lack respect for a particular

teacher, you tend to lose interest in the subject. At least that is what happened to me. If I chose English as

my special subject, it has probably something to do with the wonderful teacher I had.

Reply

16.

santosh kulkarnipermalink

August 4, 2007 12:21 pm

I have gone through all the articles and news of CP. I have a huge accumulations of such papers with me

which I have been collecting since past 5 years. Whatever you have said in your articles are my own

feelings. I too personally witnessed / heard very cruel beatings / punishments given to children by teachers

and parents and have also seen its effects on the kids. I have personally affected due to this and had

serious psychological problems. Really it is shameful that people only talk and no one really comes to help

the kids. Govt.is only making laws but not serious on its implementation. Corporal punishment is banned

only on papers but the fact is just opposite. It is very commenly used even to students in college which is

very surprising. It is needed for all people who oppose the C.P. come together and launch a big

nationwide campaign against beatings . Lets start it today.

Reply

17.

aikaterinepermalink

August 4, 2007 3:26 pm

Nita

I hope that you do not consider this response an overstep, but I noticed the no one had addressed the

comment A or AA left, and I wanted to.

AA -

Let me say that I respect you for posting a viewpoint that is so different than all of the others. I know that

can sometimes feel like stepping into the center of a fire.

I think its okay to smack children for being naughty or to punish them in other ways that are not in any

way a direct threat to their health or their life.

I understand the distinction you are making between a small smack that does not cause physical harm

and what would be considered physical abuse. But here is my problem, every time we do do anything to a

child we are teachin them somethin . The are like little s on es. And when we raise our hand to them


10/23

whether to smack them or to physically abuse them, we are teaching them that when someone does

something that they consider to be wrong than it is o.k. to hit them. And that is never o.k.. It is not o.k. for

an adult to hit another adult, not even smack them a little. I would be very offended if another adult came

up to me and smacked me (even lightly) for doing something that they considered wrong. In point of

fact, that is illegal. We call it assault. So why, then, is it o.k. to do to a child? Shouldnt we be MORE

careful with the children, who are so impressionable?

Unsmacked children can lose out on a lot of important moral lessons and opportunities to grow thanchildren who are disciplined in the right way.

I disagree. I think that smacked children, generally, end up with a distorted view about appropriate

responses to disappointment (see my statement above) that need to be overcome in adulthood. Children

who are disciplined in the right way, with a firm loving respect for their personhood, do not have to leap

over that difficult hurdle. And personhood or humanity is not somethng that is earned. We are born perfec

souls, complete in both.

Reply

18.

Nitapermalink*

August 4, 2007 5:12 pm

aikaterine, thanks for your response. You have put across the point very well and very convincingly.

Reply

19.

Phantompermalink

August 4, 2007 9:18 pm

Well, not that Im in any way an advocate of smacking children, but its important to note that up until a

certain age a child is incapable of having a cognitive understanding of what is right and wrong, correct and

in-correct. For e,ga 2 year old, like many of thay age, might have the habit of putting his finger into al

sorts of places.say for e.g. a power point.or into ay such area that could pose physican danger.

Explaining to the child about the logical consequence of such an action is probbaly redundant, as the childis not really capable of really understanding the concept of action consequence, danger etc. In this

scenario, is it better to smack the kid everytime he does something silly (liek try and put his finger down a

power socket!!!!) or should we let the power of logical reasoning diciate all his actions ??????

I had my fair share of smacking when I was a little kid.and in many situations, i doubt if I would have

learnt in any better way.and I think I turned out OK Problem of course is if thiis smacking continues

beyond a certain age and for situations beyond the absolute necessary.

Reply


11/23

20.

Garypermalink

August 4, 2007 9:42 pm

Hi, first let me compliment you on a fantastic blog. Quite fantastic. I am so impressed by the layout and the

content. (I came over from Caf Philos).

Anyway, I was shocked to read that corporal punishment is still allowed in India but especially surprised

to read of its acceptance in America. I teach in a New York City public school and there are strict

guidelines in place to protect the students; not from the more obvious abuse like hitting which is obviously

out of the question but it is forbidden to make a child feel embarassed or to criticize them verbally so that

they feel bad. That is considered mental abuse and teachers need to be so careful about every movement

or word that could be used against them, rightly or not. So it is news to me that under that climate in NY

that other states do not follow suit.

Reply

21.

Nitapermalink*

August 4, 2007 10:41 pm

Gary, thanks.

About America, I think the awareness that corporal punishment is wrong is there in schools in America but

even I am not sure why it has not been banned altogether. It would be interesting to see in which states itis allowedwhether they are conservative states or not.

Phantom I am afraid I disagree with you entirely on this. I have brought up two kids myself and when my

kids did anything dangerous I simply rushed and picked them up from that situation. In fact the anxiety in

my face was usually enough to deter them and I even worried that I had made them too anxious! I have

never ever had to hit my kids to take them away from dangerous situations.

Believe me, kids are intelligent, they understand. I can give you umpteen examples and it would fill up

many pages because I had very active and healthy kids but this is not the place for it here. And by the way

I never kept an ayah, I never left my kids with my mother or mother in law (they were not around

anyway), and I never kept them in a cage.True, I did yell at my kids at times, but I am not proud of those times

today I am proud that of the fact that I brought up my kids entirely on my own, which many parents I

knew didnt. They have cooks (we couldnt afford them then) and ayahs and parents and in-laws to help

out.

What I am saying is that there is no need to hit kids. No need at all.

Reply


12/23

22.

Apermalink

August 5, 2007 2:34 am

Aikaterine, thanks for addressing my comment.

I fully respect and agree with what youre saying. If a smack or punishment of any kind is given as a

reaction of anger or dissatisfaction with a childs behaviour, it is assault, exactly the same as it would be

for adults as youve mentioned. But when a child is smacked for disciplines sake the way I was at school

when I was younger, it can be very helpful. The teachers at my primary school kept wooden rulers on

their desks and had clear rules about discipline. If students broke those rules, they would be summoned to

the front and given a light tap on the hand with the ruler. The message didnt make our hands red, it made

our cheeks red. Children are impulsive and it is in the curious nature of children to experiment with

everything including rules about discipline. A smack or a tap by a wooden ruler, given when the child

expects to be punished and not just whenever the adult feels frustrated, are a way of making a child more

aware of the physical reality of conscience. In this case, the child is aware of his or her wrong before being

punished for it in a way that doesnt cause any damage, only acts as a symbol to reinforce the rule that

was broken.

It is exactly the same as the law imprisoning us or asking us to pay a fine for breaking laws. No one has

the authority to detain a person without reason, or demand money without justification; if you jump a red

light you are not answerable to another citizen and your equal cannot demand you to pay a fine to them.

But teachers, parents and people in positions of authority need to set methods of discipline that will be

helpful to the children in their care.

It might be useful to mention that while there is punishment for bad there should also be encouragement for

good. I have been smacked with rulers when I was wrong, yes even slapped lightly on the cheek or made

to wear a red paper tongue for talking too much in class. But when I did well, the class was asked to clap

for me, there was a chart with every students name on it and gold stars were given for good behaviour.

Children are absolutely like sponges and I agree humiliating children can teach them to behave the same

with others. But there are perfectly respectable ways of smacking children or disciplining them. My main

point is, smacking a child shouldnt make a child fearful or hating of the person who smacked them, but of

the thing they did to deserve the smacking. Realisation of wrong is far more important than punishment for

it. And if punishment can help a child realise and accept a wrong then why not. And offensive smackingonly makes children defensive.

Nita Im sure your children are lovely people and Im very glad for them that they learnt all you wanted

them to know without going astray. I was not that lovely I wouldnt blame that on my mothers

reluctance to smack me at all, because my elder sister is the loveliest, most disciplined child I ever knew

but all kids are different. I was a brat and sometimes I do wonder if I should have been smacked more

-AA

Re l


13/23

23.

Nitapermalink*

August 5, 2007 7:06 am

I am not against punishment AA. But I believe there are many ways to punish without resorting to hitting

or smacking. Things like extra homewok for example. taking away priviliges. things like that. believe me

they can be very effective. at times a teenager for example could be far more devastated if he cannot

attend say a football match or have his pocket money halved, than just get a smack and get it over with.

every parent can find punishments like these, and ofcourse the severity of the punishment has to match the

deed. ofcourse smacking is easier and quicker.

it has also to be consistent to work. smacking in any case is never consistent, depends on the mood of the

teacher or parent and it becomes difficult when the deed is very severe. what is the teacher supposed to

do? Whip the student? abuse?

one more very important point, it is more common than not to use harsher punishment than just light

smacking or light taps with rulers which you mentioned.

Reply

24.

aikaterinepermalink

August 5, 2007 9:48 am

AA

I have to agree with Nita. I just do not think that it is ever appropriate to hit. So why use it as a

punishment form for children when there are other punishments out there.

Reply

25.

Phantompermalink

August 6, 2007 7:09 am

I do agree that smacking is a very very short term, short sighted mechanism of instillign discipline, and that

is why Im agreeable to its LIMITED and intelligent usage only up until that point when a kid is old enough

to have a cognitive understandign of whats good, bad, right and wrong. I dont believe that a parent who

lightly smacks their young kid in certain circumstances, is being a vindictive, abusive or selfish parent. I can

certainly recall certain instances in my childhood when I did something really stupid, and got a bit of a

smacking from dad or mum..and it was the very fact that they, who normally never ever raised their

hand at me, actually had to smack me a little..combined with their verbal disciplining..the combination

of this made me realise the severity of what id done.


14/23

Anyway, I dont believe that any sort of smacking should be allowed in schools as by the time a kid goes

to school, he is efinitely old enough to understand whats being told to them, and physical punishment is

rather counter-productive as it instill fear rather than genuine understandign and awareness.

Reply

26.

kds khuranapermalink

October 3, 2007 6:34 pm

is there any supream court ruling on banning corporal punishment in the schools in india?

Reply

27.Nitapermalink*

October 3, 2007 6:40 pm

Kds, you could get a comprehensive report here:

http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/progress/reports/india.html

This is a state issue and various states have already banned it. Goa is one example.

This report is of June 07.

Another link is here

http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14409&flag=news

Reply

28.

kushalpermalink

April 13, 2009 9:25 pm

Friends this trend of corporal punishment is taking a very serious turn and will slowly come to an end i amcurrently in my 10th boards (14-april-2009) and i was given this topic as the debate topic in our school(as

the first ICSE assignment or project whatever you call it) . our school does not allow corporal

punishments and hopefully it will stop in other schools also.

Reply

29.

rupanwita mohapatrapermalink


15/23

October 22, 2009 11:51 am

i feel corporal punishment is wrong method of behavior.if we teach students through violence means then

how could we expect cool behavior from them.so as student of psychology i request all who read this

message please try to understand the brain of student.

Reply

30.

Samratpermalink

November 9, 2009 12:18 am

Nita,

A very wonderful article and equally wonderful debate specially regarding comments of A and Phantom. I

was a teacher for 15 months in a govt aided school in west Bengal. My daughter is now 2 yrs old. during

my role both as a teacher and a father i have learnt that children do evrything due to an urge or eagerness

to know without caring or knowing about the consequences. for example a child will not knowingly put

his/her finger in a socket, but he/she has this urge to discover and it is not enough to only make him/her

feel that it is wrong, it is equally necessary to prevent the same in future and this is where punishments

come in. Physical punishments never yeild good results on the contrary they make the child submissive and

meek. the making the cheeks red theory of A is very handy in this regard, the cutting down previlages

theory is also equally helpful. Older children commit mistakes knowingly. for example a 14 yr old knows

that smoking is not good yet he cant resist the temptation,and it is the greatest irony of history that his

chain-smoker teacher thrash him for smoking. i mean come on dude, set an example. discipline cannot be

taught it can only be learnt from the surounding environment. we shall try to create that environment first.

Moreover, punishments are inflicted on children mostly because they hurt their parents or teachers ego. itis less important to the parent or teacher that the child has committed a mistake, that might harm his

personality in future if repeated, more important is that the child did not pay heed to their advice. this ego

makes a smash a thrash and creates Udaipur incidents.

Reply

Nitapermalink*

November 9, 2009 6:34 am

Thanks for the deep insight into this issue Samrat. I am personally against physical punishment and

have brought up two children without having to resort to it. There is another aspect to this issue and

that is that the parent often does not spend enough time with this child. For example if a child is

going towards the electrical socket, it is so easy to distract the child and engage him in something

else, all the while telling him that the socket is dangerous. But this has to be said in a non-threatening

manner otherwise the curiosity of the child will increase. After that one can quietly do things like

block that socket with a piece of furniture and so on. I am talking of a one year child or maybe two

Most arents find it easier to terrorise the child b smackin and this ives them lent of time to sit


16/23

in front of the tv or read the paper and so on. Smacking is a lazy way of disciplining children. Small

children need constant attention, and constant interaction and adults would be surprised at how

reasonable they are.

Reply

31.

Plan Indiapermalink

November 30, 2009 3:36 pm

We at Plan fully support the thought of banning corporal Punishment in Schools. Plan runs a universal

campaign against corporal punishment called LEARN WITHOT FEAR (www.learnwithoutfear.in) which

focuses all its efforts to stop any kind of violence in schools and create a fear free environment for students

across societies.

Plans vision is of a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies, which respect

peoples rights and dignity. Plan India is a child-centered development organization that aims to promote

Child Rights and improve the quality of life of vulnerable children

Reply

32.

Barsha Banerjeepermalink

December 2, 2009 9:14 am

it should be abolished and those who r in the field of abolishing corporal punishment i am always there in

the support of them.

Reply

33.

James Whitepermalink

March 18, 2010 11:34 am

Sir,

I want to know if I can be helped in taking action against the School that had made my son

psychologically ill who is under treatment.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerly,


17/23

.

Reply

34.

Pranati Patropermalink

April 18, 2010 2:35 pm

Nita,Thanks for your valuable discussions and all the contributors.Really I got a new insight into the

issue.Recently I have attended a workshop wher a teacher claimed to have transformedmore than a

hundred students after he severly thrashed them.Personally,I feel this is a problem of human

consciousness.As long as we are resorting to anger,hatred and violence to control others we are sending

negative vibrations to the universe.In response,we are confronting wars between countries,hostilities

between religions.We have access to so much knowledge written throughout the centuries,still we resort

to negative methods.Has ever hatedness solve the problems of human life.Children are like soft,delicate

flowers.they should be handled with care.We should teach them to love because only love can transform

the world.There is no other way.

Reply

35.

chellu subramaniampermalink

April 28, 2010 10:10 pm

thnx a lot for writing this article.it really saved my debate on this topic.

Reply

36.

PROFESSOR AWSIMOpermalink

August 23, 2010 12:37 pm

u are right Nita corporal punishment should be banned FOREVER

Reply

37.

Selestinapermalink

December 8, 2010 6:40 pm

caning should never never been imposed to students.

Reply


18/23

38.

youpermalink

March 8, 2011 1:05 am

when schools give kids swats they think they make kids learn all they are doing is making them hate schooand want to leave even more schools are supposed to stay and have fun learning not learing by swats!

Reply

youpermalink

March 8, 2011 1:08 am

opps in the middle of to and stay i ment make students in between

Reply

39.

youpermalink

March 8, 2011 1:13 am

:}

Reply

40.

kritikapermalink

July 11, 2011 5:13 pm

hey i want u guys to help me out

i have to make a project on it

i dont know how should i do

it should consist of interviews

i dont have the questions that we can ask them about it

it has been banned bt still it has been practised in schools

what should be the next step regarding it?

Reply


19/23

Notify me of follow-up comm ents via email.

Notify me of new pos ts via email.

eave a ep y

type and press enter

Blog Stats

3,288,458 hits

Hand Readings of Famous People

Free Photographs for Bloggers

Most Recent Posts

A long indefinite break from the blog

Avatar a movie with a green message (Movie Review)

What is the best way to choose your future mate?

Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year Movie Review without spoilers

Infidelity in the West and in India

Is Shashi Tharoors speech real and relevant?

FRANK AND FUNNY

Sex Surveys and research tell us how badly India needs sex education

Improvements in security arrangements in India after 26/11 (Mumbai Terror Attacks)

Guest


20/23

The Indian governments green channel for the corrupt

Test Your Global IQ

Recent comments and replies

rohith on British Rule in India and Nazi

Rinku Kumaron Remembering 26/11 the

Tech-Yuppie on Pros and cons of being a DINK

nidhipatwalon 10 + 5 ways to have a happy re

Sanjay Khushu on Abandon veil Pratibha Patil te

Vivek on Do local Mumbaikars resent

Dol on Dating does (and should) lead

cookiecutter on Arranged marriage vis--vis a

Kevin on The four cities of China

Shalini on Unhealthy Noodles

Ashok Aggarwal on Drunk driving is a major cause

brindasreedharan on High salaries and lucrative pl

ALBERT on Drunk driving is a major cause

US less than 3 years on India will be number two econo

KOMAL DHUMAL on Shocking Pollution during the

Search by subject


21/23

Select Category

DISCLAIMER

Scroll down to read

1)The information on this blog is not given for any commercial purposes. Any ads that you

might possibly see have been put there by Wordpress and the proceeds go to them, not a

single penny/paisa to me

2) The information on various subjects may be by no means comprehensive. The articles on health are

Go to a surprise post

CLICK HERE

If you want to subscribe to this blog, there are two options. One is subscribe via your email:

There is another way, via a feed:

If you want to write to me you can email me at:

If you do choose to write to me, please write under your real name (even if you use a nick-name for any

other purpose). Don't expect a reply if you use a pseudonym. Thanks.

This work byNita Jatar Kulkarni is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No

Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

CHILD HELPLINE (1098) from BSNL/MTNL phones)

My topics

Ad film-makingAdvertising

Advtg Greats AIDS Bangalore Blogging

Boll wood

Books


22/23

Britain Business Cancer ChennaiChild Abuse Children China ChristianityConsumersCorruption Crime crimes against women Crimes by politicians Culture Delhi

DesiPundit Development Diet DrivingE BizEconomy Education - Higher Education- Primary SecondaryEntertainmentEnvironmentFamily Fashion & Clothing FictionFood

HealthHinduism Hollywood HowTo HumorIndia Internet Islam KolkataLawLife Love Marketing Sales Media Memes/Tags Mental Illness Misleading ads Movie

industryMovie Reviews Movies Movie Stars Mumbai Music News North-EastPakistan Palmistry ParentingPhotography Politics Product Reviews Published ArticlesPune Racism Real Estate Religion Research Restaurants Hotels Science

Security/Defense Sex SlideshowsSociety Sports Successful People Summary Posts

Technology Television TerrorismTravelTrends United States Video WomenWorld WritingMOVIE REVIEWS OF INDIAN FILMS

Current:

Rocket Singh Review

Older films:

A Wednesday

MOVIE REVIEWS OF ENGLISH FILMS

Avatar Movie Review

Star Trek 2009

American Gangster

Crash

Search all posts by date

Select Month

A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS:Your response is greatly valued so go ahead and say it! I read

all comments and also try to answer each one. But I don't usually answer comments on my old

posts, unless someone asks a question, but your views are always welcome and every comment

is a kind of update so don't hesitate.


23/23

GIVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS:If you have suggestions for posts, you are welcome to email me

with your ideas at the email address given above. I shall do my best to use them.

WRITE A GUEST POST:If you wish, you can also submit an article of yours for publication but

it will be published only after review and if it fits in with the style and theme of this blog. Your

name and a link to your blog will be provided at the end of the article.

Any subscriptions to email forwards or newsletters will be deleted and marked as spam.

A NOTE:The newspaper and magazine articles published on this blog are written by me.

However, they may not be a word for word representation of the articles published in print. They

may be abridged versions, or simply updated.

Readers on this site now

Pages on Blogging

Archives

About this Blog

About me

Why I blog

Comment Policy

Meta

Register

Log in

Entries RSS

Comments RSS

WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Theme: Vigilance by The Theme Foundry.

(Corporal Punishment in Schools Should Be Banned

Documents

Transcript of (Corporal Punishment in Schools Should Be Banned