ON THE ISSUE OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS

Uninformed parents are pathetic

Of late there has been a debate on the issue of corporal punishment in schools, some arguing it is the right way to go if done properly while others abhor it in any form, whether done correctly or not. Of course the debate sparked from some social media video showing a male teacher beating up a girl child. I will not comment on whether that was the right or wrong way of doing it. I will neither talk of the person who recorded and posted the video. What I know about the majority of today’s children in schools is that they are very very bad. They are uncontrollable. They do not offer teachers any comfort. I work in a government school as an administrative officer and I see these things all the time when children misbehave around the school or are brought to the administration block for punishment on their misconduct. One day one student had beaten up another for refusing to give him his packed lunch. He had also verbally abused the boy for bringing packed lunch to school asking why he thought he was special and could not eat government food.

The boy has some condition that does not allow him to eat any foodstuffs. And the boy is a harmless soul. Yet this bully beat him up for no sensible reason at all.

When teachers attempted to punish him, he flatly refused and said only his father and mother can beat him. When the parents were called for intervention, they too said their child cannot be beaten. Other students picked on this and the teachers have since been through hell. Teachers have had it and sometimes I understand when they seem to go overboard in pnishing these kids. Parents just do not know what their kids do in schools, and before they come to social media to try and sound too sophisticated, they should instil that sophistication on their children. They should inform themselves first. Otherwise such parents are pathethic! [PAULINE MIS-P. MOLEFHE]

Leave discipline to parents

An advice to my fellow teachers. We need a new collective approach to discipline. Let’s leave discipline to parents. We tried it on numerous occassions in an ungrateful society. Let’s just do the teaching. Let’s stick to the core mandate. You see a student bullying another student, let the bullied report to her parents; you see them fighting and tearing each other apart, my dear teacher, don’t be tempted, tell them to report to their parents. If they are sick, it’s not your business to call their parents, if they smoke dagga at the toilets, my dear teacher, thats their parents jurisdiction. Just teach and go home. You won’t have troubles from anyone. [BALEBENG KEETILE]

5G generation is really spoiled

Imagine my boy child a raya his teacher wa mosadi a re o tshwere noka e ntle e bile a mmatla marato in front of other students e be gotwe go siame hela and the teacher shouldn’t try to expel him out of her class. I will tell the headmaster to beat him at the assembly area to show other students gore what he did was out of line. As a child, o rogile mogolo. 5G generation is spoiled waitse. [MACBETH SEGWENI]

I want my son to be disciplined

As a father, I know how difficult it is to bring up a child. I see this with Mahalapye Boko everyday. I try not to raise my voice, pinch him, nor lay my hand on him when he does something I dont like. I try not to. Surely one day I will fail. On a daily basis this boy irks me. I love him nonetheless. He is my child. I am not going to abuse him. Neither will I allow him to rot. One day I will send him to school. I expect the teacher to hold him firmly by his hand and to teach him the things he should know. I expect that he be taught that in this life you need love, discipline and courage. I know for a fact that my son wont be the only child in class. I know that the teacher will be dealing with different characters from different backgrounds. I know my son will be wayward on some occasions. I want my son to be a disciplined child. I wont wail when the teacher administers corporal punishment on my child as long as it is done properly. I will administer it at home as well out of love. I am talking in respect of my child. My own child. [YANDANI BOKO]

Too much is expected from teachers

Corporal punishment e siame hela!!

We have bullies, relentless noise makers (ba bone e bile tichara o tsholetsa thupa a sena go kgalema ga sebentini)

smokers, drug addicts, kids with vile behavior and are very foul mouthed. Such kids I believe are no better at their homes mme gatwe matichara ba bereke go rapela di-ingaodi! NO!! [PELONTLE MOOKETSI]

Negligent parents scream loudest

Battle lines are drawn on this issue and to make things easy for everyone, let every parent watch their own child and raise them as they want. Let the weight be taken off the teacher’s backs. Let them be only responsible for teaching. Any discipline issues be handled by parents. If your child is unruly and bullying others, not doing school work, come to school and address it.. If they fail, stop blaming the teacher and take responsibility. When you are called to school go and address your child’s issues. Solve the problems they cause for other students with parents of those students. Mostly people who never care to see what their children are doing scream the loudest [MARK KOOSIMILE]

Corporal punishment made us

Renowned lawyers, economists and professors have been ranting about this issue for a long time. They’re forgetting that they’re where they’re because of the same corporal punishment they got from teachers back in the days now because they think they have a voice they try to end what made them. [BOKAMOSO MAI]