Ridding schools of fear
Corporal punishment has far-reaching consequences for pupils
RECENTLY, AS lecturers at DUT, we interviewed prospective students who had expressed interest in enrolling for the course we offer. Out of the many absorbing interviews we conducted, the most memorable one for me was with a student who comes from a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal.
The student curiously asked the panellists: “How do you punish students here? Is there corporal punishment? When I was at school, corporal punishment was dished out like nobody’s business.”
As funny as the question sounded at the time, after the interview I thought deeply about the student’s words.
To many, it is a no-brainer that universities do not administer corporal punishment. However, as someone who has been on the receiving end of this practice during my time at school, I would argue that some people are bound to internalise it and think everywhere they go they will be made to toe the line, violently.
Interestingly, this came up just after I had participated in an intriguing three-day corporal punishment colloquium at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Education.
The colloquium offered an engagement space for various stakeholders including pupils, parents, teachers, student teachers and civil society. It was unsettling to listen to pupils who opened up about their gruelling experiences of being violently disciplined. Some of the teachers poured out their frustrations, and explained how this could lead to corporal punishment.
At the end of the colloquium, there was a unanimous call to root out the culture of violence in our societies and schools.
As a university lecturer, I was interested in how disciplinary methods shape a child and how the effects manifest when they reach higher education.
Having interacted with first-year students from different social backgrounds, I would argue that the normalised violence, nicely wrapped with a glamorous cover labelled “discipline”, could be one of the factors that impact on students’ sense of worth when they get to university.
At worst, instead of encouraging pupils to take personal responsibility, corporal punishment produces the opposite effect. It leaves pupils distressed, discouraged and dispirited, and they carry this emotional burden to the university environment, which requires independent thinking and personal responsibility.
Institutions of higher learning are vastly different from high schools.
As most of us know and have experienced, the lecturers’ power gets minimalised. No progressive lecturer would monologue in the classroom.
Instead, they seek to engage the students, and allow their knowledge to be contested. In that way, we see communication power being decentralised, from one person (lecturer) to everyone in the classroom.
The consequences of corporal punishment are severe and serve as a stumbling block for both intellectual and emotional development.
There are students who do not have the courage to stand and speak their mind, challenge dominant views they may disagree with, or engage with critical matters.
What I have seen in my classes is that some students feel their voice has no place and that they have to follow the lecturer’s orders, even when they have to exercise their agency.
There are students who approach me trembling and fearful, so terrified and apologetic, when they have not done anything wrong.
When I dig deeper, I find that students regard me as an “authority” figure and, when I stand before them, they always want to be seen in a positive way.
I appreciate the respect I receive, but when bestowed unduly, it disturbs me.
The education system in South Africa continues to produce a mentality of servitude. Parents are equally guilty, as most have relieved themselves of the duty to work with teachers in nurturing children.
I want a vibrant classroom where students speak their mind without fear. I want every student in my class to have a sense of belonging. Students who live in fear are hard to work with.
UKZN has started the conversation. We need more voices and perspectives to engage on the subject so we all can have insight into our own blind spots. The ultimate goal is to root out violence in schools, and to promote peace and social cohesion.