Spare the rod not a class act
To end (alleged) assault of pupils by teachers (“State to fine abusive teachers”, Daily Dispatch, Feb 7) bring back the cane; having first reintroduced some discarded practices, including that:
1. Parents accept responsibility for their children. Teachers do education. Parents do the raising of their children.
2. When a pupil challenges the school rules, parents sup port the school, not the rebellion.
3. The school rules are clear and sacrosanct. If you do not like the rules, enrol your child at another school.
4. The consequences of breaking the rules are clear and impartial.
When I was at school few, if any, boys avoided at least one or two canings.
The procedure was simple: When you were caught out you were sent to the office and generally had to wait in the passage before being punished.
This was the time for passing teachers and pupils to either sympathise or disapprove, depending on the offence.
After the strokes the matter was ended.
The school rules had been upheld, transgression had been dealt with and teachers and pupils concentrated on education.
Teachers, lacking the support of parents and of the Department of Education, are expected to perform miracles.
Give them back the power to discipline, in an environment that will not condone misbehaviour. — Dave Rankin, Cambridge
Teachers’ misery
The Education department must be the laughing stock of the country. When we read they want to fine teachers when they try to get the children to be disciplined, and well-mannered when they are in the class.
Do they even have an idea of what teachers go through every day in their classes?
Why doesn’t the Education department rather come up with ideas to help the teachers with plans to instil respect and good behaviour into these children?
Every time there is an incident then the teacher is to blame.
Maybe it is time teachers take to the streets and voice their unhappiness with the Education department, so they can come up with a plan of how to change things at schools.
Maybe a starting point would be to have a box in every class, so that when pupils come into class they deposit their phones into the box and only get it after school.
Then have the prefects walk around the schoolgrounds during break-times and make sure children are not getting up to nogood – maybe smoking, taking drugs etc.
This will all help to get control. It must be difficult being a teacher today. — Brian, via e-mail
Great response
On January 11 this year, I went to the Home Affairs offices in Mount Frere to enquire about the whereabouts of an ID of a person where the application had been done in April 2018.
But at the time of enquiry there was no progress at all.
I called Cde Stella NdabeniAbrahams [Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services] to assist me with Cde Siyabonga Cwele's [Minister of Home Affairs] number in order to forward a complaint on behalf of an affected person.
Cde Cwele returned my call and requested details of the affected person which I forwarded to him.
Just a week after he called me, Home Affairs head office called the mother and father of the affected person to enquire of a few details.
Today, when I called the Home Affairs office in Mount Frere they told me the ID Smart Card is awaiting collection in their office.
Thank you, Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and Minister Siyabonga Cwele for your commitment to serve the people.
Officials should not disgrace our public service. This shows that there was no reason not to produce this Smart Card ID except the fact that there was a lack of commitment to serve ordinary people.
I wish they could ask the likes of the wonderful Ms Qambela, who works for the Department of Social Development within the Mhlontlo sub-district what she thinks it means to be a public servant.
I refer to her because I know her unmeasurable commitment and passion to work with communities. — Phendule Mbewu, via email
…a starting point would be to have a box in every class, so that when pupils come into class they deposit their phones into the box…