SPARE THE ROD

A Class X student of Dinkar National Model School at Mayur Vihar in East Delhi, Rinky was allegedly hit on her head and slapped by her teacher, Dhirender Kumar, in November following which she fell unconscious. She died in Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Delhi late on 26 March after lying in coma for almost three months.

Rinky’s cousin Sunil Verma said, “Rinky regained consciousness almost three hours after her teacher thrashed her. She was threatened by the teacher not to mention anything about the incident to her parents. On returning home, Rinky complained of headache and was taken to a nearby dispensary. Though a very jovial and energetic girl, she suddenly stopped mixing with her friends and family. When her condition did not improve, she told her mother about the incident.” The rage of her relatives knew no bounds and they staged a demonstration at Kondli Chowk in Delhi. They attacked the school building demanding immediate action against the accused. Last year my friend’s daughter was in school when ink fell on the cover of her project file. She rushed to change the wrapper. But the teacher, misunderstanding the situation, reacted violently, grabbing the book and beating the girl with it. The girl was traumatised — both physically and emotionally.
 
In another incident one hundred and fifty students were made to stand in the sun for over two hours in a reputed school in New Delhi because they had not paid the school fees.  And yet another tragic case is of a teenager who committed suicide because of the corporal punishment meted out in school. And this school boasts of a "cell" which is used to coach students who are "below average".

In the light of these incidents the results of a National Study on Child Abuse may not come as a shock. The study reveals that two out of every three children in India are subjected to corporal punishment in schools! The Study commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, supported and co-authored by Save the Children and UNICEF, shows children being subjected to regular physical abuse in schools in the 13 sample states.

The overall analysis of physical abuse of children in schools revealed some significant findings:

Sixty five per cent of children reported corporal punishment in schools.  Older children were beaten more in schools as compared to younger ones.  Sixty two per cent of the abuse happens in government and municipal schools in the guise of discipline. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi rank high on rates of corporal punishment.

 The debate about whether or not to use corporal punishment to discipline and teach a child is an old one. In India this debate is raging across schools and there is an attempt to raise awareness about the adverse effects of beatings on children in schools.

According to-Sanjay Gupta, the Director of Childhood Enhancement through Training and Action in New Delhi-, an NGO that works for the advocacy of Child Rights, a child who suffers corporal punishment often grows up thinking that violence is the answer to resolution of conflict, thus becoming a bully and resorting to violence. Corporal punishment also causes feelings of anger, resentment and low self-esteem in the child and this could lead to depression and introverted behaviour. He feels that teachers should employ effective teaching practices and classroom management. The ultimate aim of the teacher and the taught should be to resolve the situation and not to blame.

Mr. Gupta says, that probably why there is a high rate of corporal punishment in some schools could be because teachers are not educated against it. If you look around you’ll see that everybody is stressed out and anxious. The first step in using positive disciplinary techniques is to learn not to take out that anger on our kids. However, in a classroom with a strength of 50 students this becomes a near impossibility. So awareness building and corrective measures should begin with the education system and no patchwork will work, rather what is required is reviewing the entire education system.  

For the past several years, many psychiatrists, sociological researchers, and parents have recommended that we seriously consider banning the physical punishment of children.  Hitting children teaches them to become hitters themselves. Extensive research is now available to support a direct correlation between corporal punishment in childhood and aggressive or violent behavior in teenage and adult years. Virtually all of the most dangerous criminals were regularly threatened and punished during childhood. It is nature's plan that children learn attitudes and behaviors through observation and imitation of their parents' actions, for better or for worse. Thus it is the responsibility of parents to set an example of empathy and wisdom.

Punishment distracts the child from learning how to resolve conflict in an effective and humane way. Corporal punishment interferes with the bond between parent and child, as it is not human nature to feel affection toward someone who hurts us. The true spirit of cooperation which every parent desires can arise only through a strong bond based on mutual feelings of love and respect. Punishment, even when it appears to work, can produce only superficially good behavior based on fear, which can only take place until the child is old enough to resist. In contrast, cooperation based on respect will last permanently, bringing many years of mutual happiness as the child and parent grow older.

 Many parents never learned in their own childhood that there are positive ways of relating to children. When punishment does not accomplish the desired goals, and if the parent is unaware of alternative methods, punishment can escalate to more frequent and dangerous actions against the child.
 Anger and frustration which cannot be safely expressed by a child become stored inside; angry teenagers do not fall from the sky. Anger that has been accumulating for many years can come as a shock to parents whose child now feels strong enough to express this rage. Punishment may appear to produce "good behavior" in the early years, but always at a high price, paid by parents and by  the society as a whole, as the child enters adolescence and early adulthood.

Physical punishment gives the dangerous and unfair message that “might makes right,” that it is permissible to hurt someone else, provided they are smaller and less powerful than you are. The child then concludes that it is permissible to mistreat younger or smaller children. When he becomes an adult, he can feel little compassion for those less fortunate than he is, and fears those who are more powerful. This will hinder the establishment of meaningful relationships so essential to an emotionally fulfilling life.

Because children learn through parental modeling, physical punishment gives the message that hitting is an appropriate way to express feelings and to solve problems. If a child does not observe a parent solving problems in a creative and humane way, it can be difficult for him to learn to do this himself. For this reason, unskilled parenting often continues into the next generation.

Gentle instruction, supported by a strong foundation of love and respect, is the only truly effective way to bring about commendable behavior based on strong inner values, instead of the rod.

-Shailaja Mehta from Delhi

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BREAKING NEWS……. (The lighter side)

Harbhajan Under Scanner for Making Monkey Gestures

In their frenzy to cover the recent India-Australian series, the media scuttled between India's victories and their favorite skipper, Bhajji coming under the scanner for making monkey gestures. The coverage also scuttled between India's exhilaration at the victory and protest against the treatment meted out to Bhajji and back. Another protest likely to result out of this caper might go unnoticed. So be on the watch out media! Maneka Gandhi maybe organizing a rally in all likelihood to protest against comparisons made to animals in general and monkeys in particular. Can the Aussies come up with comparisons other than that please?

Used Car Market May Surge With Union Budget SOPS

India is going global in a big way. Used car market is up, new cars are as cheap as two wheelers, if not cheaper. So real estate guys, stop selling! With larger number of cars on the road, but smaller number of roads to commute, people will have no option but to make cars their homes. Who will have the time to travel?  

India has the Highest Number of Mobile Users

 So much so that, our babies do not strain themselves  crying hoarse when they want to be heard. They merely switch on the ring tone of  their mobiles when they want to do so!

Students, Parents at Sea on CBSE's announcement of  ‘HOTS'

The decision of CBSE to include Higher Order Thinking Skills for Class X and XI students has evoked a mixed and confused reaction from students and parents.

Has 'HOTS' made an appearance with the HOT SEAT of SRK'S upcoming 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain?' in mind?

By Kanchana Rao