An especially striking example of the possible consequences of corporal punishment was the death of eleven year old Shanno in April 2009. She was punished for failing to recite the full English alphabet by standing in the sun without water. She was allegedly also made to wear bricks on her back. As she slipped into coma, the Municipal school in New Delhi had a huge problem on their hands and a lot of explanation to do.
The organization Plan India has recently asked attention for the issue of corporal punishment with their program: Learn without Fear. This title expresses in a striking way what the desired goal would be for children: to learn optimally in an environment which is conducive for their growth. Fear and other psychological consequences of corporal punishment are detrimental to the learning and growth of children at school. This is why corporal punishment is classified as abuse. Next to corporal punishment which involves physical abuse, emotional and mental abuse of the child is also very harmful. Through hurtful remarks and degrading treatment, children’s confidence and wellbeing can be severely affected.
There are several factors which make it hard to overcome corporal punishment and progress to better schools for our children: a certain form of cultural justification, a feeling of frustration of the teachers, to a lack of strong mechanisms to prevent corporal punishment. Let us see these 3 factors in more detail:
1) cultural justification: corporal punishment is seen as a way to discipline children. It is seen by people as a justified way of getting children to pay attention and have good marks. Contributing factors to this view are competitiveness of the school system, pressure on parents for their children to perform and the belief that there are no other ways to obtain good results. Both parents and teachers think that corporal punishment is not a problem, at least not the minor instances of it. But where to draw the line? Probably Shanno’s teacher also did not intend to kill her, only to ‘teach her a lesson’’.
2) incapability of teachers: Teachers may wish to contribute to the learning and development of children’s abilities. At the same time they are bound by their own lack of training and understanding. They are also bound by their environment that can limit their potential. Little freedom in how to teach, inadequate training and support and absence of relevant feedback on their performance are a few examples of how their positive impact can be reduced.
Teachers may also feel frustrated due to various reasons, including subobtimal teaching conditions, or simply because of personal problems. This feeling if coupled with an inability to control him or herself, can express itself in corporal punishment.
3) lack of strong mechanisms of prevention: complaint mechanisms, legal redress
Example is that parents complain to the school and nothing happens. What can you do then? The teacher does not see why to change behaviour if it is allowed by school management.
A thorough self examination of adults, proper training, hiring and support of teachers as well as putting in place a complaint procedure will go a long way in prevention of abuse in schools. If children are trained in safety skills, there is also greater chance that action will be undertaken. The role of adults is crucial in improving the safety of children at school.
