My School & Corporal Punishment

11, Loudon Street Kolkata, had been my second home, for close 16 years from the age of three till I turned an adult. This is the address of my school La Martiniere for Boys Kolkata, the last time I saw my school name in the news papers was when it had ranked fourth amongst school in India, today my school is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, teacher asking for bribes, principal and other teacher blamed for a students suicide. People in Kolkata are talking about this incident, as well as criticizing the management it gives me a lot of pain to hear bad words about my school. A school is a place where a child spends his formatives years, the lessons (apart from academics) learnt in school last for a lifetime. For me and most of us school is a place where we developed our identity, individuality, make friends, build trust, give respect and lastly learn all of it what makes us what we are today.

School memories are the most special memories; they last along with our school life’s learning. Like everything a student faces good times along with bad times in school. In good times friends are always there and probably in some bad times friends might not be there. For example when a teacher picks on an individual and gives him a trashing, the other friends for sometime sympathies with the friend who has got a trashing and eventually it becomes as a joke. When these incidents takes place in school life the child is not happy as he has got a thrashing and on the same time becomes a laughing stock in his class or at times in school. One has to grow over the momentary sorrow, as he has to learn to laugh with his friends. I have individually been beaten up by my teachers on several occasions, there is one trashing I got in which my class teacher beat me up till he got tired, thrashing would be a humble term for the kind of beating I got. The beating made me feel ashamed of myself, as not only did I get the physical pain, but there was a greater scar which was created by others around me, my friends who laughed when I was standing outside class after being beaten, it was humiliating. Now I am over the momentary humiliation which I faced when I was in class 7 and today I am proud that I got that beating, that incidents tickles people sense of humor when I narrate the story to them, how it happened, why it happened, who beat me up by the end of the story everyone is chuckling including me. We all have gone through various bad times in school, the beating, the shouting and at times humiliation, but after time flies by they are all adventure stories.

Now after I was beaten red and blue by my class teacher in style by two wooden rules, I was angry at the same time felt humiliated. I had two options, go and complain to my parents or keep quite. There were people in my class who told how can you take this, he does not have any right to hit you, you should complain, your parents should talk to the principal, so I had made my mind to tell my parents and wanted them to complain against my class teacher. At that time came in my friends who till date narrate this story, they said you should not complain as this will create a bad blood between you and the class teacher, he will be warned and then every time he will pick on you, he has the power to fail you as well. After hearing to both sides I said let me live with this beating and learn to laugh with it.

Sometimes I wonder how would it be if I would have complained, would my parents believe in me to go and fight, probably they would have said that I deserve it I should not be so naughty. Then what would I do. But things have changed in 12 years or more, children are much more mature at the same time get full cooperation from parents. Today if a child is even slapped the protective parents will first go and fight it out with teacher rather than asking the child why did the teacher slap him up.

Corporal punishment is not a way to teach a student a lesson; it generates fear, aggression, and humiliation in a student, at the same time it cannot be done away with as it maintains discipline. Children today are more indiscipline as they know their parents will fight it out for them. A man should take punishment in stride, learn lessons and laugh it out.

Today’s children, corporal punishment cannot be used as they are more protected and are more sensitive towards punishments. The teacher who are blamed for the suicide taught me during my school days, they were great guides who disciplined me as well as my friends, their style of discipline was fear and they managed create the fear to discipline boys, there is a change which is required that is to be a friends with the students to discipline them. Teachers should talk instead of using their hands all children are not the same and times have changed.