Injuries and deaths due to beatings at school, suicides committed by students when they receive punishment at the hands of their teachers – these news have lost their shock value, they seem to occur every other day. A recent case was that of Rouvanjit Rawla of the prestigious La Martiniere School in Kolkata, who committed suicide after being caned by the principal. Though parents too are guilty of this misdemeanour, it is mostly teachers who get into the news for whatever reason. It may be because parents are more careful, the child being their own and they ensure that they do not react extremely to their children’s follies. Let us consider corporal punishment from the point of view of both teachers and students. What is it that prompts teachers who play an important role in moulding a child’s character to raise their hand against their students? Is it possible that the teachers want to show-off the power they wield? I have personally seen a teacher throw a heavy black-board duster at students when they have failed to solve a mathematics problem, where they has been no instigation whatsoever on the part of the students. Don’t these knowledgeable teachers pause to consider the implications of their thoughtless action? What if the child gets hurt? It may be anger which makes the teacher hit a child. When a student interrupts the lesson by misbehaving or is a nuisance at school, the teacher may get quite mad at him. Without thinking of the consequences, without thinking about right or wrong, he may resort to caning the student. The issue may be a small one and there will be other ways to tackle the problem but rage literally stops the thinking process of a person and the teacher acts blindly on a reflex. Or is it helplessness on the part of the teacher? When unable to control a particularly naughty student, the teacher who is at his wits’ end may decide that corporal punishment is the only way out. What about the student? How will corporal punishment affect him? The child may feel belittled, more so if the punishment is … [Read more...]
Family honour or Child’s Happiness?
Reading reports of honour killings in the papers, I can’t help wondering if we are living in the medieval ages. Killing your own children for the supposed dishonour brought upon the family by marrying outside the caste is not just despicable, it is downright barbaric. If these shameful acts were performed by illiterate folk in villages, where caste reigns supreme and khap panchayats lay down the law, it would still shock. But it is even more horrifying to know that educated people, who should have been open-minded, are doing very much the same thing. It is as if education does not make any difference to the way we think. In a country slated to be a super-power, a journalist with a reputed business paper is reported to have been killed by her mother for deciding to marry a person from another caste. Killing, of course happens is some rare cases when the daughter is murdered in cold blood, when she, the epitome of family honour crosses the line. But the lives of many children are sacrificed everyday when parents by force, by emotional blackmail, by threats of disinheritance, make their son or daughter marry a person of their choice. It is a common fact that a majority of marriages in 21st century India are the prerogative of the parents. Children today, have the right to decide on their education, on their career, on so many matters pertaining to their lives at least in urban households, but even now finding a life partner for oneself is out of bounds for many Indians irrespective of their economic and social background. The argument is that, in India, the system of arranged marriage has stood the test of time. This system may sound strange but there is not anything wrong with it per se. It is after all part of our culture. The problem starts when parents force this system on their children. They are very strict in this one matter. So a boy or girl may be very bold and independent minded in the workplace and elsewhere, but when it comes to marriage they are more than willing to toe their parents' line. We usually will have heard of at least one instance among acquaintances, where parents refuse to accept a … [Read more...]
