Youth for the Future holds forum on corporal punishment
godwin hulse
The much debated issue of corporal punishment has seen various organizations and government officials weighing in on its legality in parliament and among educators at the primary level. Today students had a chance to share their views on the topic with their peers in a forum held by Youth For the Future. Guest speaker at the presentation was Senator Godwin Hulse.
Godwin Hulse, Senator
“The law defines corporal punishment. We have to start with a definition so we know what we are talking about. It says clearly it does not—it is defined as actions which could be constituted as battery basically. That means I’m going to bust your skin, I’m going to hurt you, I’m going to bruise you, I’m going to make you feel pain. That is outlawed now, that is outlawed. I don’t think anybody wants to do that. I think the debate comes about because people are not totally clear. If you look at the act at section fifty it says that action, which I just spoke against is outlawed, you should not make that happen. School administrators should ensure that doesn’t happen.”
I don’t agree with corporal punishment in schools, if it means battery. I do however, agree with students being spanked for extreme behaviors such as smoking weed in school or fighting. Some teachers have the tendency to spank for every little thing and that is what I don’t agree with. When I went to school, I was spanked for stupid things. My teachers, I think were very frustrated with their lives and took it out on the kids.
Some teachers tend to overdo it when they hit kids, and that is definitely child abuse. So, there is a fine line between child abuse and corporal punishment which needs to be properly established. I also feel that only the principal should spank and only for extreme measure.
I heard about the principal in O.W. who was fined for whipping a child. Maybe he over did it, but what is being done about that child who brought weed to school? Has he been sent to hostel? How do the parents with children at that school feel about their children being exposed to weed at such a young age? Are they okay with it?
Merlita Flores: Then i suggest that you home school you kids so no one haveto deal with their mess.
I strongly believe that we should not bring back corporal punishment, especially in our schools. This is the time where the minds of our students are molded and physically punishing them to create order will induce a mindset of violence, more so domestic violence. Also, some teachers would want to practice corporal punishment out of frustration and anger. Most times it would start by the student/s simply pushing them to the point to where they would feel they have no other choice in dealing with them other than being aggressive. It then begs the question; would the teachers be able to separate anger out of the discipline practices? Face it, when teachers decide to “take disciplinary actions” it is at the point where they do not have any control and will act out on anger and because we live in a country where “adults are right and children are wrong,” the teachers would justify the punishment with such defense. Corporal punishment has been practiced for many years, so why don’t we move forward and create new ways of developing stricter disciplinary action policies? A study should be done about this to really evaluate the effects of corporal punishment.
Violence in any form is not the answer.
I believe that corporal punishment should be brought back to school, because i can personally think that some of these kids of today really need some of the spanking that we used to get at school. many a days i go to school to pick up my child and i see how these kids are acting towards the teachers, they dont have no respect for authority. They look in the teachers face and tell them that they cant do them nothing because, its against the LAW. that is why many of them are drop outs. So if u dont want your kids to be spanked, keep them to yourselves, see if you can handle having your kid at home trying to teach him at least 8 subjects per day for five days a week, and you let me know if you didnt spank him/her a couple of times.
Thank you
ever heard about, ‘spare the rod and spoil the child?’. if you parents have a problem with whipping administered in a reasonable and disciplinary way, then you should keep your bad A…. kids to your selves and and teach them at home.
i dnt knw why deh took out corporal punishment because now the students will think that they somewhat have some kind of control over the teachers
I personally don’t believe that corporal punishment should be brought back into our schools. A child’ s discipline should always start at home!. Our teachers should not be burdened with the negative behaviour of our kids other than to educate them. We have to understand that teachers has to deal with different personalities on a daily basis, they spend more time with our kids than we do, and that it takes more patience on their part to discipline our kids and to educate them. We as parents should teach our children to keep their hands to themselves to avoid violence and physical abuse in their future relationship(s).
Abuse can be defined in many ways and if we’re not very careful, “Corporal punishment” can be abusive through ignorance or even subconsciously. For example, most of us parents and educators cannot determine if our kids are suffering from Dislexia or Authism. People suffering from these diseases must be trained, disciplened, and be educated in a very special and professional setting. Some might say, “Spare the rod and spoil the child” but the true meaning of that is the “Spiritual Rod (Guidance)” or Emotional Rod (Positive communication)”. This applies to all human beings. This is why it is so important that proper discipline is being used and thought at home, like the good old saying goes, “Charity begins at home”. That being said, I am in no way pointing fingers at parents, I’m just simply saying that if we as parents should get a hold of our kids at an early age, then the outside world will not have to discipline them with physical punishment for us or rod of correction.
I think that if the Demerit System is used properly and effectively in our Schools, it can be a positive tool for our kids future. This will also allow our teachers to know how and where to place our kids if and when necessary. Violence is too rampant in our society & our country today, so we need to change our method of discipline for the benefit of our children, the safety of our teachers, and others. The Demerit System worked for me and all Alumnus of former Lynam Agricultural College and I thank God for all the teachers that gave us the opportunity to be well disciplined Human Beings without laying a finger on us. “If di (Jackass), sarry di Donkey want bruk whe, noh kay how yoh lash ah, ih wah bruk whe. If yoh hold di rein gently, most ah di time yoh wah get whe you want goh”.