In
Guyanese society it is clear that despite the information that has been presented about the detrimental effects of beating our children, many people are of the opinion because they grew up being beaten, it is acceptable to repeat the same; a culture of ‘we know best’ in the face of policies and laws contrary to that practice. Despite the controversy that surrounds the questions of whether parents should beat their children, it must be acknowledged there is a huge difference between controlled physical reprimand and the use of physical violence as an abuse of power.
When we wonder where all the violence we are seeing in society is coming from, we don’t have to look further afield than in many of our homes and schools. Think about the message that is being sent to our children. We advocate expressing anger, disappointment and dislike by use of violence. Despite the laws criminalising beating in schools, and the prosecution of some identified cases, the practice still continues on what is believed to be a huge scale. Teachers do not have the right to beat any child.
No disrespect is intended to the teachers out there that put their heart and soul into a very difficult and trying profession, but not only the legal side of beating in schools but the actual effect on the child has to be considered before they continue to practice an age old tradition just because they can.
Do you know how many learning difficulties children are fighting with? Have you any idea what a child faced this morning before getting to school? Do you know how many students did not eat breakfast this morning or supper last night causing concentration and attention span to be limited? Do you have an inclination of the difficulties some young people face on a daily basis and still find a way to make it to school? How can it be acceptable to beat a child for spelling a word incorrectly, not writing fast enough or not finishing their work?
Can you imagine what it must be like for a dyslexic child who struggles to read and write, a child dealing with abuse or a child with learning difficulties? Not all children learn and produce work at the same pace; it irrefutably is not a punishable crime. I am certainly not ready to allow someone who has little understanding of my circumstances to raise their hand to my child, especially if it is because they failed to get over 90 per cent in a test.
A psychological link between school work and punishment creates a negative environment in which many will fail to thrive and can lead to persistent truanting, which transcends to a whole set of other problems. Who wants to ask a teacher for help with work after being beaten for not knowing something?
Many of you grew up with such discipline and I have heard a thousand times how it never did you any harm. In fact many believe it is what instilled the respect for elders that is so apparently lacking in the youth today. I challenge that many of the older people who bring up the youth today are a contributing factor to the lack of respect and some elders’ attitudes certainly do not always warrant it. We do not have the right to respect, we need to earn it and to earn it we need to contribute to bringing up the young people in a way that makes them want to respect us.
Unfortunately, several of the rights given to children have had an adverse effect on their behaviour, but the capacity for people in authority to abuse their power has to be restricted and the badly behaved children may be given a free ride to ensure that those who are unable to regulate fair reprimand do not have the freedom to execute dictatorial practices.
The laws cannot always be enforced due to lack of resources so each individual must take responsibility and ensure that they refrain from the practice and ensure their colleagues do the same. Head teachers must insist that this abuse of power is not tolerated in their school. New ways of disciplining and punishing pupils who are disrespectful, aggressive and non-compliant must be employed. Parents need to speak up. If your child misbehaves in school, you deal with it in an appropriate manner, liaise with the teacher and work hard to ensure it isn’t repeated.
It’s long overdue that children’s rights were afforded them.
