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Is Corporal Punishment relevant to curb indiscipline in schools today?

Teacher caned and sent my daughter out of the class was the headline of The
Star newspaper on February 14, 2013. After the caning, Nur Emilia, 12, suffered
from emotional distress. She was being caned by a female teacher after failing to
complete her homework. In 20
th
century, parents are questioning the relevance of
corporal punishment in school. Teachers carry out caning in school mostly
because of indiscipline in schools. However, is corporal punishment able to solve
indiscipline in school?
Corporal punishment is the use of physical force causing pain but not wounds, as
a means of discipline. (UNICEF,1999). According to Benjamin Shmueli (2008),
corporal punishment is the hitting of a child by his parents or educators for the
sake of his education, usually with a light blow on the buttocks or hand a slap,
smack, blow, pat, or swat because the child has misbehaved or not complied
with their wishes and their instructions and did not accept their authority.
Meanwhile, discipline means the practice of training people to obey rules and
orders and punishing them if they do not, the controlled behaviour or situation
that result from this training. (Oxford Dictionary, 2010).
In Malaysia, caning is a common form of discipline in schools. (Quazi Faruque
Ahmed, 2011). Malaysian Educational Ordinance 1957 (amended 1959) allows
corporal punishments, such as caning to be meted out by school headmasters.
However, the punishments are exempted from female students. The
punishments towards male students are limited to light stroke on the palm or
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buttock lined with clothes. Poor students discipline is the main factor for teachers
to carry out corporal punishment in schools. Students are being caned because
of playing truancy, misbehaving, failing to finish homework, and vandalising
schools properties. Sadly, the indiscipline in most schools are rocketing up and
not declining rapidly after the implementation of corporal punishments.
Discipline is not the same as punishment. Real discipline is not based on force,
but grows from understanding, mutual respect and tolerance. Corporal
punishment tells students nothing about how they should behave. Furthermore,
punishment is external and does not promote or allow self-discipline to be
achieved. (National Association of School Psychology, 2006). Punishment
generally stops the behaviour for the moment but does not have positive long-
term outcomes. Thus, corporal punishment is not relevant to curtail indiscipline in
schools today.
Caning does not solve the root problem as it leaves psychological scars on the
students. As said by Prof. Chiam Heng Keng in the New Straits Times (2004),
caning only tells the child to stop whatever he has done; it does not address the
underlying problem. Teachers must understand the reasons for the students to
misbehave. If teachers do not understand the origin of the problem, the
indiscipline will never be solved. Besides, corporal punishment is a form of
physiological abused which is linked to a lowered sense of self-worth. (Loeb,
Horst, & Horton, 1980 as cited in Kopansky, 2002). Corporal punishment
produces emotionality, anxiety and fear in the child being punished, none of
which is conductive to good learning. (Baumrind, 1971 as cited in Kopansky,
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2002). The victims of corporal punishment especially public caning will
experience embarrassment and humiliation after the caning. After the caning,
students will feel that school has damaged their sense of dignity and self-
confidence. They feel that they are not being appreciated in the school as they
do not like the way of correcting their behaviours. Therefore, they decide to
withdraw from school as they do not find any meaning staying in the school.
United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) Representatives to Malaysia Mr.
Youssouf Oomar agrees by stating A formula of scoldings, beatings, and other
physical and psychological punishments end with the students feeling angry and
humiliated. When the students are humiliated, they have lower self-esteem and
become reluctant to attend schools which lead to drop out. Instead of solving
indiscipline in schools, the rate of social problems increased. The drop-out
students will have a higher percentage involve in drug addiction and others social
illnesses. Thus, former Education Minister Nurul Islam Nashid urged the schools
to change their perspectives to stop caning in schools.
Corporal punishment only fortifies the students negative behaviour. Prof Dr
Shamim F. Karim of Department of Psychology of Dhaka University said that
corporal punishment on students in the name of discipline at schools caused
different types of emotional outburst such as hatred, anger, anxiety and
depression in the long run. It also serves as a model for aggressive behaviour
and inappropriate ways of resolving conflict while increasing the incidence of
aggression. (Welsh, 1979; Bandura, 1962 as cited in Kopansky, 2002). For
instance, in 2000, June 24, five students set fire on the teachers room of the SM
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Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Kuala Lumpur police chief, Datuk Kamarudin Ali told the
media that the incident was most probably due to the students dissatisfaction
over corporal punishment carried out towards them. Besides, UNICEF
Representative to Malaysia, Mr Youssoff Omar explains that corporal punishment
erodes students trust in their teacher and their schools. It can lead to students
feeling disrespectful and angry towards their educators. Worst comes to worst,
students become fearless and difficult to communicate with. Students are
voiceless when they are being punished. Therefore, they have set in their minds
that in order to voice out their dissatisfaction, they must use violence. The using
of corporal punishment does not solve the indiscipline in schools because it
provokes the return of the cycle of violence which may lead to other acts of
violence, such as vandalising school property and bullying.
Society of Adolescent Medicine (1992) states that the use of corporal punishment
in schools promotes a very precarious message that violence is an acceptance
phenomenon in our society. It encourages the students to resort to violence
because they see their authority figures or parents using it. Students have the
nature of imitating the actions of their teachers. In their eyes, it is normal to cane
someone when their actions irritate them. Then, students will start to fight and
cane each other if they cannot get their words faster enough. Thus, the cycle of
violence continues and there is no end of indiscipline in schools. According to the
United Nations World Report on Violence against Children, lessons in violence
have little positive disciplinary value, teaching students that violence is an
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acceptance solution when dealing with problems. Therefore, corporal punishment
is unable to restrain the indiscipline in schools today.
In order to solve indiscipline in schools, good schools should be established. A
good school enables children to become compassionate, responsible, creative
and thoughtful individuals. Most importantly, a good school goes beyond the
elimination of corporal punishment. (Nakar & Sekitoleko, 2009). A good school
promotes positive discipline. Positive discipline is a different way of guiding
children. It helps children learn self-discipline without fear. (Nakar & Sekitoleko,
2009). It involves giving children clear guidelines for what behaviour is
acceptable and them supporting them to abide to these guidelines. It provides
children with an opportunity to understand their mistakes and appreciate how
appropriate behaviour can bring them positive experiences and opportunities.
Ample supplies of counsellors are needed in order to set up good schools.
Counsellors are the one who can promote self-management and as well as
anger control. They are the right persons who can guide students to the bright
side. Besides, counsellors use psychological approach and not physical
approach. Psychological approach is more effective to inculcate discipline as
they solve the roots of the problem. When students understand their mistakes
and accept that it is their fault, that indiscipline action will not be repeated. It
shows how effective psychological approach than physical approach such as
caning to inculcate discipline.
In addition, enthusiastic teachers are needed in order to maintain discipline
among students. Enthusiastic teachers who present their material in stimulating,
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meaningful ways motivate students. (Curwin & Mendler, 1999). When students
are actively learning content that has personal meaning for them, they have
neither the time nor the energy to create discipline problems. Enthusiastic
teachers who can easily flow from one method of teaching to another are able to
maintain the discipline of the students without the using of caning. In order to
maintain classroom control, effective communication skills are crucial. With good
interpersonal skills, teachers can give enough attention to every student in the
class. Students will feel that they are valuable in their teachers eyes. Then, they
will give full cooperation to their teachers. A positive learning environment is set
up which enable teachers easily to motivate students. In addition, motivated
students cause fewer discipline problems because they care what they are
learning. (Curwin & Mendler, 1999). In short, caning is not necessary being carry
out in school.
According to educational experts who oppose the use of corporal punishment,
use of positive techniques reduces the frequency and extent of misbehaviour.
(Human Right Watch, 1999 as cited in Busienei, 2012). Positive techniques or
positive reinforcements are rewarding students in a variety simple ways. A
teacher can praise a student in front of the students classmates, awarding
special certificates to children who perform well and writing positive comment in a
childs exercise book. By using this method, children who do not do well will be
motivated to do better next time. Therefore, they will pay attention during the
class besides their discipline in the classroom is maintained. In short, positive
reinforcement can help to improve the students academic performances and
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discipline in classroom. This proves that caning is not necessary to be carried out
in school.
National Association of School Psychologists suggests that school should
provide school-based consultation to parents on effectively managing child
behaviour. Home is the first place where their behaviour is being shaped.
Parents are the role model for their children at home. If parents instil discipline in
them, they will not cause any discipline problems in school. The lack of parental
involvement in the education of their children is cited by teachers as one of the
major causes of current classroom disciplinary difficulty. Therefore, parents
involvement to solve the indiscipline is important. This can only happen when the
relationship between parents and teachers is strong. In order to strengthen the
rapport, schools can establish Parents and Teachers Association (PTA). In this
association, parents are involved in any decision-making about school issues
affecting them and their children, including the development and implementation
of educational goals and disciplinary rules. By this way, parents know their
children behaviour in school and will make a step to improve their children
discipline. Thus, corporal punishment can be demolished in school.
Last but not least, corporal punishment is not the only way to promote discipline
in schools. Giving up corporal punishment does not mean giving up discipline.
(Save the Children, 2001). When teachers prefer disciplining students in positive,
non-violent ways, they learn that conflict can be resolved without violence. This
makes schools become a place for students to discover the kind of person they
want to be not a place where violence is used to correct their behaviours.
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Teachers are students idols and role models not the person students fear for.
Eliminating corporal punishment and substitutes with psychological approach
definitely can produce a safe and productive learning environment in schools.
Thus, schools are the perfect place to mould out holistic students. (1742 words)