|
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Oledan: Ripples
By Radzini Oledan
Slice of Life
GONE are the days when corporal punishment is practiced in educational institutions.
Or so we thought, until the incident when a young girl died after she was made to eat pencil shavings by her teacher.
Apparently, she was not only one who was victimized by the severe form of punishment as testified by another student.
Corporal punishment is prohibited in public and private schools.
Article 233 of the Family Code states: "The person exercising substitute parental authority shall have the same authority over the person of the child as the parents. In no case shall the school administrator, teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental authority inflict corporal punishment upon the child."
The Public Schools Service Manual of 1992 specifies that corporal punishment by a teacher, imposing tasks as a penalty, and meting out any cruel and unusual punishment are forbidden and are a cause for dismissal while the Manual of Regulations for Private Schools (section 75, article XIV) (1992) prohibits cruel or physically harmful punishment.
No doubt there are enough legal mechanisms that will put in place the eradication of this form of punishment but it is not enough to put an end to abuse.
The perspective from officials of the DepEd underline the thought that while the behavior of some children may be trying to ones patience, teacher are expected to look into the possible cause of their misbehavior and to act accordingly.
This means that teachers should consider conferring with parents of misbehaving children as first recourse rather than a first remedy.
Teachers' own personal problems, emotional outbursts or psychological baggage should in no way affect their mode of disciplining their pupils.
However, it may not be enough for DepEd to condemn the teacher who used corporal punishment leading to the death of her student nor warn other teachers against using severe forms of punishment.
Building a truly Child Friendly School System where children would be able to enjoy an optimal learning environment requires improving the school, family and community conditions in which children live, are educated and socialized.
It also challenges the DepEd to provide support systems for teachers who faces abnormal and stressful condition of handling a class composed of 50 to 70 students.
In this equation, punishing the erring teacher may be important but the DepEd should not also neglect the environmental factors, which both poses a hazard to students and pupils alike.
Aside from the subject expertise, the recent incident should also point to the need for teachers to be trained on how to keep order in the classroom as their first professional skill.
It also underline the need to switch from a school system based on prohibitions and punishment to one based on sharing.
This of course should involve the whole community where stakeholders agree on the systems and procedures, as well as one where dialogue is encouraged and values are emphasized aside from the obsession to fill the head of the child with knowledge.
Encouraging dialogue, making compromises and adopting values is one possible way. Teachers must act as mediators, but resources are needed to do that.
In many ways, schools are microcosm of our society where social problems such as the lack of communication, poverty, marginalization, intolerance and loss of values proliferates.
These teachers have been products of an educational system that does not give premium in teaching children to actively think and reason.
It's the same feudal culture, which pushed students to follow the orders of their teachers even if it means eating pencil shavings.
It's the same mediocre culture which tolerates small budgetary allocation for education leading to teachers handling a huge number of students than they could and of school administrators taking on the task that should be performed by psychologists and social workers.
The death of one student signifies a breakdown in our civil behavior and sociability as exemplified not only by the skewed value of the teacher involved in the case but more importantly of our national officials.
There are ripples everywhere.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 28, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
