That is the traditional approach and we all grew with it: whether at home or at school.
The Prime Minister’s recent statement had us all re-think on the issue.
In ancient times, we were told it even happened in government services. At least this generation of civil servants never had to go through it. Some of them who went through the process of caning went on to hold strong portfolios. Or so we were told.
Pain is a good learning process. Many may not agree. Many may agree. But then there is always a delicate balance that has to be indentified. It is difficult to know who was right and who was wrong.
Way back in the 1960s, teachers wielded a stick with thongs attached at the end of it. The tips were hardened, having been burned and knotted. When they whipped the erring child, it was usually on the bum.
“The bridge over waterless river” was a dreaded form of punishment. More than the pain, it was the shame of exposing your posterior to the whole school that hurt every one of the ‘culprits’.
A deterrent of the first class and still of the worst kind, one would say. It depends on who views it. Many of those who went through it at one time or the other would say it was a good way of bringing the stray sheep into the fold.
May be some would say it infringes on the human rights of an individual, even if the erring one is some one who needed to be shown the right path. And there was a report of an eight-year old, in UK, who sued his father for spanking him, a couple of years ago. Of course, it is obvious that the child may not have had the resources to move the court, but others did it for him. Great evangelists, one would say.
It is not only in this light, but many others which called for reforms that it was decided to ban the use of corporal punishment. It is and was a good measure. But not all our educators were happy with it.
The Prime Minister, both at the Education conference in Phuentsholing and also at the Educating GNH conference, emphasized that reintroducing corporal punishment may not be such a bad idea, with a certain modification. Yes, the erring children should be punished but not all in the school should have the authority to mete out the punishment. It is the principal of the school who has the authority to mete out such punishment.
We always grew up with the adage that sparing the rod always results in spoiling the child. Many of us grew up with that shadow over us, and there are still many who think that was the best solution. But with so many new fangled ideas about freedom and rights, our thoughts were considered primitive.
It may be a free world, but there are certain things like tradition and culture. Of course, we cannot say that everything has to be heaped on that vague excuse called tradition and culture. On the pretext of finding an excuse from the past precedence, we tend to forget that tradition and culture form the basis on which we all exist.
We all live today because there is a tomorrow. The experiences of yesterday and today provide us with the reason and strength to live for tomorrow.
