Pleased that corporal punishment in schools is on its way out

Oct 27, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
I was extremely pleased today having read that the new administration quote, “intent to completely eradicate the practice of corporal punishment within schools” (Hon Minister Dr Rupert Roopnarine). Editor you will recall, I wrote on the issues surrounding corporal punishment extensively in the past couple of years and I am finally delighted that the Education Minister will demonstrate leadership on the abolishment of the root cause to many of Guyana’s problems in our schools.
Research shows that when children fail to succeed, the whole school community is harmed and keeping students engaged in the classroom is fundamental to academic achievement, attainment and success. The use of punitive discipline practices that rely on suspension, expulsion and other harsh consequences, often applied disproportionately to some students, undermine the goals and positive expectations of success for all.
It is time we archive the policies of corporal punishment and seek to engage and embrace attitudes and methods from the huge list of successful alternatives. Dialogue, restorative justice, behaviour management systems, positive discipline and many more, are all tried and tested alternatives that will yield positive behaviour in schools and subsequently, the desired results and successes we all crave. It should be every teacher’s ultimate goal to focus on relationship with the student rather than content and behaviour. If the relationship is not built the content will not get through.
Positive discipline coupled with good student–teacher relationship is a comprehensive approach that uses discipline to teach rather than punish and, as a result, help students succeed and aim higher in schools. In a nutshell, what is required as a replacement for corporal punishment is for all stakeholders to be able to create a safe, supportive learning environment for all students to thrive without fear of physical abuse.
I applaud this bold step by the Hon Minister and the new government. However, the idea or thinking of establishing a central counseling body to be responsible for training and attaching counselors to each school will be costly, time consuming and tantamount to failure. Instead, every teacher can be and should be counselors in their own right by introducing behaviour management modules into the curriculum at the Cyril Potters College of Education (CPCE).
Make teacher training the start point for acquiring the skills for good classroom and behaviour management systems which can later on be followed up in schools or by the regional bodies on those In Service Teacher Training days. I have a wealth of ideas in this regards and will be willing to help further.
Brendon Mounter

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