Corporal punishment is a useful value

Feb 02, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
I was shocked by the headline “No place for corporal punishment in Guyana — President Granger “Kaieteur News 24/01/2016. I was also disappointed that reporters and journalists sometimes unintentionally publish inaccuracies as truth, misleading the uninformed. Most bewildering, however, is the fact that our President used a faulty folk saying to condemn a method of correction which when properly read, understood and carefully and responsibly applied, saves —not spoils- a child. The subject is corporal punishment.
1 Corporal punishment includes all forms of physical punishment applied to the body, such as the death penalty, an army’s punishment of enemy soldiers and enemy nations whose people it blasts out of existence for aggression or terrorism. It encompasses, too, stripes ordered by authorities for offenders who are judged to deserve a prescribed number, according to the laws of the particular jurisdiction.
My mind was perturbed to different degrees as I read the headline and the first paragraph of the report. The following points will explain:
1. Contrary to the reporter’s referencing of the “spare the rod…” statement to a” biblical” source, there is no such assertion in the wisdom writings of the Hebrew King Solomon, which the writer and, perhaps, the President seem to have referred to unknowingly. The collection of that king’s and his father’s words, however, does speak about not sparing to correct the child when they need correction by word or rod.
2. The report stated that the President thinks that the “rod principle “at home and in school is “ancient”.
Does something have to be modern to be wise, practicable, and beneficial? Do we throw aside something – or someone — merely because of its or his age?
3. The article also quoted the President as considering the rod-correction approach as being “backward”.
Backward by whose standards? What’s the alternative? Is it”counselling” children, providing them with only temporary positive outcomes? Will we send young offenders into interior locations, transferring the problem? Are we going to allow them to grow with their anti-social behavior, send them to prison where most are hardened, many eventually leaving not sure whether they are male or female? OR is it “backward” by other Euro American standards which permit youths to grow up improperly disciplined, eventually slaughtering parents, classmates, teachers and worshippers of a different race? Rural Africa, together with other parts of the world, where children are taught respect for life, for their fellows, parents, elders and rulers, does not have the degree of rottenness that exists in Euro America and countries such as Guyana which are being influenced by Euro America’s so called progressive, wise and democratic culture, except when outsiders infiltrate.
Please note that underlying this letter is my conviction that we must not be deceived by Euro-Americas double standards. We must not allow powerful countries to dictate our systems of correcting our children while they use corporal punishment to disfigure and destroy people of Third World countries by torture and by unleashing upon us their terrifying military might.
The inconvenient truth is that corporal punishment is alive even in some schools and many homes in Euro- America. They will tell us that it is well regulated and supervised. That’s my point: it can be well-regulated and supervised. What, therefore should Guyana’s policy in the home and at school be? I submit that parents/guardians are responsible for teaching their children right from wrong, what is acceptable and beneficial. If they cannot or do not perform that duty, other suitable individuals or institutions can help. However, parents are required to teach their children, identifying consequences of doing right or wrong. They should reward their offspring for doing what is right and correct them, according to the offence, for wrong doing.
The Ministry Of Education should supervise schools’ punishment systems regularly and professionally. If students injure others, their parents, teachers, education officials and even the police (in the more serious cases) should collaborate to bring about a fair and effective resolution. All adults should ensure that offending students understand as much as possible how the victims are suffering. Well-supervised corporal punishment is often the best instrument for that purpose. The perpetrators will be taught that they need to correct their conduct, as they experience what they inflicted on others.
Kalbre Barker

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