Dear Editor,

I don’t consider myself that old, but I grew up in a time when “reward and punishment” was not just a catchy phrase; it was a distinct reality.

I had to make the effort and do my homework because if I could not produce it there would be hell to pay in class the next day. Conversely, when my teacher marked my work and I got a gold star for everything being correct there was no one in the world prouder than I.

I won’t lie and say it never crossed my mind occasionally to disrespect one or two of my teachers, but this was done only in the safety of my dreams. Even with the threat of a sound flogging, back then there were still children who misbehaved. The vast majority, however, toed the line, knowing the consequences that would flow from infractions.

With that threat now removed what does a teacher do when she asks a grade three student to pick up a patty bag he just dropped on the floor and he refuses? He is spoken to by the teacher, the principal, and his parents but does the same thing again two days later. Surely he cannot be suspended for something like this? Then when the rest of the class sees how impotent the teacher is, how does she subsequently get anyone in the class to do as instructed?

It is claimed that we are adopting best practices from the developed world in the banning of corporal punishment. They have produced studies and statistics to justify their actions, but from my experience, data can be produced to justify practically anything under the sun. The fact of the matter is that what may work flawlessly in one jurisdiction could be entirely unsuitable in another, which is what I suspect in this particular case.

The person I am today is as a result of the input of all my teachers over the years and I appreciate and thank every single one of them, both good and bad. The work of teachers today is a far cry from what it was back then, and I suspect many teachers will now just be doing the minimum to ensure they get their salary come month-end. After all, who wants to risk getting beaten up by students or their irate parents for merely trying to correct students?

I regularly hear students conversing on the streets on their way from school and the use of expletives is quite commonplace. These days it is very rare for an adult to point out to them that this is not becoming of students.

I sincerely believe the banning of corporal punishment is a retrograde step and we are already reaping some of the fruits, what with the regular attacks on teachers by students and stabbings in our schools, some of which are fatal. My generation grew up with corporal punishment and we didn’t turn out too badly.

Sometimes a teacher may get carried away and accidents happen where a child gets seriously hurt in the course of a flogging, but certainly no one believes the teacher deliberately set out to injure the child.

Robert Mitchell

Box 191

Christiana PO

Manchester

mitcib@yahoo.ca