Dear Editor,
According to the Oxford Dictionary, discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience. Unfortunately, too many people here in Jamaica seem content to deal only with the latter part of this definition, and they seem to think that corporal punishment is the most effective way to administer discipline. The first part of this definition is where I strongly believe the focus should be. It is the failure to administer effective training which often leads to the need to punish.
In essence, the trainee is being punished for the incompetence of the trainer. For this reason I strongly object to corporal punishment, especially if it is administered by people who are not the child's parents.
In his letter of December 11, 2012, Norman Edmonson seemed to suggest that opponents of corporal punishment are encouraging students to misbehave at school, and that the removal of such punishment is a significant contributor to the increase in criminal activity across the country. I am sure there is no empirical evidence to support his claim, but this is how some people approach problem solving. Problems can be solved by giving a few "licks", without bothering to investigate the root cause.
I would suggest to Mr Edmonson that it is not the removal of corporal punishment that is creating or contributing to social decay. It is the failure of parents to perform their duties responsibly. Parenting involves teaching the basic golden rules of love, respect, appreciation, gratitude, obedience, responsibility and dignity, all of which demand unwavering patience and consistency. Parenting is a full-time job, and that is where some of us are failing our children. Many parents have neither the time nor the patience to devote to their children.
I am in total agreement with the Ministry of Education to end corporal punishment in schools, especially flogging a child for not learning. I would implore all of us parents to be more responsible and do our best to prevent our children from being menaces to society, and surely corporal punishment must be considered to be the very last option. I received many floggings as a child and I do not see where it has helped me positively. It made me angry and more defiant, and I'm sure it has the same effect on a lot of other children.
Alva Roy Belnavis
alvabelnavis@hotmail.com
Corporal punishment must be the last option
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According to the Oxford Dictionary, discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience. Unfortunately, too many people here in Jamaica seem content to deal only with the latter part of this definition, and they seem to think that corporal punishment is the most effective way to administer discipline. The first part of this definition is where I strongly believe the focus should be. It is the failure to administer effective training which often leads to the need to punish.
In essence, the trainee is being punished for the incompetence of the trainer. For this reason I strongly object to corporal punishment, especially if it is administered by people who are not the child's parents.
In his letter of December 11, 2012, Norman Edmonson seemed to suggest that opponents of corporal punishment are encouraging students to misbehave at school, and that the removal of such punishment is a significant contributor to the increase in criminal activity across the country. I am sure there is no empirical evidence to support his claim, but this is how some people approach problem solving. Problems can be solved by giving a few "licks", without bothering to investigate the root cause.
I would suggest to Mr Edmonson that it is not the removal of corporal punishment that is creating or contributing to social decay. It is the failure of parents to perform their duties responsibly. Parenting involves teaching the basic golden rules of love, respect, appreciation, gratitude, obedience, responsibility and dignity, all of which demand unwavering patience and consistency. Parenting is a full-time job, and that is where some of us are failing our children. Many parents have neither the time nor the patience to devote to their children.
I am in total agreement with the Ministry of Education to end corporal punishment in schools, especially flogging a child for not learning. I would implore all of us parents to be more responsible and do our best to prevent our children from being menaces to society, and surely corporal punishment must be considered to be the very last option. I received many floggings as a child and I do not see where it has helped me positively. It made me angry and more defiant, and I'm sure it has the same effect on a lot of other children.
Alva Roy Belnavis
alvabelnavis@hotmail.com
Corporal punishment must be the last option
-->