Spare the Rod and.... ??

As school kids, we used to have major competition amongst ourselves to see who got the most raps on the knuckle for not doing homework or who stood the most number of classes being an 'outstanding' student (pun intended) or who had the most number of lines to do for playing pranks in class or who had to rum more rounds of the school for being too 'active' (read unruly) in class or whose parents got called more number of times to school or who had more notes in the diary to be signed by the parents or who had more demerits or who was made to sit out a P.T. period for wearing wrong shoes or who had to walk around the most number of times in a month for wearing wrong shoes or who was made to unhem her extremely short skirt (which meant an inch and a half above the knees).

I don't think any of us suffered physically or mentally by being disciplined. Our parents too do it at home. Which parent has never scolded his/her child or punished the child in some way or the other.

In fact, I would say that we all benefitted from this (at least we knew which teacher gave the most severe punishments and the level of pranks to play in each class). I clearly remember the time we were caught reading an MB (yes people a MILLS & BOON) in class by the teacher and our book was confiscated. We had to beg for ages for the book to be returned. I remember the number of times girls would be called out of the assemble line and were handed a safety pin for unhemming their skirts (this would then not make it obscenely short any more, as in it would cover your knees). I remember the time we got pulled up for talking in Hindi in class or the time we got pulled up for talking English during our Hindi class.I remember the time we got called to Sister Gracia's office for singing HINDI MOVIE SONGS in class (I was in Class II at that time).

Of course, we were lucky that we didn't have extremists or sadists who shoved electric rods up our ass or made us stand in the sun for hours on end or molest any of us or beat any of us to death.

However, if the new policy of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights does get implemented, the teacher will have no way to discipline the child. As children we were always told that our school was our second home and that our teacher was like our other parent, and she had all rights to scold us or tick us off. If this new policy comes into being, the teacher won't be able to even verbally tick off a student for playing the fool in the class. Besides by encouraging parents to file FIRs against teachers, the very idea goes against the concept of teaching being a noble profession. By encouraging parents to file FIRs, there will defintely arise several cases where such power would be misused by the students and parents, maybe where the student gets less marks, they file an FIR allegeing bias against the student. What is there to stop soemone from filing such a complaint? In any case, most Indian mothers are firmly of the opinion that their son can do no wrong, even if he is the gunda of the class. One remark from the teacher and parents will go filing complaints against the teachers. And what about those spoilt rich brats who need to be put in place? What is some student files a complaint stating that their fundamental rights are being infringed by being made to wear school uniforms? What if some student who did not do well in an exam and is too scared to tell his parents that, goes and says the tacher scolded him?

Teachers, as we know, mould the young minds - for which they may even require to pull up the young minds. This policy is rather extreme, in my humble opinion. If they have the right and duty to love and praise, conversely then they also have the right to criticise and scold. Taking punitive exemplary action against the sadists as mentioned earlier is defintely called for. However, taking such an extreme policy is definitely uncalled for.

Spare the rod and spoil the child or use the rod and beat the child????

What is your take?