Of those ‘broken adults’
It saddens my family and me beyond words to think that after four years there is still a need for a campaign to abolish corporal punishment in our schools.
What is wrong with our school system? What is wrong with our teachers? Indeed, what is wrong with a society that permits the future of Bangladesh to be mercilessly beaten at the whim of a teacher? Surely those who teach in our classrooms must have sort degree of intelligence and compassion they can engage for the few hours they are in the classrooms each day to prevent the unnecessary damage, pain, hurt and suffering to the most vulnerable members of our society?
We whole-heartedly agree with respected foreign friend of Bangladesh Sir Frank Peters when he says ‘the damaged children of today are the broken adults of tomorrow’.
Corporal punishment to children owes its roots to tradition and religion gift-wrapped in ignorance. It’s the curse that’s been handed down from generation to generation without anyone pausing long enough to ask why and seeking a better way to discipline a child.
Those who relied upon the adage ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ for justification of their despicable behaviour towards our weakest, most vulnerable members of society, have been proved wrong.
As Sir Frank points out, in Hebrew the word “rod” is the same word used in Psalms 23:4, ‘thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.’ The shepherd’s rod/staff is his tool of trade used to encourage, guide, and discipline the sheep towards taking a desired direction, not to beat, hurt or damage them.
If we want to build a society that we can enjoy in our old age (and escape from the misery now outside our doors), it’s best we begin now by protecting the architects who will ultimately design our utopia. Teachers who give children corporal punishment should be fired, jailed or both so we can all reap great benefit in the future.
Dr. Raju Sattar and Family
Farmgate, Dhaka.
