Corporal punishment gives the wrong message
Stabroek News
March 14, 2004

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Dear Editor,

Teachers all over the country hit kids everyday.

Whenever we hit someone we teach them that violence is the solution to the problem we are having.

As a result, Guyana is now an unsafe place because our teachers have taught us to be violent. We in turn beat our wives, fight with our neighbours, choke and rob etc.

Maybe the police hit alleged criminals because they think it will make the problem go away. That was what they were taught in school.

We would like to protect our kids from these hateful acts only because we want to teach them to love, not to hate and demean others.

I see the fear in my oldest son as I remember myself as a kid. Being hit in school because I had the wrong answer left worse scars than it helped my learning. Having arrived late for school a student deserved one lash although he had nothing to do with it. His parents made him late. And many more incidents like this.

We are constantly taught to be timid and obedient, not to challenge authority. In other words we are being taught not to be creative and imaginative. Maybe we need to reconsider some of these positions which may result in us being really independent and free and joining the developed world in achieving real success.

By not speaking up against these punishments and allowing the powers that be to be evasive on this topic, we are just as guilty as the teachers. We have failed our children.

In conclusion, I do not think we should stop this madness because we signed some agreement with the rest of the world but because we care, for our kids and our future. Stop hitting the kids!

Yours faithfully,

S. Ram