Teachers union should support corporal punishment ban in Guyana

Dear Editor,

I am hoping that the Guyana Teachers Union soon sees it fit to support the call from various sections of our society for the total ban of corporal punishment in our schools.

For many years as a teacher and headmaster in schools in four regions of Guyana, I was a part of the system in which the cane was accepted as the most effective instrument of penalty for transgressions by students. This was so because teachers saw it as the fastest and most accessible method, which was tolerated by parents because for the most part they themselves knew no other means of discipline. This was also so because many teachers were unqualified and did not have the benefit of formal training at the training college which included a course on educational psychology.

We all know of the many inherent dangers in the use of this inhumane method, physically and emotionally, both in the short and long term, including immediate personal trauma and physical injury, destructive attitude toward the teacher, the school and the society at large, development of an angry disposition, absenteeism and drop-out, low self-esteem and depression.

I now feel that the time is long overdue when the cane should have been cast aside, and all the relevant agencies should now join in exploiting techniques which must also form a part of the curriculum of our teacher-training college. I now suggest some of these which can be implemented: Provide direct instruction to students in social skills, and reinforce this with teacher feedback, and other self-esteem enhancing activities; Devise a system to apply logical consequences that will teach students personal responsibility for their actions, for example, losing the privilege of participating in special school activities; Consider the use of time out, which may allow students to learn to take control of their actions and, ultimately, in conjunction with instruction in social skills, to cease their undesirable behaviour; Employ problem-solving classroom meetings and/or school assemblies with honest discussion of problems to encourage student ownership of and responsibility for solutions; Maintain a system of ready communication with parents; Establish contractual agreements that clearly outline consequences with students and their parents to enhance the development of self-control behaviour; Develop a system of referring students to a counsellor, social worker and/or psychologist at the local or intermediate level and coordinate services with Social Welfare personnel.

I can almost guarantee that these methods will not only make whipping redundant, but will go a long way towards building a most convivial atmosphere in our schools.

Yours sincerely,

Roy Paul

New York