Dear Editor,
THE subject of corporal punishment is proving to be controversial in Guyana, for several reasons. One is that the definition of corporal punishment is different for each individual, for example, some would call it child abuse and others would say it’s a necessary practice in order to teach discipline to schoolchildren. However, history can teach us so much if we could just allow our minds to stay open for a moment and critically look at what once was, and maybe it would shed some light on this debate of whether to abolish corporal punishment from schools in Guyana or not.
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, power-driven machines replaced hand labour for making mainly manufactured items. Factories began to spring up all over the place, first in England and then in the United States. The factory owners established a new source of labour to run their machines, and that was children. Operating the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired a lot cheaper than adults, and posed no threat of forming or being a part of unions. Children had always worked, particularly in farming, but, factory work was extremely laborious. In those days, a child with a factory post might work 12 to 18 hours a day, six days a week, to earn a dollar. Many children began working before the age of seven, tending machines in spinning mills or hauling heavy loads. The factories were often clammy, gloomy, and dirty. A quantity of children worked in the dark claustrophobic underground coal mines. The working children had no time to play or to go to school, and practically no time to rest. These harsh conditions often caused them to become sick, and with little or no medical attention, a lot of them died. By the year 1810, over 2 million school-aged children were labouring away at 50- to 70-hour weeks. The majority came from very underprivileged families, and when the parents then could not support their children any longer, they every so often turned them over to a mill or factory owner. A prominent glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire to contain the boys and prevent them from trying to escape, and might I add that these were boys under 12, who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night.
After decades of advocacy from church groups, and spirited activism from conscientious people who somehow innately understood that what was happening to these children was wrong, managed to force Great Britain to pass laws regulating child labour. Now, would we as a people advocate in favour of our government to allow corporations to use child labour once again, because it can help to boost our economy? I believe we as Guyanese should examine the realities of the consequences that come from not properly caring for our children in a manner that is conducive to free thinking and the type of environment that would enable unhindered learning.
The debate on corporal punishment in Guyana is generally blurred around whether corporal punishment is discipline and/or abuse. Hitting a child with an open hand on the buttocks or extremities with intent to discipline without leaving a bruise or causing physical harm can be considered spanking. Physical abuse usually is defined to encompass corporal punishment that is harsh and excessive, involves the use of objects (e.g., belts, wooden whips, and paddles), is directed to parts of the body other than the extremities, and causes or has the potential to cause physical harm. According to the child abuse statistics, it should be difficult for anyone who would like the best for any child to support corporal punishment as a means of teaching discipline to schoolchildren. Eighty percent of prisoners in the United States were abused as children or raised in abusive homes. The more children are beaten in any form, the more anger they report as adults, the more they are to use beating on their own children, the more likely they are to approve of beating or hitting a spouse or partner, and the more marital conflict they experience as adults. Children who are beaten frequently at age three are more likely to be aggressive when they’re five, even when you account for probable perplexing factors. Signs of aggression include behaviours such as arguing or screaming; cruelty, bullying or meanness to others; destroying things; fighting and frequently with classmates or friends; threatening people. The evidence would show that even minor forms of corporal punishment increase the risk for a child aggressive behaviour. Actions causing pain such as beating a child can acquire a positive value rather than the intended aversive value. Children who are expecting pain may actually search for it through escalating misbehaviours. Corporal punishment is no more effective as a long-term strategy than other approaches, and the reliance on corporal punishment as a disciplinary approach makes other disciplinary strategies less effective to use over time. I am positive that if there were more research done or available in Guyana on corporal punishment and its long-term effects on children, the findings might be unsettling for most to digest.
His Excellency President David Granger stated, “Look for the causes to meaningfully address domestic violence.” Those were the words of President Granger as he addressed the people attending a workshop held at the Marriott Hotel to tackle domestic violence in Guyana. An overwhelming body of research now shows that even mild and moderate corporal punishment has harmful side effects. Documented negative effects of corporal punishment that reach into adulthood include mental health issues, criminal behaviours and aggression. Given that children learn relationship skills and social behaviours in the home and mostly at school, it is not surprising that those who witness or experience corporal punishment are more likely to perpetuate those patterns in adulthood.
In fact, some research has found a direct correlation between the level of abuse experienced by mothers and the beliefs of primary school children about the intrinsic dominance of men in society. Research also suggests that, by adolescence, children who have experienced corporal punishment or witnessed often acts of aggravated physical outburst from figures of authority often have trouble trusting others and forming healthy, intimate relationships. This leads young people to question whether they would be able to have control over their aggression and become non-aggressive spouses, friends, or peers. Violent forms of physical domestic abuse of all kinds happen daily in Guyana, and thousands of people have died and even more are suffering from the psychological scars which live on for generations. Yet we are still debating if the use of force and aggression in our schools should be maintained and upheld.
A growing public concern and strong research evidence supporting the negative impacts of corporal punishment to children has led 35 countries to ban corporal punishment in the past 30 years. People are not saying that teaching is uncomplicated, yet as teachers, parents and caregivers, it is incumbent on you to guide our children’s behaviour towards being the best human beings they can be.
This brings me to highlighting some important characteristics of a positive environment, where an alternative approach towards discipline can be developed. Teachers could start inculcating strategies to:
* as an interim measure, identify and use non-violent disciplinary measures such as detention
* collaborate with all stakeholders to find long-term solutions that develop our children’s own self-discipline;
* build mutually respectful relationships between teacher and child;
* frequently promote non-violence and respect for children as learners;
* involve at all times clear communication of teachers expectations, rules and boundaries;
* work on increasing children’s competence and confidence to handle challenging situations;
* impress on children the importance of courtesy, non-violence, empathy, self-respect, human rights and respect for others.
Abdel Fudadin
