I am in total agreement with Michael Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett’s letter “Fear of licks hinders learning” which I read in your letter column dated Oct.05-10. I wrote about this before and will write of it again. It was a teacher who made me drop out of school.
In my case it was not about my fear of the teacher that hit me with a piece of wood causing my skin and shirt to burst.
My only fear at that time was fearing what I would do if it ever happens again so I dropped out.
A few years ago when I was in Guyana I had noticed my young nephew with brands on his hands.
I asked him to let me take a look and he said its nothing. I insisted and what I found was nothing short of horror on the child’s body.
He was severely assaulted by his teacher at St Winifred School.
I asked my brother and my sister-in-law to let’s take the child to the police and have the teacher charged.
My brother told me nothing will be done by the police and all they will say is that they went through it while they attended school too.
I took my nephew right back to his school and had a meeting with the teacher and the principal of that school.
The first thing I asked the kid if he wanted to go to school tomorrow and he said no uncle.
I then asked him why. He said he is afraid.
When the teacher was asked why she assaulted this child like that all she said was because of domestic problems. I thought this debate was done with no more questions asked and this stupid law of corporal punishment would have been laid to rest by law makers already.
Ban it now with no more questions asked.