It's been a while since I felt really angry. But yesterday I had a very good reason to be. One of my students was punished in such a severe manner, it nearly made me cry. There is this twenty-something guy at the school who takes care of the miscellaneous stuff like running errands. He also takes care of the discipline during the five minutes breaks between classes. He has a reputation for being tough with the children and I saw him slapping a kid on the back of the head before, but it wasn't serious. However, yesterday, I found him holding one of my 12 year old by the arms, talking to him. As it was already four minutes into the lesson time I asked the guy to let my student come into the classroom but he wouldn't. He said that the boy was not paying attention in the previous class and misbehaved. When I looked at my student's face I saw pain in his eyes, than I saw what the guy was actually doing, he was digging his thumbs into the kid's arm, inside, just below the elbow. There is a major nerve ending there which if pushed hard, causes a lot of pain and numbness. When I finally managed to take him into class, he was nearly crying and told me his arms hurt. My heart was aching. True, The kid is naughty at times but he is smart and responds to a "few words in private outside" really well.
The verdicst is; 1 it's not that guys job to evaluate and respond to the children's classroom behaviour. That's the teacher's and the manager's job. Two cruelty does not belong in schools in any form. Einstein said
"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
I agree. He too must have been angry when he said that.
2 comments:
I grew up in a society that was built on a mixture of old Victorian values, African tribal justice and Dutch Calvinists. This can all be boiled down to one simple phrase: "a clip round the ear never did me any harm".
I don't know how true that is. It certainly makes life easier to believe that - thus saving yourself from falling into a chasm of despair about your dark childhood and resulting pathology.
I guess it's all about balance. Every school I've ever known has at least one resident prick. The punisher who - when he does his job right - creates such a mystique of fear that he doesn't actually have to resort to corporal punishment. Not ideal, but I and most of my friends have a kind of Stockholm Syndrome towards these purveyors of fear. We all look back fondly on these painful encounters... not just fondly, we talk excitedly about the punishment and try and outdo each other with the level of pain experienced.
Feeling pain makes you feel alive - something the emo generation is lacks and they know it. Having said all that - this guy you're talking about just isn't qualified to be the Chief Administrator of Pain. That takes experience and timing and a sort of wisdom. His actions just seem plain hateful and wrong. It's your job to balance this hate with love - and I know you're well qualified to do that!
I grew up in a society that was built on a mixture of old Victorian values, African tribal justice and Dutch Calvinists. This can all be boiled down to one simple phrase: "a clip round the ear never did me any harm".
I don't know how true that is. It certainly makes life easier to believe that - thus saving yourself from falling into a chasm of despair about your dark childhood and resulting pathology.
I guess it's all about balance. Every school I've ever known has at least one resident prick. The punisher who - when he does his job right - creates such a mystique of fear that he doesn't actually have to resort to corporal punishment. Not ideal, but I and most of my friends have a kind of Stockholm Syndrome towards these purveyors of fear. We all look back fondly on these painful encounters... not just fondly, we talk excitedly about the punishment and try and outdo each other with the level of pain experienced.
Feeling pain makes you feel alive - something the emo generation is lacks and they know it. Having said all that - this guy you're talking about just isn't qualified to be the Chief Administrator of Pain. That takes experience and timing and a sort of wisdom. His actions just seem plain hateful and wrong. It's your job to balance this hate with love - and I know you're well qualified to do that!
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