THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Regular teachers are more than educators; not only giving the students factual knowledge, but also shaping the students in their path of life.
Great teachers do not regard themselves as teachers, but just servants of God. According to them teaching is not a mere transmission of knowledge but a labour of love to ignite young minds and charm them to brighter world; as intellectual, rulers for the future human race.
Many students consider teachers as storehouse of knowledge and look upon them respectfully as storehouse of knowledge and as guiding lights, illuminating their mind with ‘the ray of intellectual fire’.
Punishment in olden days — thank goodness not all, could give a student such a beating that would leave the students injured for the slightest wrong done by them. Many teachers had their own instrument of torture. One preferred the cane; another would borrow student’s foot ruler and break it on student’s knuckles; while a third would make a fist and bring it down on students’ head with such vehemence that would make the student’s inside turn into jelly; the fourth would turn the student’s ear clockwise as if to pluck the ear out from its head joints; if the fifth one happened to be a lady teacher, she would leave a permanent imprint on student’s cheeks with her well manicured nails drawing blood and the sixth, would inflict the pain of improvement with a slap to teach the child not to misbehave.
All such punishments were just to correct the mind of the young mischief maker in school who had blown up on the wrong path. Physical punishment by teachers on their students is now banned all over the country; but sad to say some teachers are not aware of it. The teacher who enforces corporal punishment should know that according to Indian Penal Code, “No child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment” because physical punishment amounts to cruelty and goes against the self-confidence of a child.
Whenever, teachers teach a child, with their blow of punishment in words or actions, it stays on forever in student’s heart. For example; in the student’s mind, the menacing cane in ill-tempered teacher’s hand suddenly turns into a hissing serpent which makes the teacher shout nonsensically; before stinging or hurting the student badly. The ill effects of punishment are many; the most noticeable one is ‘fear’ of corporal punishment which makes the victim child, in order to avoid the teacher, keeps away from school altogether. Yes, corporal punishment makes students feel scared, ashamed and worthless during learning and teaching process.
Nowadays, we do not make our children feel stressed with physical punishment, but we shower on them eternal truths and values through inspiring short entertaining account of incidents or stories from scriptures and folklore.
Teacher’s mission is not just to transmit knowledge, but to help create precious human race, to take care of our precious planet. I must say that school teachers who have inspired students to reach heights are often forgotten; but they have sown the seeds of success in their pupils.
