Durban - A prominent educationist has called on teachers to reassert their authority – short of corporal punishment.
Drawing from the basic principles of the practice could help alleviate the problems of poor discipline among pupils, said National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa president, Basil Manuel.
He spoke at a conference examining violence in schools on Tuesday, hosted by the union.
“We have an uncanny ability to romanticise the past. We act as though, in days gone by, everything was hunky-dory. But we fail to remember that in the Victorian era, children worked in coal mines. The situation was far worse.”
He said in abolishing the practice, authorities had “thrown out the proverbial baby with the bath water”.
“Assertive discipline, without having to resort to physical punishment, was the order of the day. Teachers also led by example. We need to return to these kinds of practices.”
Manuel said teachers in the past never sat and taught, and their desks were often on platforms at the front of the class, giving them an immediate air of authority.
“Why do teachers sit down nowadays? If a head of department or the principal walks past the classroom, they can quickly throw the cellphone they’ve been playing with under the desk into the drawer.”
Manuel continued: “Do you think pupils don’t notice? How do you correct them if you are guilty of wrongdoings?”
He said that teachers needed to take the feelings of pupils into consideration.
“If you embarrass a child to discipline him, you win momentarily but, because you have injured him, he will seek revenge.”
Manuel said private corrections to behaviour were the hallmark of a good teacher.
“While the idea of ubuntu is attractive, many parents do not appreciate having someone else discipline their children.”
He added: “I often say that I would like to meet the parents so I can forgive the children.”
He slammed the practice of covert corporal punishment, where children were pinched in areas not visible to others or verbally bullied into submission.
“This and the rise in sexual abuse inflicted by teachers is not much different to corporal punishment. It also breaks the spirit of children.”
Manuel said if schools employed a set of rules and guidelines, teachers would know what to do in the event of a misdemeanour and this would speed up the disciplinary procedures.
The Department of Education had been asked to give its input in 24 expulsion cases since the beginning of last year.
Provincial education department head Dr Nkosinathi Sishi said when the incidents were referred to him, a substantial amount of time had elapsed from when the offence had been committed.
Manuel said the long wait detracted from the impact of the decision.
The department could also not say how many disciplinary complaints – or those relating to the abuse of teachers by pupils – schools in the province had received.
Another speaker, Dellarose Bassa of Durban Girls’ Secondary, said good manners and behaving professionally were timeless practices.
“Show up fully. Be there. No matter how much they lack in knowledge, they know commitment when they see it.”
Daily News