Saamoohyapaadam

Teacher – The Change Maker

Teacher – The Change Maker

As per news paper reports and issues being reported to our helpline there is increased number of physical violence inflicted by teachers on their students. There have been cases of cruel punishments meted out by teachers to students for miss behavior and children have been hospitalized. Latest in the line is the sad demise of a first standard child whose head was smashed on the wall by the teacher in Nalgonda district in Telangana for not doing homework.

Many of our teachers sadly try to be authoritarian instead of being authoritative. Being authoritarian means wielding power unilaterally to control someone, demanding obedience without giving any explanation for why one's orders are important. Being authoritative on the other hand means demonstrating control, but doing so relationally through listening and explaining. Unfortunately our teaching techniques are shrinking to make fear on students to get control over them. They always bring into play ‘stick’ as a mean to craft fear on students.

 Together with increased cruelty we can also note a lack of ability among teachers in handling newly rising up issues among children. It is either cruel punishments or total neglect of children due to fear of legal actions for physical punishments. The teachers are simply unaware and incompetent to deal with children’s problems. They fail in eliciting discipline and respect from children. In the current scenario there is an increasing need for wholesome educators who can address not only the intellectual but also the psychological, emotional, physical needs and ensure wholesome development of the child. The teacher needs to be a parent also.

 The classroom runs on interactions between and among participants: the relationship between the student and the teacher and the relationships of students with one another. These relationships and their value emotionally, instrumentally, and psychologically are fundamental supports to the value of their experience in the classroom setting for furthering development.

Here are some suggestions for teachers:

•     Remember the position you are in because you are the one who has something to teach the student, not the other way around.
•     Be respectful of your student while you also remember that your student needs you to remain in the teacher role.
•    Allow yourself to be a mentor.
• Develop a relationship with every child and note the behavioral changes and intervene timely to help children.
• Your presence with the children during intervals and lunch break can clearly avoid lots of ‘bad elements’
• Seek out creative ways of eliciting discipline and respect instead of the old ‘fear is the key ‘concept.
• Become aware of your verbal and non-verbal communication.
• Get to know the family background of the children and intervene with the family with suggestions to improve the child’s growth as you are more with the child on week days than their parents.

 There is an urgent need to improve the system of teacher training and also educational system which still caters to the child’s intellectual needs and nothing else.

All in a Day

The Times of India carried three different cases of violence against children on the 23^rd of October 2014. A 80 year old man raped a 12 year old girl in Palluruthy, Kochi. The second news was about another 12 year old girl who was brutally tortured and killed by her own father for opposing his illicit relation with a woman. Her own minor brother and the minor son of father’s paramour helped in the gruesome act. The girl’s head was shaved off, she was tortured, suffocated, killed and was left on the railway track to wipe out all evidence. The third news was that of a 36-year-old man was arrested by police for raping a 11-year-old girl who happened to be the daughter of his friend. The man also has a child who is of same age as that of the survivor.

Why this inhuman behavior towards helpless children? Not even animals will do such acts towards their own young ones. What is happening to our society?  There is not a single day in Kerala without sexual abuse of children being reported. There is no age bar and most of the victims are known to the perpetrator.  The shadow of child abuse lasts a life time as we all know. It is killing the personality of an individual.

A comprehensive approach is necessary to address this malady. From our experience the following actions need to be initiated most urgently:

1.    Education that is comprehensive from childhood to every individual. Psycho-sexual evaluation and help to grow up normally with sex education in curriculum from young age.

2.    Controlling laws for access to media from childhood. Age appropriate materials to be provided

3.    Stringent and immediate punishment for offenders

4.    Children to be given awareness classes on abuse from early childhood. It needs to be part of the curriculum.

5.    Availability of adult contents to be regulated by laws.

6.    Age appropriate media exposure to children.

7.    Mental health assessment from childhood and wholesome education involving family and school.

Let us work together for a society which will allow children their space and let them grow gracefully.