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I teach/have taught "difficult" children. Children who did not listen. Truant children. Unmotivated children. Children whose parenting was, in some ways, practically outsourced to me b/c the parents were (understandably) tired.
Guess who made turnarounds WITHOUT being beaten?
Guess who made turnarounds WITHOUT being beaten?
And you know how that happened? B/c each child was given individualized plans and knowledge given their unique circumstances. And patience. Lots of it. It's hard. VERY hard. But seeing the kids succeed even with all their difficulty without resorting to violence? EVERYTHING.
Parents have every right to get angry if money is lost in making the investment in a child's life. But that does not make it right to beat your kid. Nope. No way.
This is why you will often see me "chook mouth" in these beating discussions, especially when it comes to students. I've seen students who attempt to climb fences out of the school in the middle of their tantrum. I have had students throw things in a classroom.
I have had students cuss at me. I've had spoiled children as students who are stubborn about getting their own way. I have had students lie to me. I have had students threaten me. I've had students skip class to smoke weed. Some students were former drug addicts.
Not once did I even think of laying a hand on them. Not. Once. The training I got and mentor teacher's direction had prepared me a lot. The administration was a different story (which was what made my job even more difficult).
I knew what I was signing up for when I got the job. My school was made up of students with mild to moderate learning differences and disciplinary issues. There were very hard days. I will not mince words. Not everyone could do my job. Not everyone could have the patience.
The administration would have made it much more bearable but they fell short. But that's a different conversation.
Point is, we saw students pull through. Some faster than others. Some will take years. But we were committed.
Point is, we saw students pull through. Some faster than others. Some will take years. But we were committed.
We need a cultural overhaul when it comes to disciplining children in Nigeria. Really. But overhauls require worldviews profoundly changing. It requires looking at the "rod of correction" verse and seeing it as metaphorical. It requires accepting that beating kids is damaging.
It requires reprogramming schools to include nonviolent deescalation practices in its training. It requires that we have youth residential homes for youth who need more intensive treatment for their severe emotional and/or behavioral problems. Like many of my students did.
It requires patience. It requires self-control. And all of these things are far too expensive, far too precious, far too much for our brief moment of catharsis that we us when we beat our children.
And so we mock. We say they are forming "woke" when they challenge the practice of beating kids. We claim we turned out okay, sharing how we'd beat our imaginary children, completely blind to the irony.
And then it then the moment will pass. Another incident where a kid was beaten will make the TL. Those who oppose will oppose. Those who don't will mock those who do.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
