The traditional ‘dunce cap sit-in-the-corner’ punishment was the classic from the days of Dickens 
to perhaps the 1960s. It was not so long ago that six of the best was the Etonian equivalent 
of public school chastisement. It made a man out of you, they said, and an assembly flogging 
(the next step was expulsion) had to be taken like a man because you could not let 
the House down by whimpering even as the cane flexed and the school watched.

That scenario has changed. Today’s teachers, parents and psychologists are a great deal more careful about the framework of punishment. But even today, in the new environment, there would be those who would opt for the swipe rather than the humiliation of verbal insult, the immature parading of children in front of their peers with the sort of notes KT carried in its report yesterday. Making children feel small and offending their sensibilities cannot be an answer. How then do you control a class of forty odd students who are full of energy, rowdy, disobedient, often exhausting, themselves rude and ill-mannered?

We share with you a wide range of responses from parents who have an important role to play but tend to come on stage only after the plot has unravelled. Yet, so afraid are they of school retribution that hardly any would give their real names.

---

Happened to his kid…

I am not at all shocked hearing this news since I have experience with my kid from the same school in the last academic year as a student of Class 7T.

Somewhat similar tagging of the entire class as ‘naughty’, ‘noisy’ and the entire class being punished due to the naughtiness of three to four students. Many times they were punished by not being given a chance to participate in talent shows, etc.

The children did not tell their parents about several types of punishment like this. They keep it secret so as to avoid being ashamed of themselves in front of the parents.

Please, please do not impose such punishments to the children of age 11-12. It hurts them. We can understand the efforts the school is taking in grooming these children to have better personalities. From a layman’s view I should say that this is not the way to get there. - A Parent of Former 7 T Class...

---

Tip of the conduct iceberg

The story brought to light about the distressing occurrence in the glorified school catering to the Indian community is highly appreciated. That, too, for bringing the matter up on the front page of your paper needs to be commended.

Random and surprise mystery inspection and surveillance cameras at schools probably can curb this kind of misbehaviour of education providers. - R Smile

---

Start good behaviour 
at home

Definitely not supporting this, but just imagine: both the parents together can’t control their child, but still they expect a stranger teacher to control a class of 38-40 children! Good behavior should be taught from home if you expect teachers to mould them.

The teaching profession is the lowest paid ‘Professional Job’ all over the world. And it’s the only job were you have to work 20 hours a day (i.e. taking unfinished work back home to meet deadlines). Most of the schools don’t provide visa, HR allowance, air ticket, overtime allowance, etc to 75 per cent of teaching staff. And salaries are set around Dh2,500 per month, which was set by MoE 20 years back, which has not been revised as per the cost of living. - Teachers-SHJ

---

Students are to blame

What kind of person becomes a teacher? A person who loves kids. A person who genuinely enjoys spending time with children will become a middle-school teacher.

So what turns these teachers into individuals who punish students in such a degrading manner? Let me answer that question for you: the students who repeatedly mock the teacher and disturb the peace and sanctity of the classroom.

These students are so sheltered by the protection of their busybody parents and media that they are allowed to handle those who deal with them in any way they want. Students are actually bullying teachers. Imagine that!

We can judge such punishments when we handle that class ourselves. Until such time, we must pacify ourselves with the fact that today’s 11 and 12 year olds are not beacons of innocence, nor are they embodiments of purity.

So long as corporal punishment and hitting students is avoided, I think that punishments like tagging students as “useless” is acceptable. Think about it: the kid won’t wear that badge for one whole semester. After one afternoon, his dignity is regained. He will try his best to never receive such a punishment ever again.

Is it negative reinforcement? Yes it is. But is it also necessary for certain brats? Yes.

This is coming from a former student from IHS, who set a far less than exemplary benchmark in terms of discipline while in school. Perhaps if such measures were taken in my lower classes, we could have had a higher pass percentage in the higher classes. - Former student on email

---

Truly a shame

It is really a shame to give such punishment to this poor boy. The boy must be called in private, with love and care he should be questioned about what his problems are, what his condition at home is, is he facing any difficulties in his home so as to bring bad results. Or is he having any other personal problems himself?

Good counseling with tender care is to be shown. Only goodness can bring the new young generation back on the right track. Just because the teachers have authority they cannot do anything and everything to humiliate a tender mind. - Vincy P

---

Twitter pique

I ask have any of the troubled parents ever classed a whole class of boys that age? I would suggest first go and see for yourselves how your little angels behave for the teacher to take such a step. This is a wake up call for parents to teach their sons to behave in public, because if the boys don’t learn now they never will. And, please, boys are so tough this will only make them remember and laugh about the great school days they had. - On Twitter from 
Unicorn_5000

---

Blaming the parents

It’s very sad that the whole thing is blown out of proportion. I think instead of blaming the school management, the parents should discipline their children. I do agree that labelling a student as ‘useless’ is a very wrong thing, but not punishing a student is not the solution. This will just make students believe that no one in the school can correct them. Parents are neglecting their children. I myself am an ex-student of Indian High School and I believe that such an incident is taking place for the first time. The sad part is parents don’t want teachers to shout or scold their children but want them to be disciplined, and parents themselves aren’t advising their children on right and wrong. The teachers and the parents have a lot to reproach with themselves. - Name Witheld

---

Wild kids can be 
a nuisance

My son is also in the ‘most wildest’ class in his school. The teachers have patience and they really try their level best to bring these so-called ‘wild kids’ under control. But a tag is not called for! The scars remain forever and instead of becoming “useful” the child becomes completely “useless”. - Hinasham2000

---

Give over, no big deal

In my view you have to discipline [for being] naughty, noisy, not behaving properly in class, and if the entire class is punished then it will not have negative effects on children. These kinds of punishments - putting hands up and very, very mild punishments - why are people are making so much noise? In our days this was the mildest. - Karan