Corporal Punishment In Elementary Schools

[Simmo]

Hey just wanted to add my 2c of experience.

At the school I worked at last year I saw a lot of punishment getting dished out to the kids. It didn't seem to work much actually I'd say the opposite effect, kids throughout the year got more and more aggressive.

This was a public school about 30kms outside Hua Hin and even in the English Program I worked in where the kids parents paid a fair portion of their salarys, the kids were still occasionaly abused by their Thai teachers.

What was more disturbing was the gay Filipino teacher that would hug the boys or ask them to kiss him on the cheek.

I was branded a trouble maker when I brought this up at staff meetings. The Thai teachers and Director thought this was perfectly normal behaviour for teachers.

In my home classroom where I had the best of the students from M1 & M2, I talked with them about how it was wrong to ever hit someone. I offered to help them if they wanted to make a complaint or talk with their parents. One of the girls parents made a complaint to the school and police about one of the worst teachers and he was temporarily suspended.

Of course I was really on the outer after this episode , a leper at any staff meetings / event , though fortunately it was now towards the end of the school year. The kids thought I was some kind of hero though

Needless to say I'm not at that school anymore , I only hope the kids are getting treated better though I've heard the Filipino teacher is up to his old tricks.

[PeaceBlondie]

I agree with El Tel. If a school has a sufficiently stated policy against all corporal punishment, the Thai teachers should not be allowed to beat students, and the farang punished for slighter infractions. If the school wants to be transparent, it can publicly state, "Farang teachers no touch student; Thai teachers beat s**t out of bad student."

We flock here to teach English to Thais, who aren't being taught well enough. YOUR country's educational establishment invites farang (and then mistreates them very badly). If you don't want us, stop inviting and hiring us.

[penzman]

In a school around here, I once saw a bunch of teachers getting scolded and humiliated by the principal because a kid fell in the schoolyard. Kids and gravity... What can you do?

Ten minutes later, the same school principal was whacking a kid's hands with a ruler.

[robitusson]

I knelt on Kao kneeo

was wacked in the back of the legs

or smacked in the palm of my hands wiff a ruler

did the whole standing bit

made meeh a good student tho. Westerners lack discipline in my eyes. All this made meeh a very good student, it was not fear but just that bad things lead to consequences and thats why we were punished, its not about making kids fear, but making them learn there are consequences and better to learn at young then big ones when older.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What's a Westerner?

[sierra01]

When my son was growing up I very rarely smacked him, I preferred to shout instead. I don't think it achieves much.

If any serious discipline is needed then I would want to do it, my way, any teacher that touched my kid....start running.