Punish students, to what limit?
Calm down, many people question whether the teacher's punishment was correct or not and what is the limit for punishing students?
On March 14, a teacher in Nghe An was beaten by his family, causing his nose to break for slapping a student. Before that, a teacher in Long An forced a student to kneel, causing parents to be upset and react excessively, causing a stir in public opinion.
The parents acted inappropriately. But when they calm down, many people question whether the teacher's punishment - the root of the problem - was correct or not, and what is the limit for punishing students?
Do not insult students
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A class at Pham Van Coi Primary School, Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City - One of the schools applying positive disciplinary measures. Photo: H.HG. |
MSc. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen - lecturer of psychology department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education - said that by punishing students like that, teachers did not respect the standards, ethics, and behavior of a teacher.
"Reprimand and punishment are considered an educational method. But it is the last resort when other methods are ineffective. But even if reprimand and punishment are used, the rule of not insulting the body and dignity of students must still be followed," said Ms. Huyen.
Similarly, Dr. Ngo Minh Oanh - former director of the Institute of Educational Research, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education - said that the professional standards of teachers are not to be hot-tempered, always calm, and behave properly with students.
"I think that in the process of educating children, classroom discipline is necessary but must be gentle, persistent, and patient. Before punishing students, teachers must thoroughly understand their students (family circumstances, thoughts, desires... of the students) to apply an appropriate form of education. The purpose of discipline is to help students improve, not to punish students out of hatred" - Mr. Oanh shared.
From the school's perspective, Mr. Tu Quoc Tuan - principal of Luong Dinh Cua Primary School (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) - said that at the beginning of each school year, the school implements the primary school regulations for teachers.
"Those are things that teachers are not allowed to do and then discuss educational methods, admonish students in the spirit of encouraging and helping them. I often tell teachers that if they are too upset, they should step out of the classroom for a few minutes to let their anger subside.
"When punishing students, you must be calm to look at the problem thoroughly. Punishing students will help them change, not beat them up - they may be afraid, but it's not certain that they will change," Mr. Tuan added.
According to the principal of a high school in Ho Chi Minh City, the most effective way to educate students is "positive discipline". "Students like to be praised, not criticized. Therefore, apply methods to motivate and encourage children to do better and study better" - he said.
Pressure from all sides
A primary school teacher in Ho Chi Minh City explained that he often gets "hot-tempered" with students because of "pressure from all sides".
She suggested: "Society needs to understand more about the lives of teachers today. In addition to worrying about food, clothing, rice, and money when teachers' salaries are still low, primary school teachers are forbidden from giving extra classes.
Furthermore, the biggest pressure on teachers today is to deliver a very heavy curriculum within a certain period of time. Otherwise, they will be professionally evaluated by the school board.
In some schools, teachers are impatient because the students are too weak to keep up with the curriculum and have to use the entire homeroom class period to practice writing. In such a situation, if teachers encounter weak, lazy students who do not study or do their homework and are disruptive in class, it is easy for them to get angry.
And if not controlled in time, teachers can easily have actions and words that hurt students."
Another teacher also confided that a parent suggested "the child is very stubborn, just gently touch him and he will be good" when she asked for parents' support in educating their child. "However, there are students who... are gently touched but still do not do their homework" - this teacher said.
The problem of punishing students, and how to punish them, is causing many parents to have a headache trying to find a solution.