YOURSAY | ‘It really takes a village to raise a child!’

COMMENT | Will Madani caning students end school violence?

Cheli Tamilselvam: When it comes to commenting on schools and education, everyone seems to have a say and claim that they have the “know-how”.

Has anyone even bothered to ask the teachers who are the ones on the ground handling all these children daily?

I have been an educator and still am for more than 40 years now, and have eaten more salt than most of you have eaten rice to speak up.

Caning cannot restore good discipline; love, respect, and care do! Adding another subject on “Character” does not solve the problem, but adds stress and anxiety amongst the teachers as an additional workload.

Schools are not prisons and rehabilitation centres; they are gardens where children grow and blossom to become who they are potentially created to be.

Bullying is not taught but caught through what children see on social media when people abuse their roles and positions and get away with it.

It is not rocket science, as they say. It is as clear as daylight! The only voice we hear when anything happens in schools is from disengaged individuals who have no clue as to what really happens in schools.

It is time to go back to basics for us as a nation.

It is time to empower students to take ownership of their own education. It is time to respect and enable teachers to do their core business in teaching well.

It is time to engage parents from the beginning of the child’s education, and it is time to enlist the authorities to come in partnership with schools to raise our children.

It really takes a village to raise a child!

MS: While last week’s horror may be explained away as “the logical conclusion of the social and political policies that define an ethnocratic kakistocracy”, we must acknowledge the pernicious role of technology, which people like American technology ethicist Tristan Harris warned against more than five years ago.

Banning children from social media really assumes that it is only as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol - vices which may be postponed till one reaches adulthood.

The fact is, these communal conduits are a lot worse - they manipulate users by shaping their thoughts and actions through the use of algorithms that encourage addiction to their platforms.

The use of ego-boosting tricks, “Followers” and “Likes”, serves as an enticing bait to keep social media addicts coming back for more.  

Given that no government has been able to regulate it and no religious injunction is possible, it really means no solution is in sight - except maybe permanent exile to a technology-free island.  

Self-regulation (by remaining tech-free for a few hours each day) may delay or minimise the spread of the digital poison waiting to seep through your phones or tablets.

Self-discipline to control the sick urge to “Forward” received content (be it canned WhatsApp wisdom, corny jokes, racial/religious foolishness, or even re-forwarding Deepavali greetings as it is happening right now) will certainly slow down the spread of the silliness floating in cyberspace.  

Parents can be role models after they overcome their own hopeless addiction. 

That really means that we will continue (as Harris put it) to be “addicted, outraged, polarised and disinformed” for the foreseeable future.

Less hatred, more love: Well, we may argue until the cows come back in the evening. But one thing I can testify to the wonder of the cane.

One day, my younger son and I visited our small plantation. There was a young puppy that seemed lost in the field without any houses around.

My son wanted it badly, but I told him he had to convince my wife to keep it. 

Yes, he fulfilled everything my wife told him. Of course, with a little puppy around the house, at times sparks fly.

We didn't use the cane on her, but the sight of the cane since she was small is enough to let her know who the boss is.

Fortunately, with that small cane, she became a part of the family for about 10 years, until she got lost in the jungle area where I used to work.

Every day, unless due to heavy rain, she will be crouching near the water tank for us to shower her. 

When I wanted to go to work, she would be next to the 4-WD vehicle, waiting for me to lift her until she could jump into the carriage.

On March 21, 2012, she left us with many treasured memories. My wife and I spent almost two months searching for her. 

That was the final decision we made not to have another dog again. It was painful to lose a beloved dog after so many years of companionship.

The crux of the story is to appreciate the tiny cane, even if you do not have to use it at all. 

BrownGiraffe0119: Children below the age of 18 committing crimes such as harm, assault, rape, and murder is not novel. It has occurred in the past. 

I recall the incident of a young boy, hailed as the youngest person to commit murder in Malaysia, who stabbed to death his tuition teacher’s daughter, because she mocked his weight.  

The young murderer was imprisoned for the crime. I wonder what has happened to him. 

Has he become a better human being? What about the family of the victim? 

Are they better now emotionally and psychologically? The same question can be asked of all the other young criminals who have served time.  

I think the above questions are important because if the young criminal has not become a better person and is still a threat to society, we need to have a system in place, for when he/she leave the prison.

We need to monitor their whereabouts, and we might also have to question the rehabilitation methods used to supposedly make this young criminal a better human being.

LimeHorse5802: While I agree that corporal punishment alone is not the answer, I believe the discussion must go beyond simply rejecting the cane because discipline, content, and context all matter deeply in shaping behavior.

First, discipline is essential. It is not about inflicting pain, but about setting boundaries, building self-control, and instilling responsibility.

Caning on its own may achieve none of these, but neither does a completely permissive environment. The goal should be to teach students how to make responsible choices, even when no authority figure is watching.

There are effective ways to do this without physical punishment. For example, a student who bullies a peer could be required to reflect on their actions with a counselor, apologise, make amends, or lose privileges.

Such restorative approaches teach empathy and accountability, outcomes that fear alone cannot achieve.

Second, the content and purpose of education need rethinking. A narrow focus on examinations and religious instruction leaves little space for moral reasoning, critical thinking, or civic responsibility. These are essential for shaping character and reducing harmful behaviour.

Third, schools must be equipped with trained professionals in psychology, behavioral science, and counseling rather than teachers whose sole role is to deliver the syllabus.

Such expertise is vital not only for addressing behavioral issues early but also for detecting deeper psychological problems or signs of distress that may originate from a student’s home environment.

Finally, broader government policies must encourage personal effort rather than complacency. Social support should empower, not remove, the motivation to strive.

And above all, the removal of politics from education must precede all meaningful reforms because no system can succeed when it is trapped in ideological battles rather than focused on nurturing capable, empathetic, and resilient young people.

TMataz: Only a judge can allow caning as punishment for crime, as a deterrent to others, to remind everyone of the seriousness of the crime.

Caning in school by teachers, just as it is caning at home by parents on children, is just wrong.

As parents and teachers, their role is to nurture, impart knowledge, and protect and support the children, so they will have a wholesome childhood. 

Caning them will only make them distrust their own parents and their interaction with adults and institutions. 

The pain caused, either physical or psychological, will be permanently etched in the child’s memory to adulthood, and will likely cause mental health problems that will affect their life development and career growth. 

Giving school teachers full authority to cane children will result in a significant rise in cases of neurotic adults disguised as teachers who sadistically harass and abuse young kids whose parents entrusted to the school for their care and development.

Moneycrazy: During our school days in the 1950s and 1960s, our parents would look for cane marks on our legs.

Any cane marks will invite more caning at home. 

So we will avoid getting caned by teachers at all costs. The result was very good discipline at school. 

Nowadays, if the child gets caned, the parents will run straight to the Police to make a report. 

The result is no discipline in schools. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

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