Implementing discipline

He ran his fingers through his cheeks that were scratched by his teacher. The little boy laughed, said that he didn’t mean to make her angry with his snide remarks. Deep inside was a silent trauma of a lad who was scared of the thought of going back to that classroom again only to be humiliated by the person he regarded as a second mother. The teacher who hurt him asked for forgiveness and explained everything happened at the spur of the moment. The moment she heard the student saying in jest to also slit her wrists, the instant reaction was to hold the child’s face with her fingers across it, scratching his face.

The incident of this boy from Valencia, Bohol, became viral. The teacher was criticized for what she did. Both parties did wrong, but neither was brave enough to admit it. The child should have upheld his manners before the teacher, and the teacher should have thought well her actions before making a move.

With children having different behaviors today, it is hard to instill discipline in them. Children of this era are different, they think they are entitled. The concept of freedom becomes too real for them they disregard whom they are taking to. Respect has slowly become a thing of the past as the knowledge becomes so vast. It is the age of know-it-alls, thanks to the internet. This shouldn’t be the case. Parents and elders, including teachers, should always be honored at all times.

I wonder how adults can address this need to instill character into today’s children. The Department of Education has encouraged teachers to use new skills and strategies. Sociology tells us why there is a change in the general attitude of the children now. I can only imagine how difficult it will be to raise a child today. Only divine intervention can guide a parent in raising a good child.

The Bible says we should train a child in the way he should be and he will not depart from it. This does not surely mean beating or wounding a child ensures a straight path. At some point, the adult needs to let the child understand why the discipline was done. The child will have to process this and keep in mind not to do it again. If this is the golden key, then I hope all parents keep this in mind.

I feel sorry for the teacher who acted on impulse. As a human, she felt humiliated and angry a young boy could say such a thing to her. There is a fine line between discipline and extending patience. Her fate will be known in the following days and weeks. What she worked on for four years will be lost in an instant. She deserves another chance at being a teacher. This time it will be more challenging for her. This incident will serve as a wakeup call for other teachers and parents as well on how to do parenting and disciplinary action.