There’s something diabolically wrong and hypocritical about praying at a Christian church, Muslim mosque, Hindu temple or, indeed, at any sacred place of worship by alleged faithful adherents to their faith; seeking blessings from Allah, then re-joining the world outside, and beating His children.
Where’s the logic? Where’s the justice? Where’s the spirituality? Where’s the humanity? Where’s the common sense?
Those who profess to be ‘teachers’ of religion, held in high esteem and often revered by the less enlightened members of society, are seemingly the biggest offenders and hypocrites.
How is it right to beat up a child – the most vulnerable member of society – whether in the name or religion or for any reason? No religion condones corporal punishment, NOT ONE, but for some strange reason, their followers seem to think they do.
One of the biggest – if not the biggest – errors ever made in translation was the inaccurate interpretation of the word ‘rod’, and children throughout the world have been suffering as a consequence ever since.
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” goes the adage—solid, sound, irrefutable, good advice and perfect in every aspect. The only problem is the flawed translation of the word ‘rod’.
In Hebrew (the language in which the Bible was written) the word “rod” is the same word used in Psalms 23:4, ‘thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.’
The shepherd’s rod/staff was/is used to ENCOURAGE, GUIDE, and DISCIPLINE the sheep towards taking a desired direction, NOT to beat, hurt or damage them (and reduce their market value, only a fool would do that).
The correct interpretation of the proverb, therefore, should read: ‘spare GOOD GUIDANCE and spoil the child’.
Rabindranath Tagore
Celebrated Nobel Award winner, Rabindranath Tagore, said, “Discipline means to teach, not to punish,” and he’s right.
While corporal punishment is tolerated and taught, society will never be violence-free. Young impressionable children who attend schools and madrasahs and witness corporal punishment given to others, if not actually experience it themselves, learn that violence gets the job done quickly. And while that may seemingly be true, there’s no investigation as to what damage it causes under the surface to the recipient.
The initial exposure to violence frequently comes from ‘teachers’ and Imams who, in the belief that physical punishment will be a lasting lesson, use corporal punishment on the child, often despicably cruel.
Last week, for example, a seven-year-old boy in Pakistan was severely beaten by a seminary ‘teacher’ with a thorny stick for not memorising his lessons.
The minor received injuries on different parts of his body and serious injuries on his hands and arms that only a satanic-minded individual could deliver. The ‘teacher’ absconded after the incident and is in hiding… but the police are looking.
Parents, teachers, and caregivers often seem to forget that their main responsibility is to teach what’s right from wrong and groom children into becoming exemplary law-abiding, Allah-loving members of society and offer them care and protection en route. Better still to teach by example, rather than lose their cool and punish some hapless child for some silly error he or she has made.
In the minds of most villagers, teachers and Imams are considered to be educated, know what’s best for their children, and are deemed to have the best interests of their children at heart. God loves them; Allah, no doubt, will forgive them for their ignorance.
Damaged vs. Broken
The majority of people are still living in the past and clinging to concepts handed down by their parents… their grandparents, and their grandparents before them. Little was known in those days about the extent of the damage corporal punishment caused. After the tears dried, that was it… mission successfully accomplished… but some tears never dry, they become cancerous, and may torment some people mentally throughout their lives. A damaged child today is a broken and much-troubled adult tomorrow.
If any government is sincere about the standard of education it is delivering to its children.
Out will go, unqualified ‘teachers’ who were employed through the grace of their local politician, a brown envelope, or a combination of both, and in go proper teacher academy graduates who secure the job on merit.
The rot must stop. Teacher training that promotes positive interactions with students is a must. Corporal punishment has no place ANYWHERE in modern society and leaves a lasting, damaging impact on children, society, and the nation.
The need is for teachers and parents to use positive reinforcement to encourage their students and children, rather than resorting to punishment as a means of ‘teaching a lesson’.
The greatest undiscovered territory in the world lies under the scalp of a child. We just don’t know if we will find another Einstein or even a saint. What we do know is that they’re looking to us for guidance, correction, and encouragement, and we should be generous in our giving.
It is of the utmost importance to get the education system right; the future of the nation depends upon it.
Other than in medicine, getting education right is a must. By getting it right, it won’t be necessary for subsequent governments to play with the annual examination process, make exams less difficult to pass, and give graduates a false assessment of their knowledge, just to score political points by claiming more passes were achieved under their watch.
By Sir Frank Peters
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