Instead of punishing those who are not disciplined, rewarding those who are disciplined might bring around a change in the classrooms. The rewards should be appealing; for example, a candy bar won’t work much an extra period for Games will.
Sangamithra M
ChinmayaVidyalaya, Vaduthala
***
Verbal abuse is very common in our culture because people don’t know to interact with others from different cultures, with different values, religious beliefs, expectations and levels of maturity. A course in interpersonal communications or being taught it from childhood will help.
Midhun, Ashlin
Class IX, Excel Central School, Thiruvattar
***
When teachers can no longer tolerate children’s indiscipline, instead of punishment, they should give them some activities or interesting exercises to enjoy learning. Students often misbehave when they don’t understand the topic, so the teachers must explain it again instead of abusing them.
Jovitta Shaji,
Class VII, The Delta Study, Fort Kochi
***
They are two kinds of students at school: the first prefer to be advised, the second will obey only if there are some kind of physical punishment. Which kind of discipline is necessary depends on the type of student one is.
Nishael P.R.
Class XII, Excel Central School, Thiruvattar
***
Physical punishments and verbal mistreatment leave the poor youth stuck with a new label he/she does not deserve. These abuses also provoke ill-feelings towards the particular teacher. Instead of pinching the student or hurling hurtful words, more sensible measures can be taken: for example, forbid the specific student to venture outdoors during break time, or the child can be ordered to prepare an extra speech or an essay.
Athira Sivadas
Class VIII, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Thrissur
***
Physical or verbal abuse adversely affects a child's state of mind physically, mentally and socially. They withdraw into their shells and tend to be embarrassed and unresponsive. Talking to students would fetch a much better results. The school should provide the student with various diverse opportunities that make he/she feels obliged students want to maintain decorum in school.
Aishvaryaa Prabhu
Class XII, Chennai Public School, Chennai
***
All children are noisy. When the teachers were children, they too were noisy. At the first instance of indiscipline, the teacher should ask them kindly to read. If they still don’t study, the teacher should show them anger, but not much. If they refuse to do so for a third time, then the teachers should take an action by informing the principal.
Nashra Fatima
Class VI, Srichatanya Techno School, Hyderabad
***
Today’s children are more well informed than the previous generation. We cannot blame them as they are hugely distracted and exposed to the fast changing world created by information technology. The teachers must allow them to be brave and right thinking citizens of tomorrow. The school management can hire professional counsellors. The government must make it mandatory to display the highlights of the guidelines in the notice boards of all schools immediately.
Lakshma.S
Class XI, Suguna RIP V MHSS, Coimbatore
