Corporal punishment

Photo: sitemaker.umich.edu.tif

My wife and I love our three children (Amit, Ali and Maksuda) more than anybody else in the world.
Before moving to Dhaka, corporal punishment had been a big issue in our family. Two years ago after one of our sons was severely beaten by a teacher, I confronted the headmaster of the school. The teacher was sacked and it was agreed that in future we would discipline our children and not the school. This arrangement worked because he was a caring and considerate headmaster.
Now, by the blessings of Almighty Allah, corporal punishment in schools has been abolished by law. I read in an English newspaper, however, that the man to whom the school pupils owe a great debt, Sir Frank Peters, predicts it will continue unabated.
Sir Frank Peters said corporal punishment is so deeply ingrained in the psyche of Bangladeshi culture that it would not be erased overnight. He said, “Many teachers see themselves as taskmasters and high above the community in which they serve. In their minds it's their right to decide whether a child should be beaten or not. Some won't be able to stop themselves.”
It is up to all parents to take positive action by writing or visiting the schools and making their feelings known. Unless we are hypocrites, we owe that much to the children we say we love.