Written by Kim Abraham D. Ramos/THE RED CHRONICLES
Layout by Lynden Alyanna Valenzuela/THE RED CHRONICLES
Classroom discipline is an essential tool for teachers to instill authority and a sense of leadership in the learners. As part of Special Parental Authority, the teachers must correct misbehaviors and judgments of our learners, and ensure that the learners will join the workforce geared not only with academic competence but also morally upright character. This classroom discipline, just like any other variable in learning, changes with the passage of time.
During the Spanish Colonization, friars were allowed to spank students if they misbehaved in the classroom or failed to study in the class. Even Jose Rizal himself experienced this mistreatment when he was a grade-schooler after he failed to answer the questions of his professors. In the modern era, before the enactment of the Anti-Child Abuse Law, teachers employed various punishments for their students. From a simple ear twisting to stick hitting, teachers practiced this kind of punishment to impart a lesson to the learners. However, upon the enactment of some special laws such as the Republic Act No. 7610 and the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers, this punishment scheme is lessened or even prevented.
The Republic Act No. 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act is a deterrence to the rampant practice of abusing and inflicting harm, whether physical or psychological, to minors, including the practice of using them in illegal acts. The law also specified the forms of abuse that are prohibited to employ to the child. In relation to classroom discipline, teachers are also guided by RA 7610 to protect the learners from punishment and abuse by erring teachers in the guise of discipline.
Jurisprudence is also clear that failure on the part of the teachers to follow the law will result in criminal prosecution and will place them behind bars. In the case of Rosaldes v. People, the teacher argued that her maltreatment of the student was an act of discipline. However, the court ruled that the act of pinching and pushing the student to the floor, causing the latter to accumulate injury is a form of child abuse punishable under the law. In the case of Malcampo-Repollo v. People, the teacher’s guilt was proved beyond reasonable doubt of child abuse after she pinched and slapped the face of her student. In another case of St. Benedict Childhood Education Centre, Inc. v. San Jose, the teacher refused to grant the request of his 5-year-old student to use the bathroom, resulting in an involuntary urination in his pants. The court ruled that the teacher’s act was not only serious misconduct but also child abuse under RA 7610. Moreover, In the case of Garin v. People, the teacher’s act of forcing her students to place a piece of trash in their mouth degraded and demeaned their worth as children. The RA 7610 is one of the safeguards against the illicit plot of debasing the dignity of the student under the pretext of instilling discipline. However, despite the existence of the law, it seems that the practice is quite rampant in some classrooms.
In March 2024, a public high school teacher was scolding her students while being live on the social media platform TikTok using her own device. Some of the words uttered by the said teacher were “Ang kakapal ng mga mukha n’yo”, “Hindi n’yo nga kayang buhayin ‘yung mga sarili n’yo”, “Hindi na nga kayo matalino eh, “Ang sama ng ugali nyo wala kayong mararating”, and “Ingrato ugaling squatter.” However, former DepEd secretary Sara Duterte said that the teacher on the viral video will receive no punishment. To my surprise, some people, particularly the so-called “Batang 90s”, seem to encourage violence as reflected in their comments regarding the incident.
The Batang 90s are always part of the comment sections on various social media platforms, claiming that they experienced more severe punishments at the hands of their teachers. They are saying that flying erasers, spanking, and pinching make them a more responsible adult. In other words, they romanticize the abusive punishment by reiterating the phrase “Kami nga dati eh” to invalidate the feelings of the learners who are victimized by this abusive scheme. However, modern research suggests otherwise, holding that corporal punishment in schools will cause psychological problems in the long run.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines Corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. It includes spanking, kicking, throwing something at children, or pinching. This action can trigger psychological and physiological harm such as sadness, fear, or guilt. It can also lead to traumatic behavior as the student might fear going to school or even see his teachers who committed the act against him/her. Moreover, corporal punishment can also lead to aggressive behavior. If stress, anxiety, or traumatic experiences dominate the institute of learning, the children will be less likely to learn and observe the topics at hand.
In addition, corporal punishments affect children’s brain, and cognitive development causing serious problems such as lower educational achievement and school drop-out. Furthermore, corporal punishment is linked to lower IQ scores, slower cognitive abilities, and poor school performance. Based on the foregoing, it is very evident that the practice of corporal punishment in educational institutions hampers the smooth flow of learning among students. The school system should be a place of harmonious relationships between children and teachers. This relationship will be strangled when teachers inflict physical harm on the students in the guise of discipline or encourage the same by saying that they have experienced a more extreme punishment before.
Oppression Olympics
The Oppression Olympics is a race for the award of the most oppressed group. Simply put, it is a game to determine who experienced worse. In relation to classroom discipline, some of the Batang 90s have the wrong notion in saying that they won the competition against Generation X for the most oppressed generation in the classroom. By saying this, they expressly promote violence in school. However, numerous research already refutes this claim, affirming that there are a lot of negative impacts of corporal punishment on both mental and physical health of the students. Moreover, the mere fact that these Batang 90s experienced a more severe punishment does not necessarily mean that they experienced correct and proper treatment. These Batang 90s are mere survivors of the practices that cause traumatic behavior and anxiety to some students.
Striking the Balance
This is not to say that teachers should not discipline students. The teacher serves as a second parent for the pupils. As a result, teachers can employ reasonable forms of punishment to discipline the learners. However, the law already sets boundaries as to the extent of their authority to discipline a child. Some acceptable forms of punishment are counseling, parental/guardian involvement, extra homework, litter picking, or suspension and dismissal for a serious offense. Teachers can also employ reinforcement, whether positive or negative, to motivate a desired behavior from the students. By doing this, the teacher will create a more harmonic atmosphere for the learners free from fear or abuse.
The romanticization of violence, abuse, or harm in the classroom setting will only sow the seed of triggers for the teachers to revert to the archaic way of discipline. Consequently, it will not only contravene the progressive view of education but also inculcate an erroneous conclusion to the youngsters that the latter have to endure physical and psychological pain to mold their character and identity.