School and Discipline..

The things that we cannot do as teachers, and this is in black and white...... (I'll just pick the really interesting ones)

berdiri di bilik darjah atau di kaki lima

berdiri di atas kerusi atau meja

berleter

kelas tahanan sepanjang waku rehat atau waktu pulang

menjeling


menyindir

memperlihat air muka yang marah

mengugut atau menggertak murid

tidak menghirau atau memperdulikan murid

These are just some where our hands are tied. Seems like we should only psyche them and get pscycho-ed. Frankly speaking, I don't buy all these psycho stuff. Today, we view the 'spare the rod spoil the child' adage with great cynicism. But the circular we got also had its own preferred punishment - under hukuman biasa, rotan, denda, amaran dan penahanan (see they contradict themselves with the penahanan thing) are allowed.
So what works? I don't know. Can we talk sensibly to all kids? Kids will say they can. But try working with them...

Let me give you a true story. A teacher is teaching in class. A Form 1 girl knocks on the door and asks to see her friend. The teachers says no as she is in the midst of a lesson. The girl proceeded to mouth a four letter word at the teacher. The teacher walks to her and asks her what she had just said. Again she repeats the four letter word in the teacher's face; nonchalantly and with a smirk. This girl had already been admonished the day before for a similar behaviour. Now what? We cannot do a lot of the things above....

Order with limited laws? Order through psychology? Why then are petty criminals still overflowing in our jails? Shouldn't we be talking to them about not committing crime???

And, what should we do to the girl above? Expel her? There's a caveat... another school has to take her in. And if she really wants to get back to her original school, she still can. Just go and plead at the Department.... show a muka kesian or go highlight it in the media about the 'heartless' institutions. They'll most likely oblige. And she'd have gone back to her former school feeling victorious and will probably wear a permanently etched smirk! The law after all guarantees access to education till they are 17. Stand in the way or their right to education, and you'll have to face the law.

Many teachers actually do care. Many of them actually do want to educate, though I must say that there does seem to be an increasing number of bad apples too these days. Teachers do not simply punish because they are sadists. Discipline is usually meted out with the intention to correct. Else why bother chasing the students to complete their work? Might as well let them rot. Life is easier if we don't bother to discipline them. Go into a class and buat tak tahu, tak kisah. It's called marking time and at the end of the month you still go withdraw your gaji. Many of us want our kids to be useful. Yet the policy makers out there sometimes come out with smack silly circulars. It's as though most of them have no feel of the field. Schools are rotting? You can bet on it.

There are many hearsay that many Mat Rempits have parent(s) who are cops. You would think that with law enforcer parents, the kids would keep to the law. Yet they behave as though they have protection from the law. Lawlessness precipitated by protection of law??? Sounds kinda crazy, huh? But that's what happening to schools.... bad behaviour precipitated by regulations that tie our hands...

Doing what is right? Doing what is needful? I no longer know which is which. Today I was told that we have to do a question by question analysis for each student for the upcoming mid-year. I do not see the need nor the purpose. If you ask me why my students don't do well in English... my answer is simple. There is no mastery of the skills. Why no mastery? Poor teaching quality, attitude problem, boring stuff... many reasons. But form over substance seems to be the norm now. Indah di luar lebih dari mencukupi. Isi tak ada no problem. Tak penting. I am confusing myself....