The Need to Abolish Corporal Punishment as a Method of Teaching in School

As learners of today’s world, students all have the chance to experience learning at its finest but in some instances, different ways of teachings become a hindrance to the hope of the future. According to Ocampo (2017), in his article Making Learning ‘Agreeable and Pleasant’ published in Philippine Daily Inquirer, students should not only acknowledge their teachers who were very kind and good to them but also, they must recognize those bad teachers who made them better. In the article, Ocampo experienced corporal punishment as a way of teaching when he was a child. His teachers back then punished them physically like slapping their faces, making them eat a chalk, hitting their heads with an eraser, and even making them write a sentence on the board or a paper several times. They believed that these things were deterrents to the bad behavior of their students. But, on the other note, in Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere, a schoolmaster lamented, “The daily spectacle of whippings destroys compassion in the heart and extinguishes that flame of dignity, the lever of the world, losing with it the feeling of shame which is difficult to restore.” So, he tried to change the method of educating students for he believed that only fear and terror would be in the minds of students if corporal punishment is still being used. He replaced it with a peaceful way of teaching and then suddenly, students learned better and faster. Since then, several teachers still use the terror of corporal punishment as a pedagogical method of educating students for they believe it is a way of disciplining them to become better learners.

According to the Senate Bill No. 1107 of the Fifteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, “Corporal Punishment refers to the infliction of physical or mental violence or blows upon a child as a form of punishment or chastisement including public humiliation, verbal abuse, and other forms of punishment that is considered abusive, degrading and not consistent with the child's human dignity considering his/her physical and mental immaturity.” According to a survey conducted by UNICEF and the Philippine government in 2016, there was a high prevalence of violence against Filipino children, with 8 out of 10 suffering from physical or psychological abuse.

Additionally, Luistro (2016), the former Department of Education Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines, said that if the school personnel committed acts of corporal punishment, they are violating the provisions of the Batas Pambansa 232 and they can be held criminally liable aside from being dismissed from service. Corporal punishment inflicted in students affects the way they think and feel about teachers. It does not only affect students physically but more precisely, it also destroys them mentally. It even lets them escape from the harsh and reality waiting for them in school which definitely leads to taking away the potential minds our future can bring. It has been believed that corporal punishment is a good form of an effective behavior deterrent to students which helps them form and shape their character.

In fact, according to Verdolaga (2011), a medical student at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, in an article “Corporal Punishment: Discipline or Abuse” published in Philippine Daily Inquirer, “There seems to be no question that as a form of discipline, corporal punishment is quite effective. 88 studies done over 62 years showed that the use of corporal punishment for instilling discipline in children results in immediate compliance in correcting whatever behavior their parents wanted to change.” With corporal punishment, students take their studies more seriously because they are afraid that when they somehow don’t know the answer whenever teacher asks, they will probably be punished. But in spite of the some benefits corporal punishment gives, there are a lot of severe down side of it which is still being prevalent nowadays. I agree with what Mr. Ambeth Ocampo stated in his article that “Daily whipping doesn’t educate, but does the opposite”. It means that physically hurting students doesn’t help them learn new things at school. Despite, this only lets them degrade the quality of their mind for the daily punishments they receive which is really a big factor of affecting their mental health as learners. Students can’t think critically and properly if they are being bothered by the burdensome fact they are about to experience, which is being punished.

Moreover, corporal punishment is being considered a violation against human rights in form of child abuse. In the Republic Act No. 7610 of the Republic of the Philippines, “An Act Providing for Stronger Deterrence and Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination, and for Other Purposes”, a child’s worth and dignity must be kept safe from the negative impacts of any various forms of abuse and exploitation. The law defines it as “child abuse” which degrades the integral worth and dignity of a child as a human being. Furthermore, in the General Comment No. 8 of Article 43 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, corporal punishment means “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.” This means that with the pain students feel, they come up with a point where they no longer wanted to go to school because they believed that going to school simply means getting to be hurt. They would possibly not look forward to learn things every day and with this, the quality of our education will simply mark down.

Additionally, with hurting the students physically, they can develop hostility towards the person controlling them, up to the point they reach adulthood. In substitution to corporal punishment, I agree with Mr. Ocampo that there must be new correct methods of educating the youth which should be instilled in all schools. I strongly agree that with the use of a friendly or positive learning environment in school, students would feel safe, nurtured and respected. When they feel like they are being valued, learning comes much more easily. All students, even those who have learning difficulties and problems in life, can do well when they are physically comfortable, mentally motivated and emotionally supported. In creating a peaceful way of teaching, students would be able to build connections to their teachers which could be a great impact in attaining a pleasant learning environment in school.

In conclusion, I would strongly agree with the abolishment of corporal punishment as a method of teaching in school for it only affects not only their mind but also their passion in learning things in life. Corporal punishment really violates human rights and can even destroy the passion of the students in learning. It just destroys the child’s worth and dignity in making his/her life successful. This method of educating the youth only makes them see learning as an agony implanted in their lives. On the other note, I strongly recommend the implementation of a much more peaceful and friendly learning environment in school because through this, students can achieve the highest educational success they can attain in life to become the potential and the hope the future is waiting for.