School Is Not Fully Accountable For Students Discipline

I REFER to Creating a well disciplined society (The Star, Jan 30). While I do not dispute the writers proposition that school discipline has to be strictly maintained from the childrens first day at school and throughout their school life in order to create a society that is disciplined, there is a need to appreciate the reality on the ground and the discipline maintenance capacity and capability of normal day schools, where indiscipline is incidentally most rampant. Normal day schools, whether in rural or urban areas, typically have large enrolments, anything from 1,200 to 2,000; with some even edging to 2,500. On top of this, their students come from all social, economic and varied family backgrounds. These schools are indeed melting pots of sorts! Students, more so the secondary ones, come to school with their unique baggage. Some are already problematic, even delinquent. They bring with them their less-than-acceptable social behavior. School has yet to teach them the first lesson, much less to affect them. Hence, the load of discipline problems a normal day school has to handle even on the very first day of school. It is a wrong notion that an ill-mannered child will be instantly transformed into a well-behaved lad/lass the moment he/she passes the school gate. The thoughts that school is a place where every child is well behaved and does all things according to the book, and that nothing which is wrong and socially unacceptable should happen in school, are therefore unrealistic and difficult to realize in an actual school setting.

There is much truth in this perception of school teachers that they are being unfairly accused of being lax in handling disciplinary problems among their charges. Their hands are already full; what with overcrowded classes, increasing subject curriculum, and the ever multiplying paperwork they have to deal with. Indiscipline in the classroom is a bane to teachers; no teacher welcomes it. Indiscipline disrupts their lesson plans and unjustly makes them feel guilty and helpless. A conscientious teacher will always put teaching and completing the required syllabus as his/her first priority, concern and responsibility for those of his/her students who truly want to learn. Given the constraints of time and space, it is therefore understandable if teachers are forced to seemingly close one eye to indiscipline after he/she has utilized all his/her capacity and capability to control the unsatisfactory situation. It is understood that children from families afflicted with social and financial problems and difficulties are usually deprived of sound familial upbringing and become difficult in school. Neither can this be said of children coming from so-called well-to-do families. Sadly, more and more parents hastily and mistakenly assign their childrens discipline and character building primarily to their school. What little time they have with their children, they pamper them with quality hours and gifts! Here, I believe lies the crux of our childrens disciplinary problems. Many parents have rescinded their roles and responsibilities. Children are either not cared for or loved enough at home, or they are overly and unduly pampered. There are also parents who hold less than acceptable social etiquette and values. And these they exhibit and practice before their children.

For normal day schools, their discipline maintenance capacity and capability is limited. If they are overwhelmed with numerous disciplinary cases, they simply cannot cope. Parents must once again play their role of being parents. Children are, after all, first parent-children, then school-children. Schools may attempt to correct, rectify and build on what are brought into them. The nurturing and maturing of discipline must begin and happen at home. Our society would do well to recognize this fact and act on it. LIONG KAM CHONG, Seremban.