Corporal Punishment

In Jamaica, a major hurdle arose when I found out the teachers used corporal punishment on a regular basis as a means of controlling the class. I feel strongly that the use of corporal punishment went against the purpose of raising self esteem and developing responsible leaders. In fact, this public, physical punishment lowered the students’ self esteem and reinforced the idea of using violence to gain results in life. My first step in combating this issue was to educate myself. I read all kinds of research on corporal punishment in Jamaican and found that I was not along in my feelings. More and more groups, especially parents, are becoming less accepting of the use of physical punishment in an educational setting. My next step was to demonstrate alternatives. I introduced new teaching methods that reinforced positive behavior. I set higher academic expectations by increasing the level of difficulty of the curriculum and incorporated words of encouragement to instill a desire to succeed in the students. The students were more engaged in learning, and the teachers were able to significantly decrease their use of corporal punishment.

Throughout the process, I documented my experiences in a journal. On my last day, I gave it to my Program Director. She felt so strongly about the progress that she has continued teacher training based on my logs. I could not be prouder that I was able to leave a lasting impression on such a worthy program.