An open letter to a teacher
Dear Teacher,
Is a whack from a scale or a slap on the wrist terrible? Or, is a tongue lashing that scars one for life worse?
Almost everyday, we read reports in the newspapers highlighting various incidents in schools, where a child has been hit by a thick, heavy book, or made to kneel down in heat of the blazing sun or even pinched so hard as to leave a bruise.
Children are sometimes mean and hurtful to each other — they do not know better. But, when a teacher is harsh it is not as simple. Insults hurled by a teacher are far more wounding, definitely.
When the student complains, the teacher's action is defended. Some of the excuses are that he/she must have had a tiring day; the student should not be over sensitive and not whine; teachers are also human beings and may be having a bad day; they can't like every child equally or be fair all the time... and so on and on.
So comments like "you are so stupid", "you laugh too loudly", "you will fail" which we hear frequently are not to be taken seriously. If a student does badly in a test, the teacher makes fun of the child in front of the class and to who ever may be passing by. And, if the child cries, the poor teacher who is already having a bad day may get pleasure out of it and may be her day gets better. And then she tells the student, "yes, cry, I want you to cry" and then the poor teacher feels very satisfied.
Is this not punishment too? It is and it is far more terrible. We are not stupid. We don't fail at everything. We enjoy being with friends and having fun. We are only children!
We are told that we must be strong, develop a healthy self-esteem, be confident and so on. But how do we get to this point when all around us we only hear words that are hurtful and humiliating? Would it not be better to receive a quick whack, which we may be able to forget more easily than the lash of a tongue?
Nupur Sridhar, VII A
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