The principle of non-violent upbringing comes down to three words: respect the child. The practical application of this respect is also easily defined: treat the child as we would want to be treated. The bulk of what a child learns, he learns by imitation as if he were a mirror, determined less by what we want him to learn than by how we act toward him. Do we want him to know how to love? Let's love him. That he respect others? Let's respect him. That he be patient and tolerant? Let's be patient and tolerant with him. That he never inflict violence once he has grown up? Let's never inflict violence on him. That he have an independent personality. Let's respect his independence to the maximum. Understanding this is within anyone's grasp.  

1. Advocates of school corporal punishment argue that it provides an
immediate response to indiscipline and that the student is quickly
back in the classroom learning, rather than being suspended from
school.
SCHOOL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

2. WHY DROPPED OUT ?
 DELHI: Zafar, 16, dropped out of his school in
Rohini last year, and now works at Humayun’s
Tomb as a gardener. ‘Maar kha kha khe chod
dhiya,’I was a slow learner, which angered my
teacher. At one point I could not tolerate her
verbal abuses and dropped out.
 KARNATAKA: Tulasi, a Class IV student of a
government school in Hassan, was beaten by her
teacher for ‘asking for an extra helping in the
afternoon meal.’
 JAMMU: Despite the law proscribing it, a class VI
girl was allegedly beaten mercilessly by her
teacher for not getting a high score in a school
test. She fractured the fingers of her right hand,
was in a state of shock and too scared to go back
to school. And many more stories

3. IS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT EFFECTIVE?
 Principal says that as soon as the student has been punished he can go
back to his class and continue learning, in contrast to out-of-school
suspension, which removes him from the educational process and gives
him a free "holiday“
 Frequently hit children are seldom more docile than children who are not
hit. The seeming and very short-term effectiveness that hitting may have
will very soon wear thin if it becomes habitual, and plenty of parents can
be seen slapping their child around at every turn, without the least bit of
conviction and knowing fully well the child will keep acting up.

4. CAN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT LEAD TO
DEPRESSION?
 Psychiatrist said corporal punishment could have grave
consequences for the child. "Even a mild form of
punishment can jeopardize a child's self-respect, especially
in cases of public humiliation; the child may develop a long-surviving
trauma which can result in a case of suicide in
some cases if the punishment is repeated." He added that if
a child was physically punished for the purpose of discipline,
he might in the future use it on his juniors for the very same
purpose. "Not all victims become torturers, but all torturers

5. WHY WE MUST STOP USING CORPORAL
PUNISHMENT
 One argument made against corporal
punishments is that some research
has shown it to be not as effective as
positive means for managing student
behaviour. These studies have linked
corporal punishment to adverse
physical, psychological and
educational outcomes including,
"increased aggressive and destructive
behaviour, increased disruptive
classroom behaviour, vandalism, poor
school achievement, poor attention
span, increased drop-out rate, school
avoidance and school phobia, low self-esteem,
anxiety, somatic complaints,
depression, suicide and retaliation
against teacher.“

6. HOW DO WE KNOW TODAY THAT CORPORAL
PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE ABANDONED GIVEN ITS
DANGERS?
 We now know that at birth, a child's brain and nervous system are
incomplete and will be constructed all through childhood. The
brain of a newborn has one-fifth the weight of an adult's. The
other four-fifths develops in the years of childhood and youth. This
consists of neural circuits, the brain cells of which, by extending
and becoming more intricate, increase the volume of the brain. It
will not attain 70% of its weight until just past the age of two. This
is why the joints of the bones in our skulls do not close definitively
until adulthood. If the child is frequently placed under stress
during this time, or for part of it, the brain's development may be
disrupted. This happens to be the exact same time when physical
punishments are imposed upon him.
 The most ancient parts of the brain are those that we have in
common with reptiles and other animals. They regulate the
functions that ensure the body's survival — blood circulation,
digestion, respiration, bio-assimilation — but also emotions like
fear when faced with danger. The most recent parts of the brain,
those which are particularly developed in the human species, are
the frontal lobes that enable reflection, knowledge, imagination,
and control of emotions. For a well-balanced personality,
emotions must be able to develop normally, and the brain must
learn to recognize and control them.

7. DOES CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
IMPROVE ACADEMIC LEARNING?
 Would we accept policemen having the right to strike us, even
lightly, when we commit a traffic violation? The driving mistakes
we make are certainly a lot more serious than children's follies!
It is perfectly immoral and illogical to inflict on our children that
which we rightly refuse to suffer ourselves.
 This is exactly the situation which adults are now placing
children in. Besides, the majority of people who were hit as
children have for the most part forgotten what the blows
were intended to teach them.

8. WHAT MESSAGES DO CHILDREN RECEIVE FROM
BEING HIT?
 I have the right to hit you. By hurting you, I am doing you good. You think I'm hurting you, but
I'm doing you good.
 You are wrong to think I'm hurting you. You are not capable of understanding what I'm doing to
you.
 Don't listen to the voice deep down inside of you. Listen only to the voice of your
teacher/mother/father.
 What a child learns is not so much what we are trying to teach him as the manner in which we
teach him. You can hit somebody for their own good.
 When you love somebody, you have the right to make them suffer. To hurt them is to show how
much you care.

9. CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
 It also appears to us that corporal punishment is not
keeping with child's dignity. Besides, it is cruel to subject
the child to physical violence in school in the name of
discipline or education.
 Even animals are protected against cruelty. Cruelty to
animals is punishable under section 11 of the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Beating, kicking over-riding,
over-driving, overloading, torturing or other-wise treating
any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or
suffering is a criminal offence. Our children surely cannot
be worse off than animals.
 The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has
reminded all its affiliated schools to keep out corporal
punishment at every cost. Though corporal punishment
has been banned in schools across the country,
incidents keep happening, due to which all boards work
on sensitizing their staff.

10. ENDING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN
 “Violence against children, including corporal punishment, is a
violation of the rights of the child. It conflicts with the child’s human
dignity and the right of the child to physical integrity. It also prevents
children from reaching their full potential, by putting at risk their right
to health, survival and development. The best interests of the child
can never be used to justify such practice,” said UN Deputy High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang. “The need to
promote non-violent values and awareness-raising among all those
working with children is essential if we want this situation to come to
an end.”

11. IS IT DIFFICULT NOT TO HIT?
 Make the decision not to hit. Practice the golden rule: treat the child
as you would want to be treated under the same circumstances.
 Be receptive to all of the child's feelings, even if they come across as
negative (jealousy, for example). While he is not entitled to hit his little
brother, his feelings are his own, and he is entitled not to love him.
 Make a habit of identifying the reason for conflicts in an effort to
prevent them, rather than having to mend them.

12. WHAT PRINCIPLES ARE FOLLOWED TO TEACH A
CHILD WITHOUT HITTING?
 The principle of non-violent upbringing
comes down to three words: respect the
child. The practical application of this
respect is also easily defined: treat the
child as we would want to be treated. The
bulk of what a child learns, he learns by
imitation as if he were a mirror, determined
less by what we want him to learn than by
how we act toward him. Do we want him to
know how to love? Let's love him. That
he respect others? Let's respect him. That
he be patient and tolerant? Let's be patient
and tolerant with him. That
he never inflict violence once he has grown
up? Let's never inflict violence on him. That
he have an independent personality. Let's
respect his independence to the maximum.
Understanding this is within anyone's
grasp.