Ajarn Forum - Living and Teaching In Thailand - View Single Post - Ethics, fundamentalist teachers, and just punishments

Chan Gibbon · 8th May 2008, 08:23

There is a problem that has been bugging me for some time now with regards to a particular teacher (he shall, of course, remain nameless) who appears to be allowing his "spiritual" beliefs to influence the way the children are disciplined.

I haven't been teaching for very long and I'd like to know what other teachers think (seasoned or otherwise!) with regards to this issue...

A few weeks ago, during summer school, I caught one of the children (grade 8) surfing the internet and doing his own thing after I had laid down the rules quite directly. I decided to "make an example of him" knowing that this class is particularly difficult to control and I need the kids to know that they can't just do whatever they like; so I sent him back to his classroom and told him to wait there for me... then I went there and he was gone! To cut a long story short it turned out that he had been punished by one of the Thai teachers and then taken to a head teacher for further punishment! I thought this was unacceptable as the child was in tears, clearly emasculated, and for no good reason; only I knew what he had done and the punishment did not befit the misdemeanor (I had actually planned to give him a short lecture, make a small joke of it all, then bring him back to class. Instead, the child now looks at me like a complete monster)!

After having told what had happened, the aforementioned "fundamentalist" surprised me with the comment that the child's "ego was too big", that it needed to be "broken down", and that the child was a bad influence on the other students. He also suggested that the child could easily become another "Bush" or "Hitler" should we not look after "his spiritual development" (all dead-pan, very serious). From then on some of the staff, including myself, have had endless lectures about the chakras and how we have to balance these in order for the students to progress "positively".

I spoke to him about this. I was told that I was defending the child in question and that this meant that something obviously happened to me as a child that I still needed to resolve in order to find peace!! He also said I was "focusing too much on justice whereas [he] is more interested in the spiritual growth of the children". In response, I said that I believe that a teacher's job is to teach and not to function as a guru. As such, Thai children can look after their own spiritual development and we teachers can simply focus on making sure that the children get the punishments they deserve.

He was right about one thing, though; I am defending the student. We were in the wrong! I do believe that a teacher has to have at least some vague notion of justice, even if only for the times when he/she has to deal with students who present problems.

I decided to use the example above but, more generally, some staff have received pep-talks on various occasions about how to focus upon the children's "positive development". Personally, I think that the students need room to breathe and even to get away with "minor naughties" on occasion, just to make sure that they have enough space to find their own identity.

This is my present opinion. I'm a new teacher and maybe I'm not dealing with this the right way. I'm open to constructive criticism. Maybe I've read too much into things. I've thought about it a lot; enough to know that this issue genuinely bothers me! I have no real problem with "spiritualism" (thought it's always seemed unsuitably vague to me) and I have no problem with religion. I'm religious myself, not that anybody would ever know. But I try not to impress my beliefs upon the students and I certainly don't agree with hidden "spiritual agendas".

What do others think? Am I being stupid?

8th May 2008, 08:23	#1 (permalink)
Chan Gibbon Chan Gibbon is..... f***ing hates passports Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The Algarve (Portugal) Posts: 30 vCash: 500 Rep Power: 0	Ethics, fundamentalist teachers, and just punishments There is a problem that has been bugging me for some time now with regards to a particular teacher (he shall, of course, remain nameless) who appears to be allowing his "spiritual" beliefs to influence the way the children are disciplined. I haven't been teaching for very long and I'd like to know what other teachers think (seasoned or otherwise!) with regards to this issue... A few weeks ago, during summer school, I caught one of the children (grade 8) surfing the internet and doing his own thing after I had laid down the rules quite directly. I decided to "make an example of him" knowing that this class is particularly difficult to control and I need the kids to know that they can't just do whatever they like; so I sent him back to his classroom and told him to wait there for me... then I went there and he was gone! To cut a long story short it turned out that he had been punished by one of the Thai teachers and then taken to a head teacher for further punishment! I thought this was unacceptable as the child was in tears, clearly emasculated, and for no good reason; only I knew what he had done and the punishment did not befit the misdemeanor (I had actually planned to give him a short lecture, make a small joke of it all, then bring him back to class. Instead, the child now looks at me like a complete monster)! After having told what had happened, the aforementioned "fundamentalist" surprised me with the comment that the child's "ego was too big", that it needed to be "broken down", and that the child was a bad influence on the other students. He also suggested that the child could easily become another "Bush" or "Hitler" should we not look after "his spiritual development" (all dead-pan, very serious). From then on some of the staff, including myself, have had endless lectures about the chakras and how we have to balance these in order for the students to progress "positively". I spoke to him about this. I was told that I was defending the child in question and that this meant that something obviously happened to me as a child that I still needed to resolve in order to find peace!! He also said I was "focusing too much on justice whereas [he] is more interested in the spiritual growth of the children". In response, I said that I believe that a teacher's job is to teach and not to function as a guru. As such, Thai children can look after their own spiritual development and we teachers can simply focus on making sure that the children get the punishments they deserve. He was right about one thing, though; I am defending the student. We were in the wrong! I do believe that a teacher has to have at least some vague notion of justice, even if only for the times when he/she has to deal with students who present problems. I decided to use the example above but, more generally, some staff have received pep-talks on various occasions about how to focus upon the children's "positive development". Personally, I think that the students need room to breathe and even to get away with "minor naughties" on occasion, just to make sure that they have enough space to find their own identity. This is my present opinion. I'm a new teacher and maybe I'm not dealing with this the right way. I'm open to constructive criticism. Maybe I've read too much into things. I've thought about it a lot; enough to know that this issue genuinely bothers me! I have no real problem with "spiritualism" (thought it's always seemed unsuitably vague to me) and I have no problem with religion. I'm religious myself, not that anybody would ever know. But I try not to impress my beliefs upon the students and I certainly don't agree with hidden "spiritual agendas". What do others think? Am I being stupid?