SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:

AFTER reading about the attack on the teacher in Kangar ("Teacher kicked, slapped by two Form 2 girls" -- NST, Oct 17), I have to ask: what is happening to our education system? What have we done wrong that things can turn out to be so bad?
I am a 40-year-old working mother of four children. I was locally educated up to high school level before completing my degree abroad. All my children attend government schools as I believe the local education system is one of the best in the world. Over the years, I have noticed how parents become so over-protective of their children and often are quick to blame the overall system if their children do not do well in their studies, or, worse, they take the teachers to court when their children are "punished" in school for their wrongdoings. Teachers these days are scared of the students. What has happened to us, parents? How can we be so gullible as to think our children could never tell a lie just to escape the punishment they deserved?Of course, it is right that we should be a caring society. At the same time, we must be practical and use our common sense on the issue of discipline in school. The need for this must be accepted by all parents who want to see their children grow up to become decent and responsible citizens. There's no two ways about it.
Without a proper disciplinary system enforced in every school in Malaysia, we can be assured of a chaotic school environment such as that we already seen in some countries like the United States.When I was a student in the 1980s, the teachers had the authority to discipline the students and parents never questioned this.I also clearly remember how I was slapped by my religious teacher together with another two classmates for supposedly laughing at him while he was cleaning the blackboard at the start of the subject session, even though we explained that we were laughing at one of our classmates. Yet, I didn't dare tell my parents about the incident -- though I strongly believed I had done nothing wrong -- because I knew my parents could have meted out more punishment if I had told them I was punished by a teacher in school. Back then, parents had total trust in teachers.A few years ago, I met the teacher who slapped me. He barely recognised me when I said hello but immediately recalled the incident the moment he realised who I was. He admitted he should not have done what he did. Had the incident happened in recent years, I bet the affected teacher would have been questioned by the police or suspended from his work, or expelled from the teaching profession.I became who I am today all thanks to the education system which was practised in those days. I contribute in my way to nation-building, pay my taxes and zakat when it's due and I don't see why as parents we must become "kiasu" if teachers in our children's school take certain actions simply to instil better values and proper discipline in our children. As parents, we must instead provide as much support as possible to the teachers who, we hope, will make sure our children are properly educated and become good citizens eventually.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Letters/2380560/Article/index_html


i'm totally agree with the writer.... parents nowadays love to blame teacher rather than their children even their children deserve punishment... Complaints from parents divert teachers and the school administration from their normal duties. sometimes, we have to back into reality... teacher will not punish the students without any reason... be rational... i think Malaysia has a better school dicliplinary system than other country...Teachers, parents and students should work like one big family to improve the quality of education.