Hayden Gets His Hundred
IX . XI

Molding the Next Generation

In late 1996 or in early 1997, our chemistry teacher entered the class and immediately called me up. He then asked me to write various symbols and formulas on the board. I answered close to a dozen questions and got only one wrong which I corrected upon his growling. I then was sent back to my desk.

Afterwards, my desk-mate had to write down various answers on the board. He wasn't so lucky because he had trouble remembering even a single answer. The teacher forcefully slapped his face, then his neck and hit him on his back non-stop for around 10 seconds. With his face bright red, he came back, sat down and didn't utter a word for the rest of the day. This deprave strategy of "teaching" continued with the rest of the classroom.

That took place in my Pakistani school in Saudi Arabia. Now, we get more horror stories from Arabia:

Corporal punishment is now supposed to be illegal in the Saudi system since 1995. However..

However, of course.

Not a single teacher was fired at our school for routinely thrashing any student he pleased. I cannot think of a single friend or acquaintance at my school who did not get hit at some point. I was on the receiving end on countless occasions. What would "welcome" the punishment?

  • 50% of the class was making noise, everyone gets hit by a stick on open palms.
  • Failing to do homework. The class laughed if you made excuses.
  • Failing a test.
  • Not knowing the answer to an out-of-the-blue question.
  • Talking with friends...thus irritating the teacher who was himself chatting with his favorite students.
  • The teacher thinks you did something wrong. Remember the rules were never written and each teacher had his own effed up temperament.

Imagine what this barbarity does to young minds. Many must come to loath education and learning because of the beatings they took from their teachers. I've had teachers who should be locked up for life, yet they never even got a phone call from parents. Or if they did, it didn't have any effect.

This is one of the saddest truths in that part of the world. Parents, not all but most, discipline their kids by beating them and so do the teachers. It's tough to complain about teachers handing out medieval punishment when you're a subscriber to it. It hurts to say but my own family is not in the minority.

Why, then, is there so much palaver about the Religion of PeaceTM from Muslims when its very center is incredibly violent?

Answer: many have had it beaten into them.

Comments

jen

oh, yeah-forgot to say when i just posted that i am a teacher and was teaching a high school class on 9-11. your stories about the teachers in saudi arabia make me a little jealous about all they're allowed to do to students! :)

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