Teacher Fired After Slapping Student: What Can She Do Next? Seeking Advice from HR Community

I have a query. I hope you seniors can help me sort it out very easily. I am working with a reputed school. One of my colleagues is in academics. She slapped a child for their mistake, and the parents posted this on our school's Facebook page. After she submitted an apology letter, the school terminated her without any discussion. Now, she is very confused about what she can do in such a case. Can anyone please help?

I would like to know whether the incident was an unfortunate or fortunate one. Instead of slapping, she could have done something else. We need to have extreme control over our actions and behavior; otherwise, we will land in trouble. There is nothing to worry about, and she can proceed further with high confidence levels rather than letting herself down.

With profound regards

Case-by-Case Basis for Disciplinary Actions

The answer actually depends on a case-by-case basis. The most important question is why there was a need to slap a child. Were all other warning situations exhausted? Were the parents and/or the headmaster of the school informed if it was a repeated action?

If slapping had served its purpose, there wouldn't have been a need for any other punishment or system to steer a child back on the right path.

Impact of Physical Assault on Children

The physical assault on children these days is amplified largely due to a few incidents where teachers were found guilty of assaulting children for minor issues that could have been resolved through communication, reprimanding, providing feedback, or involving parents. Several cases have been reported where such assaults have left not only physical but also emotional scars on children, causing significant harm and even leading to fatalities.

Discipline and Punishment in Schools

I agree with the notion that during our school days, punishment was used to instill discipline. Parents should acknowledge that discipline is essential and that punishment, within reasonable limits and with respect, is needed to raise a child with good values and discipline.

Teachers should be vigilant about such cases and implement alternative disciplinary measures as suggested above.

Hope this helps. :)

The Impact of Physical Punishment on Children

Assault on children is a strict NO. Any physical punishment for children is, in a way, teaching them that physical violence is acceptable as a measure. Clearly, you can see how this can manifest into them growing up to be adults who are physically abusive towards their own children, on roads, or towards their partners.

Fortunately, in today's world, there is no space for physically abusive people, especially if the act is against a child. Even I received physical punishments while growing up, and I don't think it made me better in any way. If anything, it made me trust my mentors less, which, of course, reduced my ability to learn and grow as an individual.

I have a child, and even when I'm completely drained of all patience, I never hit him. Scolding, removing rewards for a day, reminding him of the cause, and not speaking to him—these usually jolt him back into line. But being a child, he often forgets and repeats the same behavior over and over. The key here is to be consistent—eventually, they'll get the idea.

Regards,
Sid

Response to Child Discipline Discussion

Sure, what you say is validated. I too am one of those who were never physically punished. Sure, I had been sincere enough, but neither my parents nor my teachers ever had a chance to punish me.

But when we talk in general, there are situations when, in order to bring discipline or to guide them on the right path, you ought to be a little strict and give them this message: "This will not be appreciated."

Hitting a child is no solution, which I too believe in. But what would a parent or teacher do when something has really crossed limits?

To cite an example: A small boy, about 8 years or younger, was playing with other kids (all boys), and out of some playful fights, he uttered all abuses and bad words, which were heard by his own mother. She just gave him one tight slap, asked the other boys to leave him alone, and didn't let him in. If an 8-year-old kid of yours abuses someone, and that too with foul language that is very inappropriate, what would you as a parent do? Of course, explaining to them is a solution, but remember some things require an instant reaction; otherwise, the explanation falls on deaf ears. Sometimes you need to make the child feel sorry for their behavior (I don't say by hitting or slapping, but by some means) otherwise, they'd feel it's okay to behave this way and no one would bother to correct them; at the most, they would give one lecture on do's and don'ts.

(Completely my viewpoint, I don't intend to hurt you or question you. Of course, I believe in following your footsteps of using other means than slapping... and though I'm still single, I don't like this approach as well, but I feel at times it becomes inevitable.)

Regards,
[Username]

I have read the open discussions with interest. However, I feel that we have deviated from the query. The query is about what the sacked teacher can do now, not the rights and wrongs of hitting a child. I am sure the teacher who hit has felt sorry for hitting the child. However, the repentance is a bit too late.

CHR's advice to his son reminds me of the advice given by Polonius to his son Laertes in Shakespeare's play Hamlet: "Beware of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, bear't that the opposed may beware of thee."

Beautiful line, Simhan.  As for the teacher's fate, it seems that only schools that don't care much about background and reference checks will be an employment option. But such things often come to the surface. One safeguard could be to write an apology letter, explaining the situation and getting a copy signed by the parents (apology accepted) just for future reference. Otherwise, a change in career is probably in order.

Regards,
Sid

Hi Kashish,

It's a very good question and topic to discuss. Though it was clearly explained by CHR and Simphan, I would like to add my two cents to it:

Corporal Punishment in Schools

Corporal punishment is a big NO NO way to teach a lesson to children in school. It's an offense and should not be tolerated at all. The school authorities have taken a good stand on this front. Since the teacher has realized the mistake, she must get the apology letter duly signed by the school authority and parents' consent as well. Take it as a learning experience and move on.

Here is a link to an article which I read on TOI. Take a lesson from it and move on.
Teacher hitting child may become a crime - Times Of India

We all should praise the Lord as the teacher only lost her job and not her freedom. She could have been in jail for 3 years. The Delhi High Court in 2000 banned corporal punishments in schools; other states claim to comply with the Delhi HC, yet such cases come to light. The government is still working on a bill for the prevention of children from such offenses. Corporal punishment is considered a violation of human rights, and the teacher could have been booked under the same. There are many ways of teaching kids; punishment is not going to make kids disciplined.

Regards,
Rahul Chhabra

Hi Kashish, your friend must have understood her mistake. Please ask her not to continue it in the future. She can adopt many ways to make a student learn or behave, as they are teachers. Kids are more scared of teachers than parents.

Here, she has lost the job, and as one of the members said, it's good if she can write a letter to the kid's parents, an apology letter, and collect an accepted apology letter. She can try for other opportunities with the proof of documents and assure the new company that she will not repeat it in the future.

Best wishes