An incident which left a student of the St Michael’s Primary School bleeding and bruised after she was punished by a teacher, is being investigated by the Ministry of Education. This was confirmed by the Director of Education Clare Browne, who spoke to Observer on Friday.
“Currently, the Ministry of Education is investigating the matter. I have called a meeting with the principal and the teacher in question, the parent and the child. That meeting is set for Monday morning,” Browne revealed.
According to the upset mother, her 12-year-old daughter returned home on Wednesday with bleeding wounds on her back and arm. The mother explained that she initially thought that the sixth grader was cutting herself, but when she inquired, the child explained that an elderly teacher beat her with a belt across her back.
The child told her mother that everyone was getting ready to say their prayers before leaving school and placed their bags on their backs and fixed their desks as usual, but the teacher asked them to remove their bags. In the child’s account of the incident, she removed her backpack but was holding her lunch bag in her hand.
The teacher then sent for a belt which she used to lash the child so hard that it penetrated two layers of clothing. “I don’t understand where she gets the strength to lick my daughter like that,” the aggrieved mother said. As a result, the mother said she reported the matter to the police.
In 2019, the Ministry of Education released its punishment guidelines which spoke to the use of a Punishment Book that records the name of the student, the infraction by the student, the punishment administered, and the person who administered it.
As it relates to the administration of corporal punishment, the guidelines state that a principal of a primary school, or a designate, can use a leather strap no longer than 24 inches, one and a quarter inches wide and no more than a quarter inch thick to administer strokes on their buttocks.
But the student should be informed of the reason he/she is being punished and how many strokes they will receive.
Primary school students cannot receive more than four strokes, the guidelines also indicate. Observer first learnt of the incident on Thursday evening when a relative of the student reached out and shared images of the wounds. DAILY OBSERVER
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I don’t know why the Antiguan government love to dance around the issue of corporal punishment, it SOLVES NOTHING! BAN IT!!
I love how the parent had the strength to handle this situation calmly though, but one day them educators will mess with the wrong child and get their a** f**ked up.
This is why corporal punishment in schools should be banned! Teaching students “violence solves nothing” while they aplaud the act of violence against them. Ridiculous. I remember getting bruises on my lower back/buttocks over a home work that was worth 2 marks. I was too embarrassed to show it at that time but now I’m older, I wish I wasn’t so silent about it. And the sad thing is, that wasn’t the only time. It happened 4 years ago in the hands of Ms. Beazer at the Jennings Secondary School.
You seem to be advocating that parents should attack teachers. This will only result in the the parent being arrested and the pupil banned from all schools in Antigua. There are always two sides to a story, and a lot of information is missing here.
I never said that parents should attack teachers, I’m saying that one day a parent could get overly emotional and attack a teacher for the sake of harming their child. I never said it was okay, I’m saying it’s a possibility.
I had to give a teacher a stern warning one day when she beat my little boy. I told her this is the first and the last time, if she has any issues with my son report it to me. I will deal with him. Since that day they all had respect for me. Cause they know I do not joke. Not with my children. And especially when it comes to my children. Corporal punishment in schools need to be abandoned forthwith. That is not how you discipline a child.
A few days ago, a teacher wanted to beat my little brother over an outburst that was made in class by another student. The students weren’t sure who made the outsburts and the child who was guilty never admitted to his doing so the teacher chose to send my little brother to the office just because he was sitting in the direction she claimed she heard it from, as if she didn’t see like 12 other students in that same area. She chose to punish the quiet child. He explained his side of the story but of course the principal trusted the words of the teacher rather than to actually consider both sides of the story. He came home with a bruise on his leg.
As his big sister, I was very emotional about the situation and I couldn’t help myself from crying because I remember what it was like getting beaten in school. I’m a very sensitive person and that kind of punishment really messed me up mentally and emotionally but the school system here in Antigua don’t give a sh*t about mental health, epecially in teens and children. Then they wonder why this generation turned out to be such a mess.
Some Teachers abuse children in Schools. Who gives a Teacher the right to hit any child in School.Based on that picture above.That is not punishment.That is physical abuse by a Teacher.The Parents need to file a Lawsuit against the Teacher,Board of Education and the Ministry of Education.
I remember having to deal with Beazer when I graduated JSS in 2016. Such a dickhead of a principal. She’s too egoistic and a narcissist too. She treated some students better than others.
I don’t know why the Antiguan government love to dance around the issue of corporal punishment, it SOLVES NOTHING! BAN IT!!
I love how the parent had the strength to handle this situation calmly though, but one day them educators will mess with the wrong child and get themselves harmed.
This is why corporal punishment in schools should be banned! Teaching students “violence solves nothing” while they aplaud the act of violence against them. Ridiculous. I remember getting bruises on my lower back/buttocks over a home work that was worth 2 marks. I was too embarrassed to show it at that time but now I’m older, I wish I wasn’t so silent about it. And the sad thing is, that wasn’t the only time. It happened 4 years ago in the hands of Ms. Beazer at the Jennings Secondary School.
Is the Teachers’s Union going to be quiet on this, or will they have the courage to say something and call for discipline against one of their own members. Silence means consent.
Well Ashworth gone. Waiting to see if Kimdale says anything.
So nobody go fu them Ross cloth yet 🤔 if you man can’t find money fi gi you wha you ah bang fu mi pickny fa? Me dah done find WDF you lib and mi nuh ha fi ask Christ either! Cho!
That is pure child abuse. That teacher for get fucked up
What nonsense is this? It looks to me like child abuse. Arrest that teacher now, and let the counts handle it. Corporal punishment should be totally outlawed. This is 2021.
Exactly!
I strongly agree. I don’t know why teachers still support corporal punishment.
It should in fact be banned. Antigua and the rest of the Caribbean needs to upgrade. St.Lucia already did, Antigua needs to do it too.
woah! Someone really abused the process here. This is excessive and totally uncalled for. I hope the matter is dealt with swiftly and justly.
On another note, just because someone abuses a process, does not mean that the process should be abandoned. The problem is the person, not the process itself. That teacher really abused the process and must face the consequences. My heart goes out to mother and child. That was a really ridiculous, excessive use of force.
Corporal punishment should be banned. Physically harming children and dubbing it as punishment is just wrong. That does more harm than it does any good. There are plenty of research out there that can prove and justify why it’s wrong. Google is free.
NO! It should NOT be banned. I agree with Mr. Roberts – principal of OCS. The HOME is the first classroom, but if the parents fail to do their job, then school/rest of society has to deal with the rudeness and bad upbringing. CONTINUE TO CORRECTLY ADMINISTER THE ROD OF CORRECTION and drive the foolishness out of their minds!! That being said, the particular case in question was apparently a case of MISUSE of the rod of correction.
That type of mentality is sooo outdated. You can’t beat good behavior into a child, it doesn’t work that way. If it did then the youth wouldn’t be the way they are. Causing someone physical harm is in fact an act of violence and it’s just so hypocritical to support that kind of format while trying to teach them that violence is in fact wrong.
If one of their friends did them wrong they start a fight, they immediately resort to violence because that’s the same way these “educators” and even some parents handle situations at home and in school, which is wrong because then again “violence solves nothing”. They don’t practise what they preach which is soo hypocrite. Like I said there are plenty of research and facts out there that perfectly explain why corporal punishment is wrong, GOOGLE IS FREE.
This old teacher needs to be fired immediatly and arrested for assault and child abuse. Let the court determine guilt or innocence. And this happened just before “PRAYERS”. How do these wicked people justify that. Forget the “PRAYERS”. This is a human rights issue. Teacher’s Union better stand with the abused (alleged) this time. JUSTICE FOREVER!!! In my opinion, you draw blood from a child, you need jail time.
What de Bimbo Biscuit 😡 teday, teday 31st May one teacher bang up an injure smaddy else pickny WTF is going on? Matthew what you do with this shit will decide if I vote for you or not. Yes mark my BC name! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Why do you feel a need to use profanity? Usually tht idicates the user has an abuse problem….either abused themselves or an abuser. Who raised you? I hope it wasn’t abusive.
Well, when people get angry, especially about something that they may just be able to relate too, it could be extreemly fustrating to think about hence why he/she expressed themselves using such language.
I’m not saying it’s okay but that’s just my point of view.
I’m an educator but before that I’m a parent. If this was my child, I would destroy my rights because that teacher would definitely go home with bruises and bleeding wounds.
CONFUSED
Teacher is right handed.
Child stands facing teacher.
Belt is raised in teacher’s right hand and comes down on left side of child’s body.
Child raises left hand to ward off the lick.
How come cut is on inner right elbow?
Mother said when she saw the cut she “initially thought the sixth grader was cutting herself”
WHY was this her first thought?
Has the child done this before?
Just wondering…
This is actually happening more frequent than I thought. I know another child who was in that same situation on that same day from another school. I just found out about her today and my heart was completely broken when I saw the red cuts and bruises on her side and buttucks. I had to babysit her several times over the past couple months and I kid you not, there’s not one bad thing I can say about her. Such a decent young girl who did not deserve those scars.
And now this afternoon, there’s another student, this time a male at my best friend’s sister’s school who’s currently at the hospital for swelling.
The fact that there are educators out there who still support abusing children aka a format of punishment forced upon our ancestors during the slavery era aka corporal punishment… is just straight up disappointing. If they ever get their a** beat up by a parent for supporting this…
That’s all I’m gonna say.
Briana and others, some of you will lose your teeth if you really know the other side of the story. And then, what will be your response? Antigua Newsroom, did you deligently seek the other side? Would you call for similar actions? If the other side is told, would some of you advocate not washing dirty linen in public? Smh
Oh yeah? Well care to tell us the other side of the story then? What can you possibly say to convince the public to side with a teacher who put cuts and bruises on someone’s child over nonsense?
Like I said, I know at least 2 other children who went through this around the same time last week from different schools, I do in fact know both sides of the story and it’s just flat out ridiculous.
Corporal punishment in the school system:”Anger is a lack of understanding; change makes people uncomfortable”-Naomi Osaka, Japanese/Haitian WTA #2 ranked tennis player. There is no need and justification to advocate, mandate and inflict student corporal punishment in the school system in accordance with laws of A&B. The student corporal laws MUST BE BANNED! There are other ways to punish students. Students are in school to be taught and learn, not to be traumatized.
Educators must think hard about learning, the quality of teaching and the tireless, long pursuit of educating students for the development of a healthy mind in a healthy body. Learning in all aspects for human development requires and involves achieving certification and purposeful career pursuits from the school system by changing the minds of students.
“Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding.” Proverbs.
Blessings!
EXACTLY. They need to realise that this is 2021. The world is changing. You can’t use a format that has been around for hundreds of years, a format that was even used against our own ancestors during their era and still expect it to be effective today. I honestly still can’t believe that their are educators out there who still support corporal laws.
Educators always know this, and never….never….never forget this: ‘Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
There is no limit to effective ways to ‘discipline’ students in the schools.
NO!…..NO!..to corporal punishment in the schools!!
Blessings!
my child goes to that school and as much as the secretary and some of the teachers feel they dont have manners me and the father crazy. they dont teach the kids anything and always r run pple down bout school fee. yall know who to mess with
The educational system needs to realise that not all students are the same. Yes we are all equal individuals but we don’t all think the same nor do we learn the same. We shouldn’t all be punished the same way either. While corporal punishment may actually work on a child but for some (like myself) it can emotionally damage a child/teen and teach them the wrong lesson.
People out there a debating whether or not it should be allowed…
In my opinion, corporal punishment should only be permitted to students whose parents will allow it.
*are
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