Trust crucial in punishment

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): The recent Tasikmalaya riot in which five people were killed has both political and educational implications. The political aspect has been intensively analyzed by the public while the educational aspect remains largely untouched.

One detail that escaped public scrutiny in this episode was an educational mishap which preceded -- but did not prompt -- the riot. Three teachers from the Riyadul Ulum Wadda'wah Islamic school punished Rizal, a 14-year old non-resident student, who was caught stealing. Rizal happened to be the son of Corporal Nursamsi, a police officer of the local police precinct.

According to Republika, Rizal reported this incident to his father, saying that during his punishment he was soaked in the school's pond. After receiving this report, Corporal Nursamsi called the headmaster and asked for an explanation which was duly given to him. Apparently not satisfied with the information provided by the headmaster, he summoned the three teachers, interrogated them, and along with his staff of eight other police officers beat them up. He later threw the three teachers into a cell.

A fourth teacher managed to escape and report the incident to the school administrators, who then reported the matter to the deputy regent Oesman Roesman. The deputy regent then contacted the Tasikmalaya Police Chief, Lt. Col. Suherman, who ordered his men to release the three detainees. The three teachers were then taken to the local hospital for medical treatment.

Thinking that everything was under control, Lt. Col. Suherman said, "Everything has been settled. We don't want to make things any worse." But things did get out of control, and a riot erupted.

This particular incident involving the punishment of a student who fought his unfair treatment and whose feeling was shared by his father, looked trivial, but seen from an educational point of view the affair was not trivial at all.

This case showed two basic violations. First, violation of pedagogical norms in administering punishment, and second, violation of educational authority. The first violation was committed by the three teachers who punished Rizal, and the second violation was made by Corporal Nursamsi who could not distinguish his role as a father and a police officer.

Viewed within the context of pedagogical theory, punishment is administered as a dramatic reminder to students that they have violated a norm, and that the act should not be repeated. When punishing a student, the trust that exists between the teacher and the student is severed. This trust will be restored again when the teacher stops punishing the student and resumes a normal relationship with the student.

When I was seventeen years old, my class was punished in a non-violent manner by one of our teachers. We were supposed to complete some mathematics homework that our teacher would check that day. However, the class produced a very poor result and no one could give the teacher an explanation for our laziness.

Our teacher was very disappointed. He just sighed deeply, went to sit on the high chair in front of the class room and did not utter a word until the end of class. We did not know what to do or what to say. The class were very fond of the teacher and to apologize, but we just did not know how to do it. When the school bell rang signaling the end of the session, he just climbed down from the high chair and left the room without saying a word to us. We felt very relieved the following day when he spoke to us again.

This is an example of effective punishment in the education system. No shouting, no burst of anger, just a silent demonstration of a severance of trust. And when trust is abused, it hurts. Therefore punishment is only effective if trust between the teacher and the student exists. Effective punishment at school should be a mental experience, not a physical one.

It should be noted that the mistake made by the three teachers was a pedagogical mistake and not a criminal act. It was a case of educational malpractice, which is not subject to criminal law. Here the police made a big mistake. By summoning the three teachers and treating them like criminals, the police transgressed its authorized power. The police are not authorized to intrude into the territory of an educational authority unless a criminal act is committed.

Knowing the limit of our authority and respecting the authority of another institution appears to be something which still has to be learned. It is important to know the moral limit, as well as the legal limit, of our authority. There have been a large number of violations of authority in society recently, and the result is chaos and incoherence. We should aim to reduce this chaos and incoherence, and return some sense of order and civility to our society. This can be achieved by disciplining ourselves and respecting the authority of others.

If the three teachers make a mistake, does it mean that the students should not have been punished for stealing?

Of course students must be punished for disobeying the rules of the educational institution. Stealing in the educational sector is considered a serious violation. Any act of taking someone's property without consent is a breach of morals and should be acted upon accordingly. If a student has not yet learned to respect other peoples' property, this means the education system has failed to internalize moral principles.

Since the purpose of education is guiding students towards recognizing the difference between right and wrong by observing and respecting existing norms, any violation of norms encouraged by other people is a sign of a serious defect in moral growth. Thus cheating, lying, and stealing are signs of disrespect and failure in the development of personal commitment to certain values. It should not go unremedied. But what is the best solution?

Punishment alone is not the answer. We should resort to punishment only after other measures do not work. The purpose of punishment is to teach the student that they must improve themselves morally. But if punishment fails to improve the student, then there is something wrong in the educational relationship. The best solution is to improve the relationship between the teacher and the student, and the student's parents if deemed necessary. On this basis, the parties could work towards an improved relationship, a greater understanding of each other and a solution to the problem.

It is important to remedy the situation because there are many violations of the rules established by the education system. The end result is that many students leave school and enter society with unrecognized and "unremedied" character weaknesses which may cause them problems later in life.

In this way, it was a brave act of the three teachers to administer punishment to the students. It is regrettable that they did this without sufficient knowledge concerning the basis and requirements of punishment in schools.

The writer is an observer of social and cultural affairs.