Death of two school children

– theatre of the absurd followed the tragic incidents.

The death of one child was caused because of the punishment given by a teacher for unruly behaviour of the child. The death of girl student was allegedly caused because of the delay in treating her for Asthma.

These two tragic incidents happened very recently. People who read the story were horrified. The outrage was against the teachers. The teacher who gave the punishment to the child fled from the place to escape from arrest. If caught, people would cry for her blood and the same would be projected by media. Finally, if caught the teacher could face a jail term. There would be stern warning from the judge to errant teachers not to transgress the Laxman Reka in punishing children. Curtain to the episode. In the case of the unfortunate girl who succumbed to Asthma the jury is out.

Yet, there is another side to the story which we brush / shrug it off. And that is the ‘precocious child syndrome.’ Many would be regular readers of the cartoon ‘ Dennis the menace.’ Readers like him. The young rascal is full of activity, inquisitive, tormentor of the girl Margaret. To the old man in the cartoon, i.e., Wilson, Dennis is a nightmare. You see such devils in cinema halls, shopping malls, tourist places, etc., Those who are proximate to these creatures when the toddlers are in action, it is a nightmare, more so when they find the parents indulgently look at their wards. Some parents, aware of the fact that their children are first rate tormentors of those in their vicinity, hope that once they grow up they will change. Could be. But till that time it is those who happen to be near these creatures who have to go through hell. As a wag said ‘whether a child is precocious or naughty or terrifying or adorable, etc., depends on whether the child is yours or somebody else’s.’ Many a parent with a glint in his eye would watch his son or daughter tormenting a relative or a visitor. Parents tend to be indulgent. Then again many a parent assume that the child would outgrow from such behaviour with passage of time, i.e., when he/she grows up. It is also a fact that many parents enjoy naughty behaviour of their wards with others. Many would have noticed that the eyes of parents light up when they hear complaints about their wards from neighbours or teachers. Neighbours can avoid such children, but teachers cannot. Further, in the case of neighbours it is only a case of one or two children in the neighbourhood, whereas in the case of teachers there are too many and for too many hours in a day. Compare the despair of a mother in managing one child who is naughty to that of a teacher forced to manage a number of naughty children.

Because of the sad incident which is the topic of this write up, readers may tend to feel that I am espousing the wrong cause. But have you not come across such brats / devils in cinema halls, shopping centres, tourist places, etc., Many won’t like their behaviour. However, most of the onlookers or those tormented would put up with the errant behaviour of the children. Some would shrug it off. But not the teacher. It is her / his duty to contain and reform such errant behaviour. Unfortunately some time they over-step. The ability to withstand punishment varies from child to child. Parents know about it. But most of the teachers would not be aware of such differentiation.

To repeat, the teacher is at fault. Yet, one cannot overlook the other side. There was the other incidence of a girl who is an asthma patient. In the school the girl was not attended to properly when she had the attack. There was also probably delay in sending the girl back to her home. The girl died and the parents have put the blame on the school authorities.

Related to the above and such other incidents, there are two other angles, as below:

· Youngsters most often choose their future professions not necessarily related to their capabilities and aptitudes. There are a number of reasons for making wrong choices. Aspirations of parents. The belief of a youngster in his own ability in a particular field/area, though often erroneous. Examples are galore. A soldier/policeman, apart from having the required physical attributes, must be, more importantly courageous. Yet while recruitment the more important aspect is ignored. A good advocate should be an orator and should have the sixth sense to spot loopholes in the case of the opposite party. But those aspects are not scrutinized either by the parents or the youngster while opting for a career in the legal profession. Tunnel vision and high brow attitude are the anti-thesis for a bureaucrat. Yet there is no aptitude test before recruiting them in the bureaucracy. And they continue with these two attributes throughout their career. A nurse should have compassion. A teacher by nature should have love affection for children. The List is too long. But these examples would bring out the dichotomy. In the end what happens is that there is mismatch between requirement and attributes.

· Fourth estate has started adorning the robes of prosecutor and judge. In the TV programmes this is more evident, with viewers becoming the jury. Neither the complainant nor the defender is given required time to explain their respective cases. It is done by the know-alls in the programme. The whole debate is zeroed into the incident under discussion without exploring related angles and also whether such incidents are exceptions or wide spread phenomenon. In the instant case it is a wide spread phenomenon. But the TV debate did not bring out that aspect, making the current episodes having teachers as the villains.

Foot-note: ‘One of the widely read English newspaper has become pontificator in respect of the current subject. “ The teacher involved in this case ( child death ) must be charged with manslaughter – culpable homicide not amounting to murder…………it is about time that a strong message was sent out………………………’ This writer feels that it is about time that this newspaper stops publishing almost nude photos of cine stars and models and indulge in mudslinging of celebrities, because both have corrupting influence on the reader.

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